WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017
Traveling alone never appealed to me before. I thought it would be extremely lonely with no one to talk to. Who would take pictures for me? (Yes, that was a real thought.) I feared that I would just be sad and depressed being in an amazing place by myself and no one to share it with. There was also the question of who I would go to if I ever needed help with something in a foreign country.
Back when I started considering the idea of traveling alone, many family members immediately started raising their objections. My grandparents, who are are set in their archaic traditional values, feared for my safety. A single, young lady traveling alone in a country she didn’t know!? From their reaction, you would have thought I gave them a heart attack or something. My mother was also very against the idea. Her thoughts were an absolute no. Just no. I couldn’t understand her views at the time, and I didn’t really fight them. This is the person who knew me best. The one who I would talk to everyday about anything and everything. I knew that if I proceeded without her blessing, I would just be miserable thinking about how uncomfortable my decision made her feel.
Sydney, Australia had been on my mind for a while. It was relatively close to Taiwan and I would never want to fly to Australia from the U.S. because that would take more than 24 hours. Iconic sites like the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, as well as the warm weather and beautiful beaches attracted me as a place to go for winter vacation.
Despite my previous concerns and other people’s objections, on February 3, I embarked on my first solo trip to Sydney Australia. Here’s why…
1. IT’S MY LIFE
This isn’t a story about how I ended up defying my parents wishes, but rather a story about how I realized what I wanted in MY life. The answer was always there. I wanted to travel. As the months drew closer to winter vacation, thoughts of traveling increased as well. I looked at the adults around me, my grandparents, my parents, my co-workers and how they were able to avoid traveling alone. But what I found was that they were always traveling with their spouses. Yeah, some would travel with friends, but most times people are traveling with their significant other. I’m 24 years old and I don’t have a boyfriend. The idea that I would have to wait for the right person to come into my life to take my dream trip was ridiculous. I ain’t waiting for no one and I shouldn’t have to. Who knows what the future will bring. The best thing I could do for myself is to live for the now.
2. TRAVEL SELFISHLY
That sounds bad, but travel alone allowed me to be a “selfish” traveler. I’ve gone on trips with friends before and let me tell you, even with two people on a trip together, you’re not going to agree about everything. Traveling alone, I got to move at my own pace. If I ever got tired, I could take a nap. If I was hungry, I could eat. I could go to the places I wanted to go and decide how much time I wanted to spend at any one place.
3. BECOME INDEPENDENT
I’m 24 and learning to navigate post college. As my age gets higher, the less excuses I have. The fact that I’m 24 and I can’t cook for myself is kind of scary to a lot of people, but that’s a another story for another time. I believe it’s important to grow. I knew that traveling alone would push me outside my comfort zone. I knew it would challenge me. And I knew it would teach me in some ways to be more independent, which is a super important quality.
However, I also believe that this only works under the right circumstances. Two years ago, I would have said no, I’m not ready to travel alone. I was not in the right mindset. What changed for me was that I had confidence in myself to travel alone. I wanted the opportunity to challenge myself. I no longer thought that I was going to be lonely. Instead, I looked forward to the unexpected. It also helped that in the past two years, I’ve done more traveling, so I’ve racked up some experience, or so I’d like to think. 😉
4. MEET PEOPLE
This wasn’t originally one of my reasons for wanting to travel alone, but when I got to Sydney, I realized I met so many people! From the girl who slept on the bunk above me to the people who were on the same tour as me. I met so many girls in their 20s traveling alone. In the trips I’ve done with past friends, we’ve stuck together for the most part. I probably would not have been so willing to converse with strangers if I had a friend traveling with me.
If you’re thinking of traveling alone, I highly recommend it. The haters will say it’s unsafe, etc. Indeed, the world is not safe. Maybe there are places deemed “safer” than others, but I believe as long as you are smart and prepared then you can do it. I hope this has been helpful for you if you are trying to decide whether to travel alone or not. Happy Travels! and let me know where you go if you do go alone. I’d love to hear about your trip.
Much love, Tina xxx
