Why You Should Travel Alone
If you've ever been on vacation with a group of people, you most likely understand the struggle of making decisions on where to eat, what activities to sign up for, and how you're all going to fit in a taxi to the club. Unlike this experience, traveling alone gives you the freedom of making your own decisions regarding anything and everything about your trip. You don't have to consult with others or hope your friends want to eat at the same restaurant as you because you are in control of your own plans!
Besides plan control and decision authority, there are many more benefits of traveling alone. While in a new place, you not only discover the beauties of the city you are in, but you also discover things about yourself. You will see how you react to new environments and how you handle challenging situations as they arise. If you are traveling to a destination where the primary language is not one you are familiar with, this barrier will definitely be a challenge. Traveling alone gives you the opportunity to tackle these challenges yourself without the help of an experienced traveler or group effort to solve the problem. You are able to figure things out for yourself and push beyond your comfort zone.
When traveling alone, you are less distracted which enables you to be more engaged with the culture. The opportunity to focus on your destination rather than the people you're with allows you to be more observant of your environment. Being fully immersed in a new culture is the best way to experience a foreign country. Without a friendly distraction, you will try things alone for the first time, such as eating at a restaurant or watching a movie.
Doing things alone should not be viewed negatively. You might have plenty of friends, yet choose to go shopping or grab a cup of coffee by yourself. There is nothing wrong with this and people should be more open to the thought. If you are thinking about traveling alone but aren't sure how you would like it, test the waters by completing activities alone that you normally do with a friend. Try reading a book alone in a public place or going for a walk around the neighborhood. There are plenty of small changes you can make to build the comfortability of doing things alone, but if you're anything like me, you'll jump right into it.
Everything is a learning experience so even if you don't find traveling alone as thrilling as I do, you will definitely grow as a person and learn at least one new thing.
