I love travelling. More than almost anything else. The one thing that sets my soul on fire, is travelling. However, fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t always have people who share that feeling, who are able or willing to come with me. Don’t get me wrong, lots of people say they wish they could do what I do. Lots of people say “Tell me next time you’re going somewhere and I’ll come along” but the truth is, they don’t. People have job, family and life commitments. People have bills to pay. People like the idea, but not the reality, of what travelling on a budget entails. So I go alone.
I remember the first time I decided to go alone. I was tired of saying to my (then) boyfriend “I’ve found a great trip we can take” and him ultimately saying no. I was tired of spending my holidays and time off doing nothing. I was saving every penny I made so that I could travel, but I was never getting to spend it.
Ultimately, I didn’t want to be alone. At the time I was suffering pretty badly with anxiety and panic attacks, so the thought of even going to the supermarket alone was terrifying to me. (I’m not exaggerating.) But one day my boyfriend broke it to me that he wasn’t to leave the city we we’re in, and move back home. I still had a year of university left so I knew I had to stay. And the reality hit me, I was going to be alone. That was it. That lit the spark inside me that made me think “If I’m going to be alone anyway I may as well be alone somewhere cool”.
I almost immediately applied for an internship in Japan. I had 3 months off before my final year, and I wasn’t going to waste any more time. I had nothing to lose, I couldn’t afford to stay in our flat alone anyway.
I was lucky enough to get the position at Obubu, and I never looked back. It was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done. From telling my parents I was going half way across the world alone at 21, to getting on my first long-haul flight (as someone who was scared of flying), to landing in a country where I didn’t know anyone or even speak the language. I had countless panic attacks for the 12 weeks I was there, and do you know what? It was one of the best experiences of my life. I met the most amazing people, I learned so much, tried new food, and had so many memorable experiences. But the best part was that by end of it I realised that I was capable of so much more than my anxiety would have had me believe.
Although I went alone, I wasn’t 100% alone on that trip. I had colleagues and roommates, and I made friends, but it still felt extremely daunting at the time. Since then, I continued to travel, sometimes with other people, and sometimes completely by myself. I’ve stopped letting the worry of “I have no-one to go with” hold me back. The truth is, travelling alone is fun! There’s so much freedom in getting to decide where to you, where to stay, what to do and at what time. Eating where you want to eat, and making all the decisions based on what you want rather than having to compromise. I stay in hostels, so there’s always opportunity to meet other travellers if you get lonely, and you’ll often find that they’re on their own too.
Some people might think it’s strange, or dangerous, and obviously you have to keep your wits about you, but ultimately I’ve decided that I’d rather travel alone and have a few people think it’s crazy, than not get to travel at all. If you’ve never done it, I recommend it to everyone. It’ll show you how strong you are, it’ll push you to challenge yourself, and ultimately it makes you comfortable with your own company and I think everyone can benefit from that. At the end of the day, throughout your whole life, the only person who’s guaranteed to always be there is you.
