The Top 3 Reasons to Travel this Incredible Earth Solo
Do it. You won’t regret it. Promise.
Traveling creates more opportunities than I ever could've imagined. Traveling solo adds another level of possible opportunities. I have 3 paramount reasons for why I recommend solo travel. I did it for over a year and it was the greatest part of my 30 years on this incredible Earth.
A Different Kind of Knowledge
Traveling truly gifts you with a different kind of knowledge, a knowledge that books and professors simply can’t provide. Of course, this goes for traveling in general. When you’re navigating travel solo, you get a few bonus points.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.
I’m going to keep this one short and sweet because, honestly, I don’t have the words to express the amount I learned on my adventure across the world in 2018. It sounds so cliche, but it’s so insanely true.
Without a doubt, I learned more visiting 7 countries than I ever did as a student for 17 years (12 years of grade school + 5 years of college). From history to culture to life skills to geography to random fun facts — travel filled my brain with all of it plus a lot more. More on that here.
Meeting People
People are amazing. Not all of them, unfortunately. People in other parts of the world truly are something else. They live differently than I do and they know different things than I do. They are people I have something, or a lot, to learn from.
I am confident that if I had not been traveling solo, I wouldn't have met the number of people I did. There were many days that I spent time alone. I relished in that time. However, I couldn't have done that day in and day out for over a year and stayed sane.
So, I was thankfully forced to meet people. I think it’s safe to say I wouldn’t have started conversations with strangers and built friendships with new people had I had a travel partner.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.
A New Relationship with Myself
I’m saving my favorite for last. Today, this is my favorite. Other days, the previous two mentioned points are so good that those are my favorites. Who am I kidding? All 3 points are profound, so what does it matter? Moving on to my final point.
I took long flights, a few of them, and this meant sitting with myself for hours and hours and hours. The longest solo flight I took was 16 hours. I lived, ate, hiked, and shopped alone almost everyday for over a year. That’s a lot of me-time.
I even did a few several-day silent retreats alone. No talking, no phone, no computer, no books. When I say alone, I mean totally alone with only myself.
I adored this time with myself.
Being around people we don’t like is less than ideal. Being around people we don’t like for days and weeks and months is miserable. I think? I don’t know because I’ve never tried it.
So, this meant that I better like myself a whole bunch if I was going to spend this much time solo. If not, I better become someone I like a whole bunch. And, I did. I worked on everything I found in myself that needed some improvements.
Again cliche, but I became my best self and I built the strongest and most healthy relationship I’ve ever had with myself (or with anyone).
Your relationship with yourself sets the tone for every other relationship you have.
I stand by this quote whole-heartedly because I’ve experienced it.
Whether you have a year, a week, or a day — go. Go out there. Go do something different. Go meet someone new. Go spend time alone. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain. I promise.