There is an overwhelming negative stigma around the word alone. Dining out alone, going to the movies alone, walking home alone, and traveling alone. The idea of being alone with your own thoughts and nobody to share things with is terrifying. What if something bad happens? What if you get lost? What if, what if.
I used to think these same societal norms about traveling. I was so used to the constant contact with others that I didn't know how to be alone. I didn't know how to think for myself.
That all changed when I went overseas for the first time in my life, by myself, for 4 months. I took a position as an Events Intern in London, England. Growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, living and working in a city was about to rock my small-town-girl world. I had not once in my life traveled to a city, took public transportation, or even attended an event without the accompaniment of another person, or knowing a friend would be on the other side waiting for me.
On my first day on my own, I remember walking out of my building with a travel book in one hand and my Oyster card for the underground in the other. I made my way down to the platform and waited for my train that was going to take me to center city. I stood there. Two trains had gone by. I watched the doors open and shut, but I just couldn't get my feet to move. Being on my own in a new city hit me hard. I wasn't ready for it.
That day, I ended up going back to my room. I never made it onto the train. The feeling of defeat I had that day I knew I could never experience again for the rest of my trip. If I was going to explore and fall in love with this city, I knew I would need to be brave. So the next day off that I had, I faced the underground again and made my way to Tower Hill station to see what I was looking forward to seeing most, Tower Bridge.
From that day on, I have never looked back. I started getting the hang of navigating the city. I learned how to problem solve when trains were late. I learned how to take shortcuts through new parts of the city to get across town. I learned that it was OK to be lost. Well, not just OK, it was what I preferred. I loved being able to take myself to a museum, out for coffee, and to the theater. I loved picking a random tube station on the map and hopping off to explore wherever that was. In the midst of being lost, I found who I really was: an explorer who appreciated their 'me time.'
If it were not for my experience of traveling on my own for 4 months, I would not be where I am in life today. The independence and acceptance of being alone with my thoughts have been empowering. The word alone doesn't scare me anymore; it gives me the strength to do things for me, and for that I am forever grateful.
