Wanderlusting: Solo Traveling and Adventuring

“The good thing about flying solo is it’s never boring.” ~ Steve Fossett

Leaving on a jetplane…

Or a car….or my favorite, a boat! Though usually in ferry form, like the Nantucket Ferry or island hoping on a hundred years old schooner, not that I am day dreaming or anything! Though after being cooped up in quarantine for months can you blame me? A few weeks ago I got to head off on an adventure, one that wasn’t just a day trip, but actually a weekend get away! What the heck are those again friends? To say I was excited was an understatement. To pack an actual suitcase, because let’s face it I am a bag lady with always having to shoot content, but seriously friends an ACTUAL suitcase was exciting and I am still on a high from that trip!

And I promise I will share it with you! But first I wanted to talk about a comment slash question I receive ALL the time: How can I travel solo?

While I don’t say this TO them, in my head I always respond with how can I not?

The WHY

For some reason it blows people minds that I will go on excursions or trips by myself, many of which are for work or as a creative outlet. But also just because I LOVE to travel. I learned a long time ago if I want to do something I need to just do it. The right people will come along, but if I wait for others to join or plan, well I’ll be spending my life Netflixing and Chilling with wine for a very long time.

People are busy. People are in different periods of their life that aren’t always the same period I am in. Some people just are home bodies. All of it is okay, but I can not and will NOT live my life according to others. As I said those who want to and are meant to will join me. I don’t set out to travel alone, but I am also well aware of the people who genuinely want to join in and make the effort. Like anything there is a huge difference between someone who says oh we should grab coffee and the person who says I am free on such and such a date. Usually it is the latter I end up traveling with or meeting up with. And again that is okay. I use to wait for people to join me on beach trips and coffee dates and they never came to fruition, until I made it happen. AND thanks with technology it makes traveling solo that much easier!

Another aspect is I also lived in New York for seven years. BY myself. and while I knew people, made friends, etc, etc, the day to day was me functioning alone walking to the subways or coming home at night. Alone. Being an adult in a VERY adult city. As they say if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere and I feel like that kinda is applicable to traveling solo as well. If you live ALONE in a city, especially New York City, you can travel solo anywhere.

Is it Intimidating?

Is it intimidating? Heck yes! I would be a liar if I said I don’t get nervous or anxious, (heck I have anxiety) before hand. Especially if I am traveling some place new which let’s face it, is half the fun when traveling. And this past year with ALL of the COVID protocols and constant changes it has been anxiety inducing, especially since I have had to drive and fun fact, I hate driving! Give me public transportation, or better yet my own two feet and I am happy.

But ya know what? All of that aside, life is about going outside of your comfort zone. It is scary AF but that is how you grow and learn, which leads to finding and developing that strength and courage, we never knew we had. THAT is what living is. Pushing past your personal boundaries and exploring. And I would be so sad if I missed out on all the adventures I have taken if I didn’t take that leap of faith. Life is one huge series of mindsets: fear or excitement and you get to choose. Neither comes without the other, and neither is bad. In fact fear does keep us from doing dumb things and it is part of our intuition, but you don’t want it to be the dominating part that drives you through life and thus stops you from living.

Women and Safety

I would honestly be remissed if I said sometimes this question doesn’t bother me, because not to pull the sexism card, but pulling the sexism card, would people really be asking a MAN why HE traveled solo? Would they be SO impressed with him for going on an adventure, by HIMSELF? I honestly cannot help but wonder.

That said, do I, as a woman, have to be careful? Yes. MOST certainly. It is why a lot of times I post hours after the fact or the next day. (yes I fail at Instagram stories) Yes, check in with friends, have taken self defense classes (tiny but mighty people) and carry defensive tools (so don’t even think about it!) Safety is important. But my being a woman is NOT going to stop me from traveling. And if YOU are a woman it should NOT stop you! 

Travel, Explore, Learn

Traveling has taught me so much, about history, people, cultures. It has given me a better understanding of what is happening in this world, and that includes America, which many people, including Americans, don’t realize is so vastly different but still equally amazing depending on where you are. It has made me more knowledgable, less selfish, and always working to be the most compassionate I can be. 

And the thing about solo travel is that it actually isn’t really solo. I mean it can be if you work really hard to make it so, but from flying on a plane and chatting with your seat mate to going to a museum and talking to the people who work there or just a stranger also admiring a painting, to going to restaurants and sharing stories with the bartender, you are constantly meeting and making new friends, maybe even ice long ones.

Travel, especially solo travel, has given me courage and strength. It has let me go deeper into myself and made me realize that I am capable of so much more then I ever dreamed of. In many ways it has made me open up, but also allowed me to be vulnerable. And the exciting thing is, it has constantly opened up dreams and new avenues for me. Each time I explore, I am getting new ideas, thinking of new ways. Becoming more, well, me.

So yes friends, I highly recommend traveling solo and see what you discover about other people and even yourself.

Have you solo travelled before? Would you ever?