Initially, my venture across the pond was partnered with my sorority little, but she had bailed last minute. Which I had quickly learned happens to many young women planning to see the world with a copilot.
I LOVED my month long solo backpacking all across Europe. I will admit that my experience was 50% luck and 50% me killing the game.
No matter who I met, how we met, whatever their age or nationality, over time, I was slapped in the face with "You're so brave!" Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the concern or general awe, but being brave has nothing to do with it.
Perhaps the bravery was my embracement of the unknown, but isn't that life's cruel commonality?
Listen, I get it, a young girl walking multiple city streets with a bulky backpack, staying in hostels with strangers and frolicking through tourist traps seems like a recipe for disaster. Things could be stolen, she can be stolen! It's not like it hasn't happened, but I'm not writing for a valid recap of Taken, I am writing to tell everyone that they don't give the real world enough credit!
On my trip, I had not once felt "so brave." I was living my life as I would every day, but while traveling. My days began by waiting for the bathrooms, running to catch the metro, staring at a various number of things in different languages acting as if I could understand, and if I was lucky enough to remember, I would sit down and eat a decent meal.
My human interaction was predominantly asking how much something cost and giving directions (weird, but true). I took long naps in public squares dedicated to the multitude of museums and monuments. Walked for hours in museums and cathedrals thinking that I already knew what I just learned. My days were long and filled with freedom, I have never been so happy.
I know that the world on the global level isn't a beautiful bouquet of peace and happiness, but while traveling all I saw were wonders I couldn't have imagined.
I go to school near Saint Louis and I've grown up frequently visiting the District of Columbia, New York City, and Baltimore and I can ensure that the people and the cities are relatively the same (but, Europe has beyond better transportation). Why was I considered "brave" for visiting someone else's everyday life, just as tourists in my city enter mine? Everyone I had met was amazing, tourists and locals alike!
None-the-less maybe my travel at most can be seen as adventurous, not brave. I didn't save a life, speak my mind, or steal a national treasure. It can be perspective, but as a logical person, I saw my trip just as simple as going to college 15 hours away from home.
The earth is unbearably diverse and that shouldn't instill fear. Everyone has neighbors, a family, and a culture. It may be a simplified point of view, but being brave is no part of taking trains, walking museums and eating too much gelato.
Please don't be scared of travel, international or not, just live your life. Don't idealize the traveler, put the new location on a pedestal!
