Articles about solo female travel are everywhere. Why? Because it’s awesome! Despite the fear and unknown that comes with traveling alone, every woman should travel solo at least once in her life. If you’re still wary to take off on your own, this is why you need to travel solo.
1. You’ll Learn About Cultures and Travel In a Unique Way That Speaks to You
Everyone’s ultimate travel experience is different. Some love to immerse themselves in the history and culture of a place. Others think the nightlife is the only way to experience the local scene. To each his or her own.
Traveling with someone, on the other hand, can make it a little harder to connect. If you’re being dragged from nightclub to nightclub when you really prefer to wander around a museum, you’re not going to connect with the culture the way you had imagined. Traveling alone means you can do what you want, when you want. Everything is on your own time and you can stay as long or as short as you want in one place.
2. Discomfort Will Become Your New Comfort Zone
They say that comfort is your own worst enemy and it’s true. Being comfortable keeps one from pushing past their limits because they’re incredibly happy with where they’re at. Think about it – if you’re feeling comfortable with your average job, why would you push yourself to start your own business, blog or travel the world?
You wouldn’t!
That same comfort keeps you from experiencing everything life has to offer! Being uncomfortable may feel, well, uncomfortable. But it pushes you to new adventures, stories and journeys that make you a more evolved and compassionate human.
3. You’ll Learn How to Be Alone
Quiet music over a candlelit dinner. The funny conversations of passersby. The peace that comes with walking a cobblestone street at sunrise.
These are some of the moments you never get to experience if you’re traveling with someone else.
Traveling alone can be scary and challenging. However traveling solo means you’ll be able to gain some independence and try new experiences all on your own.
4. You’ll Also Learn How to Make Friends
Sure you’ll learn how to be alone, but you’ll also relearn how to make friends.
“But Sebrin, I have tons of friends at home. I know how to make friends.”
That may be true, but most of your friends might have been created through school, sports or a program that forced you together. Your common interests and schedule allowed you to be friends.
Have you ever made friends with someone out of the blue, not knowing if you two had anything in common at all?
It can be difficult.
But it also forces you to learn how to hold a conversation with a stranger, how to find common ground and how to make friends with people who are so different from you. It’s a new way to make friends, but it’s incredibly rewarding to find someone you click with in this type of environment.
5. Sometimes You Need Some Perspective
Some people will tell you that traveling will not solve your problems. That you shouldn’t run away from things or your life.
This is very true.
Mostly because those problems will still follow you, in one way or another.
But space creates perspective. Space from a problem, a person or an environment will help give you a new environment to think creatively and look at a situation with new eyes. If you’re taking a 2 week vacation or studying abroad for a year, it will help to provide you with some perspective for almost any issue you may have in your life.
6.You Become Incredibly Compassionate
Speaking of perspective, getting out of your little bubble that you call home will give you a lot of perspective. Look at politics as an example (hot button, I know).
You may see that a certain area has a stubborn and strange point of view, thanks to the news. You have an idea of what a particular culture goes through and believes in based on secondhand information. But when you travel to these places and see the people of this culture, you might be surprised that the situation is a lot more complex than you thought.
This can be said for anything! Poverty, religion, sexuality, technology, civil rights, and more! Seeing these topics from a local’s perspective will make you so much more compassionate and understanding, and ultimately, so much more knowledgeable.
7. You Become a Citizen of The World
When you gain more knowledge and compassion, you start to lose the whole “us vs. them” mentality. Suddenly, you’re not American, Australian, or Canadian. You’re a citizen of the world.
This gives you so much more room in your heart to care about real issues and people. Instead of being territorial or overly competitive, you start to care for your fellow-man in a way that you never have before.
8. You Also Become More Patriotic
But just because you’re a citizen of the world, doesn’t mean you’re not a patriot.
There are going to be some things you love about a culture. You might even find yourself wondering why they don’t have these kind of things back home. There are also going to be many things that make you grateful for your country and its quirks.
When I came back from Sweden, I was so happy to get to Disneyland ASAP. I was also incredibly grateful that everything was open 24 hours! Your relationship with your home country has a lot of give and take, but you’ll be happy to call your country home.
9. You’ll Build Your Self-Confidence
Nothing builds your confidence like getting lost in a city and managing to find your way back.
Nothing makes you feel more confident than traveling in a place that speaks a different language and solving said problem.
You will never feel more confident than when you travel and have to fend for yourself. Whether it’s as simple as learning how to use the local subway system or as challenging as trying to find a doctor while you’re sick and alone.
When all is said and done, you will feel more empowered and confident than you ever have in your life!
10. You’ll Build Your Self-Esteem
Despite these two very similar terms, having high self-confidence doesn’t necessarily mean you have high self-esteem.
Self esteem is when you decide your own personal value. Sure you’re capable of finding the subway, but in the end, are you happy with yourself?
A high self esteem doesn’t come easily in today’s society. But travel can fix that! Becoming compassionate, learning new cultures, building your confidence and becoming a citizen of the world slowly starts to build your self-esteem. Suddenly, you’re so proud and happy with yourself, you won’t remember a time when you weren’t!
This is a great blog post. I love solo traveling, it definitely opens your eyes to a different way of traveling and seeing the world. It’s always nice not to have to rely on someone while you are traveling and getting out to experience the world by yourself.