To go off of my post last Tuesday, about attending concerts solo, I thought it would be beneficial to discuss traveling alone, even to places within your hometown. It seems like something so many people are afraid to do, almost becoming taboo to even just sit at a restaurant alone or attend a movie showing on your own among other things. But traveling alone, or even doing small things like this by yourself has so many benefits! Let us know in the comments below if you have any other reasons and about your experiences!
1. Self-Discovery
You have to rely on your own ingenuity and trust your gut. When controllable things go wrong you have no one to blame but yourself and it teaches you to really hold yourself accountable for your actions. But in the same vein, when something you've decided goes right, controllable things go right, or you figure something out all on your own, you also have no one to blame but yourself in those situations and that's incredibly rewarding! Traveling solo allows you to reflect on your decisions, what you might do differently next time or what you might want to try out next time, and to go with the flow. Things may not turn out the way you wanted or thought, but that won't always be a set back, in fact sometimes it can be better than your original plan! You also learn to be at peace with yourself and enjoy your own company. Be careful though, once you find you like having your own space it can be addicting!
2. Connections and New Friendships Come Easier
When you're on the road alone, it's easier to make connections to those around you without having that safety bubble of friends or family around you. Of course, always be vigilant about the people you approach or who approach you, but being smart and having an open mind can lead to new adventures and life-long friendships.
3. FREEDOM!!
You get to be completely free and totally selfish. All the decisions you make are yours. You get to do what you want, when you want to, without having to worry about other people's opinions. Will they enjoy this activity? Are they tired and don't want to go? Would they rather do something else? Would you want to do that alternative activity? All of that is null and void, doesn't matter when you're on your own, you travel at your pace. Maybe you want to take a day and just relax after a whirlwind of doing things (or not), maybe you like museums but your usual travel buddies just aren't into that. The world is your oyster when you travel alone! You also don't have to use the excuse "I really want to go to __(insert travel destination here)_____ but can't find anyone to go with." Throw that thing out the window. Want to go to Aruba but no one can or wants to go? Cool, live your best life ladies and gents! No one interested in Japanese culture, but you want to go and explore Japan. Book your ticket! Want to try that new restaurant, go to the zoo, see that new movie but no one wants to go with you or your free days aren't meshing up? You don't have to miss out on great places and things that you're interested in, simply because you can't find someone to go with you!
4. Confidence
The other three points I've made so far factor into this one. Traveling alone or just doing activities by yourself boost your confidence level. You feel more assured about yourself as a person, the things you want out of life and those that you don't, the things you are capable of, and what you can accomplish. You become more sure of the choices you make and form opinions of places or activities for yourself without being influenced by others in your group, so you become confident in your opinions as well. These things aren't easy to start doing on your own, but once you do and you enjoy it, it's so satisfying and rewarding to say "oh I just went/am going by myself" all nonchalant when people ask who you went with or who you're going with. Watch their jaws drop, I'm telling you. People don't know how to react and on more than one occasion I've had friends try to scramble to see if they could accompany me, to which I assured them there was no need. Over and over until they relented and admitted they couldn't have made it work anyway, but felt bad. Now that I've done this more often, friends and family don't do that anymore, they know I don't need someone to go with and if I'm going somewhere fun they just request I take a lot of pictures (already planned on it!).
5. Learn a New Language
Traveling by yourself means you don't have an English-speaking (or whichever native tongue you speak) buddy to fall back in a country that doesn't speak it. You should always know a few key words and phrases like "hello," "please," "thank you," "where is the___," and "may I please have___" are all good ones to have at the ready. Being immersed in a language means that you'll be learning new words as you go and when you make new connections and friendships they can be deeper than they might be if you weren't willing to learn. As a bonus, they can practice their English and you can practice your French, for example. You'll leave with a new appreciation for their culture and people and you'll also know some basics of a new language which is cool. I had a friend do this in Bulgaria and she loved the place and the language so much that she is now fluent in it and visits her friends there as often as she can.
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