It’s five o clock in the afternoon on a snowy New Year's Eve as I step out of the house. New Year's Eve party? Hardly so. My journey was to a more distant and more sacred place. My journey was to a city about which I have only heard stories. Little did I know that my journey would indeed change my life forever. My journey was the Pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Pilgrimage to Mecca, also known as Hajj, is the fifth of five Pillars of Islam. The literal meaning of Hajj is to set out for a place, particularly the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It requires all followers of Islam who are able-bodied and financially fit to make this trip to the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad at least once in his or her lifetime. Hajj consists of a series of rituals which venerate not only the oneness of God, but also the activities of the ancient Prophets. For example, all pilgrims must circumambulate the House of God seven times which Muslims believe was built first by Adam and later the prophet Abraham. Pilgrims must also run seven times between the mountains Safa and Marwa. This act is in commemoration of the desperate search by Hagar, the wife of Abraham, for water to give her son Ishmael. The Hajj also requires pilgrims to seek forgiveness for their sins atop Mount Arafat, the sacred plain where it is believed Adam and Eve reunited on Earth and did the same. Men and women alike put on two pieces of white unstitched cloth and sandals. This simplicity represents the equality of all people before God.

Setting out for Hajj, I admit I was somewhat nervous and rather apprehensive about all that lay ahead. As I approached the city of Mecca, however, I felt almost an aura come over me. When not at my hotel I was praying and performing rituals alongside five million other people of different colors, languages, and nationalities. It was this sense of brotherhood united for the sole purpose of worshiping God that impressed me the most. As days passed I lost all trace of fear and gained satisfaction in doing what I set out to do.

Deciding to make the Pilgrimage took a great deal of courage to leave everything I have known for two weeks and fulfill a major component of my faith. Nevertheless, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. It is my hope to be able to transform the external rituals of the Pilgrimage into an internal moral code to make me a better person in all aspects of life. I know I will make every attempt to do so.