Why I Travel and Why I do it by Myself
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When I travel, I become my best self. Travel opens me up to experience all that the world has to offer. I take in the wonder of the world through eyes that have suddenly been cleared of preconceived notions and expectations. Everywhere I look, I see something that I have never seen, heard or smelled before. It is all new and exciting in a way that can only be found by letting go and opening up. While sometimes this amount of vulnerability can be terrifying, other times it can be as easy as breathing, but either way, once you let your guard down, these new experiences can fill you with wonder, hope and joy.
Travel, just as it has the power to elevate us to new levels of wonder, also has an uncanny way of getting right to the root of an issue, insecurity or vulnerability. Not all trips are perfect and there is always something small and occasionally a larger hiccup that will derail you. Some of my most amazing travel adventures have come out of less than perfect situations (read: error, I messed up, got lost, missed a boat or just did something totally contrary to how I expected!). Travel allows up to absolutely soak up the present while conceding both the past and future to be what they may. Basking in the present is a luxury and a lesson that travel bestows upon us.
Solo travel only exacerbates all of these phenomenons. When you are alone and there is no one to commiserate with, solve problems with or someone to rally with to make it happen. The only person to bring you out of this trying situation is yourself. You have to look inward to find your own strength, courage and aptitude. Often this is buried so deep that you actually forgot that you had the ability to do all of these things on your own. At home, you have a best friend, a coworker or a significant other to help you make decisions and bounce ideas around with. When traveling solo, often there is not even another person that speaks your language to help you out! When traveling without the comfort blanket of other people every single decision is up to you. How daunting, right?
While Solo Travel can be overwhelming, it is also so crazy liberating and enlightening. Traveling solo allows you to uncover your hidden passions, joys, goals, fears and triumphs. The first time you go to a restaurant by yourself is an amazing achievement. I remember eating at counter cafes and gelaterias for weeks because I was too scared to go into a restaurant and sit at a table by myself! Letting go of these fears and misconceptions that the only way to consume food and drink is with the company of others is really hard! But when you finally stop thinking about how people think of you and just enjoy the Parmesan Risotto and Chianti Classico, your fears quickly dissipate.
This goes for all aspects of traveling!
"One Bus ticket to Hanoi, please"
"Stockholm Opera, one please"
"Train ticket to Cinque Terre. Just one, thank you."
It becomes easier and easier to get used to being by yourself. And it's not a bad thing! So many times I talk with people about their trips and when they ask where I have been, the next automatic question is "Who did you go with?". I more often than not answer with a prepared, patient smile and explain that I went solo. Sometimes there are audible gasps and backing away, and other times just straight up looks of bewilderment, and fear followed with exasperated "What?" or "Why?". When I answer, "Because I wanted to", the look of alarm and confusion increases. This effect is especially common with women. "I could never do that!" or "Why didn't you go with (the name of any single person who you have some sort of relationship with)?"
I want to bring the confidence to other female travelers that they can travel by themselves too! It can be Southeast Asia or South Carolina. The destination hardly matters, its the journey that changes you.
Follow along as I document my adventures, whether domestic or abroad, primarily travelling solo or sporadically with friends, family, my husband and occasionally a our dog, Kylee. From sightseeing in Italy to jungle trekking in Vietnam, I will take you with me and show you the world and it's wonders through my eyes (and my lens).
