Going backpacking and sightseeing in Europe with a group of your friends seems to be the thing to do when you're in college, but after doing it myself this summer, I think traveling alone is something that everyone should try to do. Here's why:
You aren't tied down right now. There's no planning around your future family/kids/what have you. You don't have any strings attached right now, no one is depending on you for anything, so go. It's a lot harder to plan a trip when you have to bring your screaming 3 year old child and husband with you... I cringe at the thought of this. Hey, if you're reading this, please don't ever let me be an adult.
You don't have to answer to anyone. Want to have coffee and potato chips for breakfast, wine, cheese, and bread for lunch, and ice cream and hot dogs for dinner? There's literally nothing stopping you from doing it (except maybe the prospect of not gaining 50 pounds). You can stay in one adorable coffee shop for an entire day if you want. You can go see the things you want to see, without having to humor anyone else. You can sleep in until 11am and stay up until 4am. No one is there to judge your choices, or tell you that you can't do something.
It's absolutely terrifying. Stepping off the plane in a foreign country is exhilarating at first, sure, but once you've reached the city and you realize that your only company and lifeline is yourself, it's scary -- so, so scary. But, as every college-aged-Pinterest-frequenting girl knows, "life begins at the end of your comfort zone." So, yeah, it's pretty frightening, but that's exactly why you should do it.
By the end, you feel like you can do anything. How cool is it to be able to say that you went to a foreign country, saw all of the sights, ate all of the food, met all of the people, did all of the things, and all by yourself? Yeah, it's pretty cool. If you're like me, sometimes things ordering pizza on the phone without having your toppings planned or going to the doctor's office alone because you don't know if you have a fever or the bubonic plague can be terrifying. Being somewhere completely by yourself puts these things completely into perspective. It's a complete confidence boost, totally life changing, and entirely worth it.
