I am planning a mid-year trip to the other side of the world. I’m only now researching where I will go, and how I will get there; a destination I have long imagined.

My current passport expires in a matter of days. I spent time yesterday morning at a government office providing particulars of my life, ensuring renewal of the document, well in advance of the trip.

A passport signifies the intent to travel and, at the most primary level, is proof of whom you are and where you are from. It is yet another government-issued document explaining your citizenship and where you belong.

I am Canadian. 

I have lived in this country all my life. My renewal application lists a change of address. Home is not now where it once was but is the home I expect to be living in for as long as possible. It is more than an address.

As part of the application, I was required to provide two identical compliant photographs to accurately represent who I am at this time. Expressionless, without my eyeglasses. Without my corrective lenses, I cannot clearly see the image that represents me.

I was also required to provide references, two of them, to validate my existence. I even had to think about how long I had known these particular friends. How long has it been? Certainly, I have known each friend longer than I knew my last passport, or the one before that.

My planned trip, right now, involves travel to at least two foreign countries. Likely, on this trip, there will be more. I’ve never been to that side of this world; there are a lot of countries. How many will I visit this trip, or the one that follows?

A passport is a formal document issued to one of a country’s citizens. It allows exit from and re-entry to your own country, but also to foreign countries in accordance with visa requirements. I can only now think of the possibilities to see other countries, cities, and cultures.

A passport provides not only the opportunity to travel, but also the chance to dream of where you would like to go next.

© 2026 j.g. lewis