4 Ways a Decade of Solo Traveling Has Shaped My Life for the Better

4 ways I’ve learned and grown as a solo traveler in the last 10 years

It’s mid-February 2013 and I’m whizzing through the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel in Shanghai, absorbing all the flashing colors and intergalactic sounds around me. I can’t help but wish that someone were there to experience this with me. Alas, I am alone.

It’s mid-April 2022 and I’m living nomadically and based in Costa Rica.

It’s been a decade since I first solo traveled to Shanghai. I’ve come a long way since the loneliness I experienced during that trip. If you asked younger me if I thought that this is how I would be living my life right now, she would’ve tilted her head to the side and wondered what you were talking about.

Present-day me feels incredibly grateful for how far I’ve come, especially because I grew up with my immigrant grandparents — I was taught from a very early age how dangerous the world can be, how it’s filled with “bad people” and how I always have to be careful.

Solo traveling around the world has, of course, brought forth its set of challenges. However, it’s also broadened my life in ways that I would’ve never imagined and I’d like to share with you the 4 ways that it’s shaped my life for the better.

1) I’ve learned how to be alone and enjoy my own company

As a solo traveler, oftentimes, I eat by myself in restaurants.

Since my trip to Shanghai, I’ve learned that being alone =/= being lonely

Dining alone has taught me to enjoy my own company — to pay attention and savor what it is that I’m eating and to avoid the need to fill the space and distract myself by pulling out my phone. It’s taught me to be present to the moment and enjoy being with myself.

How can you expect others to enjoy your company if you can’t enjoy it yourself?

Pro tip: If solo traveling seems too daunting, you can start with something small — treat yourself to a solo meal in your hometown. If you can do this, you’ll see that you can be comfortable doing that, regardless of where you are in the world.

2) I’ve learned to tune into and meet my own needs

One of the beautiful things about solo traveling is that I don’t have to take someone else’s needs into consideration. I can do whatever I want, when I want and this has taught me to tune into my body and ask what it needs in any given moment.

Am I feeling hungry?

Or do I want to continue walking/sightseeing?

I have the energy to walk, but what I actually want to do is curl up with a book.

3) I’ve learned to face my fears and push beyond my comfort zone

Personally, if I don’t push beyond my comfort zone, it’s easy for my life to feel stagnant. In 2015, I decided to embark on a 1-month Euro trip by myself. At that point in my life, I had only been to Spain, with a group of students several years back. I was excited to explore other parts of Europe on my own. At the same time, I was scared. Sure, I had gone to Shanghai by myself, but that had been only for a few days and I was stationed in one place.

My Euro trip was challenging in many ways — In fact, I happened to be in Paris at the time of the Paris terrorist attacks and as I continued onward to Belgium, apparently, so had the terrorist suspects. The experience was a bit unnerving. However, because I successfully completed this month-long Euro trip, two years later, when a consulting opportunity presented itself in Zimbabwe, I knew that I had it in me to say yes.

I had no idea what Zimbabwe would be like and how I’d fare for a month in a developing country. However, it turned out to life-changing and because I now had experience living in a developing country, 3 years later, I felt comfortable enough to get a one-way ticket to India.

Pro tip: You don’t know what you’re capable of until you actually do said thing. Don’t let your fears hold you back from what it is that you want to be doing. Start with something small which will give you the confidence needed to take bigger steps down the line. Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

4) I’ve made friends from all over the world

When I travel with friends, I’m less inclined to make befriend others because I already have company. However, when I solo travel, I’ll make an effort to put myself out there. In Oaxaca, Mexico, one day, I was eating alone in a restaurant when I spotted another female traveler the next table over. I struck up a conversation with her and that marked the beginning of a new friendship. We ended up meeting up in a different part of Mexico weeks later and we still keep in touch to this day even though she’s now back in Japan.

May this piece inspire you to take a solo trip.

May traveling help you learn more about yourself and how you show up in life.

May you experience for yourself all that this world has to offer.

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