Your Friends and Family Might Judge You, Travel Alone Anyway
You will return with countless stories
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I wrote this article a few months ago after my solo trip to Olympic National Park. Enjoy and just chill this weekend.
Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park
I’m sure many of you wanted to travel this year. I had planned a hiking trip with my college friends to Yellowstone. We started a group text, picked a date, and brainstormed photo ideas for Instagram.
Then 2020 happened.
We nixed the trip in May. Hiking was considered a safe activity at the time, but traveling with a group in any capacity was a bad optic.
That’s when I did something out of character, even reckless. I booked a flight and reserved a single tent on a campsite outside Forks Washington — a small town slammed between the Pacific Ocean and Olympic National park.
It was the most isolated place I’ve ever been, but the most profound experience of my life.
That’s why you should travel alone.
Telling your friends and family will be hard. I won’t lie, they might approach the subject with a little apprehension - like you’re a crazy person. “You mean you’re going alone?” Their attitude will be fleeting, however. What you’re doing takes guts — they know that. They will come to see you as more confident and independent… A leader.
Traveling alone will be scary at first — like bracing yourself at the peak of a roller coaster. You will think to yourself, “what I’m I doing here?” But the fear dissipates, and you begin to notice the benefits of solitude. An adventure free from the inputs of others. A time to focus on your own experience without worrying about hundreds of different opinions entering your headspace.
Along the way, you will meet interesting people and learn about a new culture that you might’ve otherwise missed. You will return with countless stories.
Most importantly, you will have time to organize your thoughts and sort the little problems that are usually shoved to the back of your mind. You will return with a renewed sense of ownership and purpose.
It doesn’t have to be an isolated place like Forks, but go ahead, plan a solo trip. Take a weekend and go to a national park or road trip somewhere you’ve always wanted to go.
Experience the world, and do it your way.