You. Alone.

So im new to the community but have been following quite regularly in the last couple of months & I was wondering if you would like to be a guest blogger every now and then on a site I am almost finished building.  

I am going on week 8 of my solo travel experience. The growth has not been easy at times, but i have learned I can figure things out. Even though sometime I would just like someone else to make the decision for me. I am not very outgoing and this forces me to be. One thing I have been doing to challenge myself is finding resorts that will usually take 3 different modes of transportation and no concrete information about getting there. I was afraid I would be stuck somewhere with nowhere to sleep… but I have figured it out each time. This experience is certainly building my self esteem, and even though its not comfortable at times I am really looking forward to how I will change and grow as a person.

Earlier this year I spent four days in San Francisco–my first visit to that most wonderful of cities.  Also my first real solo trip, it was short I know, and it was not overseas, but I’m still proud of myself for doing it.   I thought maybe I’d be lonely.  Instead I found it exhillarating beyond belief, I figured out the trains and the buses and cable cars and even the ferries across the bay and saw so much.  I am 63 years old and if only I had begun doing this 40 years ago!    I think going solo is not just beneficial to the traveller but to the people you love too, I know I’m a different person now and I can’t wait to get out there again.

Nicely written.
Indeed, traveling alone satisfies the higher level needs. After traveling so many times alone, I no longer question whether I can “handle” a new destination – a common fear most people without much experience traveling so have. Traveling alone does reassure a person that he/she doesn’t need friends and family to help handle situations. He/she is perfectly capable of looking after himself/herself and having a great time alone.

I just got back from my first solo trip a month ago. I didn’t plan to travel solo but I’m glad I did. I wanted to prove to myself and to others that I could do it. I felt much more confident and I was refreshed having taken time for myself. I would do it all over again to give myself a boost.

I always travel alone I just don’t know why. You’re right my friend, you are free to follow your interests, you will just think of yourself and not to think of others needs. There’s a peace of mind.

I dream of going to England this September, and it looks like it may very well be solo. I’ve got friends to meet me when I get there, but the trip over will be alone, and perhaps most of the traveling. And I’ve never even flown before, much less found my way around a foreign country by myself! This trip will either strengthen my self-esteem or squash it altogether.

Travelling alone makes me think even more. It helps me to cherish moments & allows me (and my mind) to wander and, as a result, find places that never would’ve been found if someone else was with me. While it’d be nice to share some moments with a friend or loved one, more often than not, it’s just as good to realize these things solo.

P.S. Once I saw my own spirit, seeing that spirit in others became easier . . . Travel: best education out there