So I love people more than anything, right? Like my version of a perfect night involves seeing all of my different groups of friends from all areas of my life, whether that be my college friends, my friends from home, people who I met at summer internships, everyone. I am very a social person. But when it comes to traveling, I love the freedom that comes with being by yourself. The feeling that at any moment, you could make a right or left turn and have a completely different adventure or story, is inspiring to me.
Below are four different reasons why my extroverted self loves traveling alone. Even though I love to travel alone, I always make sure I am being as safe as I possibly can. This includes planning ahead for weather conditions, making sure someone knows where I am traveling and when I will be back, following your gut instinct and other safety measures.
Decisions, Decisions
I am a very "go-with-the-flow" person when it comes to planning a trip. I usually have a list of things I want to see and do while I am on my trip, and whatever else happens is fine with me. Does this mean I usually eat Chick-Fil-A instead of a famous local joint? Yes! But I think a huge part of the traveling experience is learning that it's okay to not plan every single detail out. Decision fatigue is very real when it comes to traveling. I have also found that one can become too attached to the travel plans to truly capture the moment and understand the place they're in.
For example, one day in the summer of 2018, I arrived at Catoctin Mountain Park with a couple of refillable water bottles and my hiking boots. I had never heard of the park before that day, and I talked to the rangers who were super helpful in helping me find a trail to conquer. If I had everything planned out to the minute, I never would have met the wonderful people at Catoctin Mountain Park.
Driving Entertainment
I am the first person to admit that my music taste can differentiate when my Spotify is on shuffle. I might be kicking it back with old-school Tim McGraw Country one minute, and then shouting the lyrics to new blink-182 the next. Do I listen to very specific podcasts on The West Wing and the American Civil War? You betcha. I
love having complete control of the entertainment on long drives. Sometimes I even force myself to sit alone with my thoughts and think about what I want to write in my travel journal later. When you're traveling with someone else, you have to share the entertainment. I also love (safely) calling people and catching up with old friends. It can be so wonderful driving into the sunset with just you, your car, and the open road.
New Friends
I love talking to new people. I know it's an odd thing to love, but hearing someone's story and their perspective on the area is one of the main reasons I travel. I love going on tours at National Park Sites and hearing the stories of the land and the people who lived there before today. It's also fun because people want to hear my story as well. When you're traveling alone, people are eager to talk to you and share their inside scoop on the area. I can tell them where I have traveled, and the stories I have created, and I feel such triumph when someone responds with "wow, you have come a long way!" after I tell them where I am coming from.
Writing
A practice I have started in the past year is keeping a traveling journal. I used to keep a personal journal that would record my travels, but now I have two different journals, which has helped me keep track of all the places I have gone and where I want to go next. When traveling with another person or a group of people, I would always feel guilty about "ignoring" people to write, or I would feel compelled to tell them what I was writing. I am getting better about both of these things, but it is so nice to not have to think about those feelings when you're traveling alone.
Sitting at the big rock on a hike in Colorado or in a cheap motel room in Tennessee and just writing until my heart is content means so much to me while traveling. Even if I am the only person who will ever read my travel journals, when I look back on them, they are so special to me cause they are my own adventures. No one else has seen what I saw through my own eyes. The journal captures that moment. If you don't already keep a travel journal, my biggest piece of advice is to start writing. It doesn't have to be beautiful or long or packed to the brim with gorgeous detail. It just has to be the details and stories that you want to write about. It has to be your own experience. Not anyone else's.
