Reflections: What Solo Travel Teaches You

To travel alone is to seek, discover, and pursue all the answers to your thoughts and questions. 

It is your adventure. 

Here's a short blurb of some notes I jotted down after my first solo trip. 

Far from a comprehensive list, this is a simple reflection of a few things I've learned -- I've got plenty of stories to share for each point. 

But from my experience, solo travel teaches you. . . 

• about how possible life can be -- that usually the thing that limits us the most is ourselves

• that you are in the world, as opposed to living in a bubble and interacting only with people you know

• about the magnificence of human generosity 

• that despite the immense differences throughout the world, they all pale when we realize we are merely human beings in ONE world {this registered whenever the classic iPhone ringtone went off wherever I traveled -- sad but true}

• the value in stopping, taking the time to capture that one fantastic photo, which can serve to transport you back to the moments

• people are fascinating: I'm more interested in the whys and hows of people's lives

• about myself: I'm a happy introvert with extrovert tendencies; I'm a planner that adds spontaneous touches

• how to tell your relevant life story in minutes to strangers -- the basics being where you live, what you're currently doing, where you've traveled, and why/how you're here. 

• that memories need to be valued. These memories are not the kind to experience and forget; they're worth holding onto, remembering, and sharing over and over and over 

• who you are. For me -- I'm a sojourner, perhaps more than I'd like to admit. {I became aware of this fact when I journaled: 

"I'm a sojourner, plain and simple. As I'm on the train from Milan to Santa Margherita -- a spontaneous decision prompted by the rainy weather -- I realize I feel so at home. Oddly enough, I'm more comfortable than I've ever been even in Florence, a surprising revelation to admit."

I got far more than I ever expected, and it complemented my study abroad experience perfectly. 
The deliberate leap was unknowingly scary, but it became one of the most fulfilling experiences in the end. 

“Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.” – John Muir