My friend and I took a spur of the moment trip to Paris a few weeks ago.

I felt fine about traveling despite the fact I hadn’t flown in four years and had never been overseas before. I did text her a few times beforehand saying, “Just please don’t lose me,” and “I apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge when it comes to traveling.” She assured me repeatedly that she knew what she was doing. She and her family traveled a lot and her dad made sure to teach her the steps of the airport when she was young.

Overall, flying went well. I did get stuck in the doors of the metro and she lost her water bottle to the escalator, but the flights went smoothly.

I was always one step behind her. I tried to make sure I was taking in everything she was doing. I numbered the steps in my head from arriving at the airport to going through security to getting on the plane. I flew quite a bit when I was younger, so it all came back to me eventually and was not as stressful as I had imagined.

Upon arriving at the airport to get back to the States, my friend turned to me and said, “Okay I’m following you now.”

I was low on sleep and was not ready to lead us through this packed airport, but I smiled and nodded my head. “Okay,” I said as I led us to security. We dragged our 50-pound bags through the long halls and crowded lines and eventually found a place to sit three gates away from our own. As I sat down with my backpack filled with trail mix and pretzels, I realized I could easily travel alone. Had my friend not told me I was the leader, I would have thought I needed her assistance to travel. I would not have trusted that I was capable of going to a new country by myself.

My friend taught me an important lesson at that airport – It’s okay to rely on someone else as long as you’re learning from them.

Pay attention to what they’re doing, what makes them successful, and how they handle different situations. And finally, when they tell you it’s your turn to lead, don’t shy away from the opportunity. Trust that you can do what they did, and be confident in your ability to lead. And when it's time to travel on your own path, you’ll be prepared.