This post was originally published on March 15th, 2015 and was the inaugural piece on my old blog Frequency of the Unknown*
About one week ago, I came back to America after spending 10 days in Europe. It was an incredible experience and the adventures I had abroad I will remember for rest of my life. When I returned to school, I noticed something in common about everyone I told my stories to. They all asked if I went alone, and when I responded yes they expressed admiration for me doing so.
Before the trip, I did not think traveling alone was a huge deal. I had done it before and I do not think of myself as special, so I assumed that my colleagues were capable and some even willing to travel also. But, I failed to acknowledge that the unknown can be a frightening prospect to people.
The world we live in today we are rarely alone, whether its the constant bombardment of social media or the support structure of friends we build around us. When I traveled alone, I left most of that behind and immersed myself into wherever I was going. Usually I was in a country where a different language was spoken and I was unfamiliar with the layout of the city, so I needed to adapt to my surroundings. People may view these challenges as terrifying, but I found them to be liberating and fulfilling; liberating because I was free from the preconceived expectations people had for me and fulfilling because I would discover the beautiful character of every city I went to. My favorite part of traveling alone was meeting new people from all over the world. The conversations I had with my foreign friends were some of the most enlightening engagements I ever partook in, and the brief time we shared together are some of my most prized memories.
Traveling alone means observing a reflection of your life in a perspective you never thought possible. Whether you are in a country where the daily culture and customs are vastly different than your home or you are interacting with people who view reality in a completely different realm than you do, it can shatter how you see the world. Yet, the key to gaining any wisdom from your experience is to actually recognizing those distinctions, contrasting them to what you are familiar with, and learning from them. Once you do, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes stronger than before, the insight from your improved mindset will guide you through the adversity your future holds.
So when you travel alone, you are not really alone at all. As long as you open yourself to the world, the world will find a way to take care of you.