imperator travel, the romanian travel blog, had a recent post on traveling by yourself. the many comments made me realize, once again, how unprepared most people are to face themselves, but also that hope is not lost as quite many people praised lone traveling.
i traveled by myself and loved it. it is certainly no perfect situation (what is?) but it is enlightening, liberating and empowering. or at least it was for me. i somehow loved my loner traveler life better than the endless months i spent sitting on a chair/working. the certainty and comfort of everyday life is great but every once in a while you need to eat your heart out, pack light and get the fuck out of your own life!
i can give you my insight hoping that it’ll help some of you consider doing it as it can be better than therapy! haha!
– you do have to be independent, self-reliant and responsible to manage.
– you will have the time to analyze anything that’s on your mind and find solutions. traveling alone can be the step back one needs to regain balance or to find the way out of an unpleasant situation.
– the outside traveling is paralleled by the quest within: you get to think without any distraction and, as normal as that sounds, it is actually something you barely ever have time to do during your regular life as we are all busy completing everyday tasks.
– you can be yourself without any expectations, without any judgment, no matter how well intended. you get to be yourself in a way that is rarely allowed at home, where we need to wear various masks to please our parents, friends, acquaintances and their expectations. and we get the opportunity of getting in touch with our real selves not the social personas we usually embody to face the world. it is very liberating and one realizes just how sad and tiresome it is to continuously shift appearance in order to satisfy everybody else.
– you’re automatically more open to anything and you can be easily included in anyone’s plans. you’re some sort of wild card so try to not plan too much and allow things to happen. this can lead to amazing things!
– you also need to be more careful and organized as there’s no one there to watch your back.
– you learn to rely on the kindness of strangers which helps you be more open and more humble.
– expect to have moments of loneliness. i usually bond with animals or get in touch with friends. try to use chocolate as the last resort…lol!
the surfers' beach in guincho, portugal
disclaimer: i admit i am a loner by nature and a free lancer by choice, so it is perhaps my personality that is naturally inclined this way but i do believe that anybody could benefit from traveling alone. i just hope you’ll try it sometime!
photo credits: lilaesthete
1 comment
I THOUGHT I WAS WEIRD. THEN I FOUND OUT I WAS ONLY AN INTROVERT says:
Mar 27, 2013
[…] introversion would also explain how comes i’m ok to travel alone. and why i prefer a comfortable sort of uniform as my everyday outfits. and why my apartment is a […]