The number one question I receive across my social media is “Why do you travel alone?” It took me a while to figure out an answer but honestly, I don’t have just ONE answer. Traveling alone has taught me so much about myself and I’m here to share my opinion as to why it’s a form of self-care and hopefully convince you to take a solo trip!
The first solo trip I took was in 2019 at the age of 23 to Zanzibar, Tanzania. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to trade in my 9 to 5 to travel full-time. The main reason for the push to travel full-time was what I learned about myself from that time to now. Below I’ve listed 8 life lessons I've learned from solo traveling.
Finding and Loving Myself
At 22, I was unsure what exactly I wanted to do with my life. After completing my military contract, I accepted an overseas job working in the oil industry. Although I loved my job, after two years I wanted more for my life. I wanted more excitement. I was the youngest employee in my company; all my coworkers used to share their travel stories and encouraged me to explore the world before I decide to settle down, get married, and have kids. I’ve had a passion for learning more about life and exploring so I decided to take my first solo trip to Africa on my 23 birthday. During my liberating week stays in Zanzibar, I knew what I wanted in life. I felt so free and excited for the future. My mentor always told me to find something I love doing and get paid for it. That’s exactly what I decided to do. After my first trip, I began to research ways to make money while traveling. 5 years later, it did everything I said I wanted to do.
Learning Patience
The third lesson I learned is to be patient. Although the military motto is “hurry up and wait” I truly felt this while traveling. Custom verification in some countries can have you waiting hours in lines and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it but wait.
Being confident and independent
The second lesson I learned while traveling is to be more confident. Life is too short to not enjoy the fruits of your labor. I used to always delay my goals by saying “I’ll do it tomorrow” or I’ll do it next year because I was too scared to go places by myself. I thought I needed people around me to cheer me on or to be by my side. If we try to wait on others to catch up to us, we would miss out. Life is too short so be confident that you're strong enough to explore the world as you please. Time waits for no man.
Standing up for myself
Getting my wallet stolen at the airport in Malaysia not only made me furious but made me take a stand. None of the officials, police, or workers at the airport assisted me so I took my complaint to the highest level. Read more about my troubles in Kula Lumpa on this blog.
Life is precious
Witnessing the slums in Cambodia made me appreciate my upbringing more than ever. It made me appreciate the life God gave me and be more thankful. Being materialistic was never my thing but it surely solidified it.
Being on time
Traveling has 100% made me more aware of staying focused on staying on schedule. In every country I visit, I have a detailed itinerary that I stick to in order to explore and see everything the country has to offer.
Talking to people you normally don’t
I spent my 25th birthday in Aruba at a hibachi restaurant where I met two lovely couples that gave me a billion-dollar worth of knowledge. We talked about self-care, traveling, and real estate. I’ve been thinking about investing in real estate and the conversation I had with them encouraged me to do so. Since then, I now have had two international real estate properties, and I’m currently working on my third investment property.
Trust Your Intuition
Traveling solo, you must always trust your gut and that little voice in your head. Anytime I feel like something isn’t right, I leave. I’ve learned to notice people's body language and tone of voice. I learned to talk less and listen more.
