Why I Solo Travel and What Solo Traveling Teaches You

May 14th, 2020 | Posted by: Grace Kim

The level of excitement when discovering a new destination has become almost unbearable to live with. Thinking about the number of places untouched is a foreign concept that slowly became important for me to distance myself from.

Moving through the ages, social media has become a tool for many to rely on for information, survival, and entertainment.

What’s awesome about social media is that it comes with amazing platforms that keep you updated with society and with travel updates. And as it provides users with destination updates, virtually travel through the web was just not enough for me.

Stop Fantasizing and Just Go For It

What’s worse was that the more I was exposed to these beautiful destinations, I was still fantasizing about visiting these places at home. Slowly, my patience to witness these places was not sitting well with me and before I knew it, I was booking trips left and right.

I’d ask some friends to go with me or meet up with people to each city but schedules don’t always seem to match. And that’s how I started solo traveling more frequently. Of course going on trips with your friends is fun but there’s something about solo traveling that I started becoming addicted to.

>> Read More: Why You Should Travel More Often

Solo Traveling at a Young Age Saved Me

Fantasizing about the idea about solo traveling might come across as scary to some and don’t get me wrong, initially, I thought the same.

Starting at a young age, it’s almost as if I was training myself to embark a life to solo travel. I started taking public transportation everywhere I went and fell in love with walking. I learned how to take the bus by accidentally landing in the wrong town and somehow always seemed to find my way back home.

Throughout time, I’ve learned patience and how to save time while riding the bus or train in order to get to my destination in one piece. Learning trial and error started coming naturally. to be as I started solo traveling across towns or states. Now, I’m addicted to solo traveling, both domestically and internationally. Not only can you move at your own pace, but you’re also in control of your decisions.

Thanks to social media, solo traveling has become a lot easier. You’re now exposed to destinations and landmarks that you probably wouldn’t have discovered unless you knew how to read a map. And as my love for photography started becoming present in my life, traveling started becoming that much more addicting.

I’m not saying that learning how to take public transportation at a young age is a precedent to understand the art of solo travel. But it’s definitely been a catalyst to restart the movement.

Frightened to Solo Travel

Again, the concept to solo travel might seem innate to some. Which is entirely fine because we’re not all made to solo travel. But to others, there are so many benefits that come with solo traveling that it’s hard to ignore.

After I quit my job and knowing that I had a few days left at home, I was panicking. I didn’t really have a plan of what I wanted to do in every city, but all I remember thinking to myself was to take my schedule day by day.

On my way to catch the bus to my first destination, I remember crying so much. Crying out of fear and excitement. And that my life was all dependent on me. All I had with me was my backpack and luggage and accepted that there was no turning back.

Since December 4th, 2019, I’ve been writing the biggest love story of my life. And since then, I’ve been learning more about the world, independence, people, and traveling more than any textbook could ever teach me.

In my mind, the journey restarts everyday. It almost feels as if I’ve only scraped a sliver of what traveling is all about. So if I’ve encouraged you to take the biggest leap of faith to embark a life of solo travels, fulfillment is just an understatement of what you’re going to experience.

What I’ve Learned From Solo Traveling

As the list continues to grow, there is no other way that I’d change the way I started solo traveling. The more trips I choose to take solo, the more I’m introduced to different types of culture and people.

But that’s not all that I’ve learned about solo traveling. And if you’re still debating on whether or not you should solo travel, let’s dig into the things that YOU could potentially learn from your first solo trip.

The biggest selling point of solo traveling is that it gives you ultimate freedom. Freedom with yourself, time, people, and pace. While solo traveling, you don’t need to consider anyone else’s time or feelings besides yours. Move freely at your own pace and make your schedule as you go. If you need to wake up at 4:00 AM to catch sunrise, do it. Want to do a last minute surfboard lesson on the beach? Go for it. No one is stopping you but you.
Personal growth is something that I hope we all strive for on a daily basis. Sometimes it gets hard to solely focus on yourself when you have hundreds of other things going on around you. But the wonderful thing about solo traveling is that because you now have all the time in the world, I’m sure you’re having awakenings and left and right. Realizing that there’s more things to worry less about, you start becoming more open minded about yourself and others.
Whether you’ve always been a people person or not, independence naturally formulates. Don’t get me wrong, thinking about being by yourself can seem like the scariest thing in the world. I broke out in tears before taking off on my first solo trip to Norway. But the moment I got off the plane and landed in Oslo, everything made sense. Traveling by yourself in a foreign country may seem like the scariest thing in the world but the more you do it, like anything else, becomes easier with time.

Even when you’re alone, you’re not entirely alone

Conceptually, when you solo travel, yes, the belief is that you’re all by yourself. But the one thing that I’ve taken away from solo traveling is that even though I’m traveling by myself, I’m actually never alone. City to city, I always seem to find my weeks packed to the brim. Why? Because I’m crazy about relationship building that I schedule dates with other fellow bloggers or photographers to meet.

Ironically, I find myself looking for alone time while solo traveling. Sometimes, I remind myself to take a step back and chill because of how much I pack in my days. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but the point I’m trying to get across is that even when you’re riding solo, you’ll usually find a way to never be alone.

When I’m out and about, I find myself being more open to conversing with strangers on the streets. I’ve noticed that the more confidence and positive energy that you choose to express, the more people are willing to chat with you. Talking to strangers might seem like the scariest thing but once you’re in the groove out and exploring, the feeling seems right.

Don’t let anyone hold you back from your dreams

Overused as this saying may be, take it with a grain of salt. In the beginning, your end goals of solo travels might look unachievable and discouraging. But I promise that if you take the right steps to get to where you’d like to be, you’ll do anything in your power to get there. Promise. Although it may seem impossible at first, saying no to lies and yes to unknown possibilities, things will start falling into place.

Through it all, the only person you should be caring about is yourself. Yes, it’s easy to fall into the traps of getting influenced by the opinions of others but the moment your goals become solidified, you’ll learn to weed out the bad and focus on the good. That’s one huge lesson that I’ve learned while solo traveling.

Still too scared to solo travel? Start small and venture out around your neighboring cities. Try venturing off to bordering states and take note of all your surroundings – feelings, emotions, sanity, luggage, focus, and the higher like.

This world is and will always be your oyster with the number of places to discover and travel to. The rewards that come with solo travel are endless and whatever your goals are, I highly encourage it at least once in your life. Whatever the outcomes may be, I promise you won’t regret it. Just do it.

Why I Solo Travel