Going through the dozens of applications received for Her International so far, I can’t help but feel inspired by all of the women who not only have a dream, but are taking actionable measures in order to make that dream a reality. It takes guts, courage and commitment to make a goal come to life!

Now and then I’ll receive emails of inspiration from women who are devoting themselves towards breaking my record. It always has me thinking as to why I chose to break this particular record instead of one of the other hundreds of travel records out there… Rushing to every country for a record when I could have enjoyed the journey? As a woman, I saw an opportunity to do something that had only been achieved by man, to break through those barriers and make Women’s History. I never liked to think that I was potentially limited with what I could do in life because of my gender and I had an innate desire to want to prove this to the world as well; that women can obviously not only shatter a men’s record, but they can travel alone far and wide if they do so choose. I wonder why many women still want to beat my record and not break the glass ceiling in new ways or forms of travel and exploration, perhaps it’s just to prove to people that if it can be done once, it can be done again, with the possibility of seeing less and less each time. Either way, travel should be an enjoyable and educational journey, and by sacrificing my own ability of fully experiencing each country, my hopes were to pave the way for women who aspire to explore corners of the world and feel that they can safely do so alone. The years of hard work I put into this was able to inspire hundreds of thousands of women (and men!) around the world to do big things even if that thing is doing it all over again and for that, I am honorably humbled. In addition to Her International, I’m grateful to Guinness for ensuring proper documentation of my travels which lead to earning a spot in the National Women’s History Museum’s Outdoor Exhibit, thereby making my dream to leave a positive legacy behind, a reality. To all the future women who will break the glass ceiling! ??