Solo Travel is Food for the Soul
I recently finished a 3,000 mile solo road trip through California, stopping at incredible National Parks along the way. Whenever solo travel gets brought up, there typically seems to be a few dissenting voices. Won’t you be bored? Aren’t you afraid something bad could happen to you? To answer both of those questions, yes, I do get bored and yes, I am afraid something could happen. But ultimately, I’d rather find ways to make the journey exciting and do things scared, then never do them at all.
Traveling solo is the one type of travel where I come back actually feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Not because it was easy or because I dislike traveling with friends (I LOVE trips with my friends) but because it’s the one time I’m forced to get back in touch with my authentic self. In an attempt to please and be pleasant, I feel like it’s easy to adopt a personality of ambivalence— “I don’t care!”, “It doesn’t matter to me!”, “I could eat but I definitely don’t have to!”—While it’s done with good intention, after too long I begin to wonder if I still have a voice or any opinions of my own. For me, the re-emergence of that voice and the confidence to use it is justification alone to go on the adventure.
Along with the benefits of internal awakenings, solo trips are just an organically good time. 350 foot tall redwoods, iconic coastline scenes, buttery sunsets, and jagged mountain peaks were a few of the many gifts to my eyes on this latest experience. It takes work to make it happen but it’s rewarding work; from mapping the route, researching the hikes, obtaining all the right passes, packing the right gear— the satisfaction of pulling it off and having the trip of a lifetime is unparalleled. And, for the social bunnies, when conversation with myself gets a bit dull, solo travel is rife with opportunities to meet others. As an introvert, this is cause for brief and intense panic, but I’m continually surprised by the connections I’ve made on hikes, in line at bars, or in tour groups. Though it pains me to say, it really is the best low-stakes way to meet new people.
Now for the safety bit, this is a little more of a journey. In a world where spy/thriller movies like Taken aren’t out of the realm of possibility, I feel as though I’ve developed a level of street smarts and awareness where I trust myself to avoid and/or get out of sticky situations. So far so good (aggressively knocks on wood surfaces) with my awareness panning out, but that’s not to say there haven’t been a few hair-raising experiences. On this latest trip I found myself moving furniture to barricade the door in a questionable motel, sleeping with pepper spray next to me in my tent, and bringing every single thing from my car into my hotel room because the likelihood of a car break in felt high. It’s not all sunshine and roses but the opportunity to see beautiful things in the world, experience different cultures, and meet new people makes it worth it every time.
At the end of the day I’m a big believer in that your story is the biggest gift you have to share with the world. Each new adventure adds a chapter to my book and is food for my soul. Something about sleeping under the stars and seeing desktop screensavers in real life pulls me a tiny bit closer to who I want to be instead of who I thought I was supposed to be. These solo journeys are a reminder to myself that I am capable and can trust in myself to get through anything. So when schedules don’t line up, or I find a spontaneous gap in work, I’m taking the trip alone and finding ways to thrive young.