What I Learned From Traveling Solo Throughout My 20s.
PC: Pinterest
Sitting alone in my Paris Airbnb, I journaled the day’s events down when I smiled and decided: I’m done. I’m done :) I did it. I made it. I’m good now.
Throughout my 20s, I traveled solo every chance I got. It was my preferred method of traveling — not caring about anyone else’s itinerary, adhering to my own desires, not engaging in conversation… and solely focusing on my own wants and needs. It felt like crack to me — I couldn’t get enough. At 23 I took a whole year off just to visit over 40 cities by myself. Then I went back to Bali, Paris, Turks and Caicos, Lisbon (etc) for short vacations by myself year after year. It wasn’t like there weren’t people who didn’t want to go with me, it was more that I didn’t want them to come with me. This was my own personal me-time, and I relied on it to discover my sense of self. These trips healed me, they let me get lost in my thoughts and daydream about a perfect life. I would journal, eat foreign foods, listen to music at museums, and fall deeply in love with my soul.
I guess that’s what I was doing: soul-searching, and each time I would adore what I would find. So when I booked my latest 2-week solo trip to Paris at the ripe ol’ age of 29, I half expected a similar experience. Except, this time it was different. I felt like I was done now, the mission has already been accomplished. I eat-prayed-loved it through my 20s so hard that I no longer felt “lost” or on the verge of a quarter life crisis. The work has been done: I found me, I found my loving partner, and I found a home.
Instead of wanting to selfishly keep this experience to myself, I wanted to share it with my partner. I prefer the comfort I created at home over the thrill of new experiences abroad. Now I don’t feel guilty asking him to book the tickets and hold my luggage because I’ve proven to myself that I can, in fact, do it on my own. It’s just more comfortable now to have someone else do it 😂. And because I put in the work through my 20s, I can go into my 30s completely sure of who I am and who surrounds me. Instead of feeling restless or like my youth is escaping me, I’m happy to close out that chapter and know I’ve lived it to the fullest. I came, I saw, I conquered both the world and my heart, and now there is no haste in my feet, no twitch in my palm.
I talk a lot about traveling solo and all the benefits that come with it. The biggest takeaway, though, is how much relationship building you can do with yourself. I think it’s something a lot of people do later on their lives when shit hits the roof. I guess I’m here to remind you (again) that any time is a good time to embark on a little solo journey. If you’re nervous, you can start small — somewhere close by for a long weekend. Once you get a taste of it, I promise you, you won’t be able to get enough ;)
