Last week, I decided to blow off some steam after my midterms and city hop across Spain for five days. I started my journey on Halloween with a large group in Barcelona, flew far south to Seville with a group of three, and then decided to skip the journey to Madrid with my Seville group and instead take a bus further south to Granada.

This decision definitely concerned and confused my friends. Why would I skip Spain’s capital for Granada? And most importantly, why the hell did I go alone?

Study abroad is a phenomenal experience, but I feel like my trips have been with large groups of people to even larger metropolitan areas. So far I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to cities like Amsterdam and Munich, and while I absolutely adored my time there, I felt like I wanted a more intimate experience in a place that would be inconvenient to travel to from America.

I want to explore areas that are rich in culture and history, and I felt like Granada aligned best with my interests since I want to learn more about Muslim influence in Spain.

The main site I wanted to visit was the Alhambra, but unlike my previous trips I planned with my large group of friends, I left the rest of my schedule up to chance. I was tired of knowing every step of my journey and wanted to erase the predictability from my agenda and only have my visit to the Alhambra planned. My goal was to understand Granada’s culture and get a feel for the town, rather than hit the top sites that everyone researches on TripAdvisor.

So after scrambling on to my bus from Seville to Granada and enduring the three-hour long trip, I lugged my over packed duffle and Longchamp across the city center and over to my hostel.

After hastily chatting with three other college students in my room who were also studying abroad, I headed back to the city center and explored the Cathedral and Chapel. While those were incredible, I felt like I was diving back into my comfortable, touristy behavior that I wanted to avoid.

I left the chapel and stopped by a cart where a lady was roasting chestnuts. I ordered a cone full of them and mustered the courage to also ask about her favorite spot in Granada in my broken Spanish. She told me about the Plaza de San Nicholas, which she described as a young spot with lots of shops.

I hiked up narrow alleyways for what felt like ages, thinking that this lady set me up and directed me to a faulty location. While panicking and assuming the worst of my situation, I looked up and felt all my anxiety melt away.

(P.S: I'm not a photographer)

It was one of the most breath-taking views I’ve seen, and a few steps further was a large crowd of college students, musicians, flamenco dancers, and vendors enjoying the view while the sunset.

From there, I wandered around the Plaza and into Albaicín, which is an Arabic neighborhood with even more shops that sell Arab-influenced trinkets. While wandering around the shops, I stopped by one owned by an old man.

The man came to greet me and asked where I’m from, and from there, our small talk transformed into an hour-long conversation about his story from Morocco to Granada. I was invited to sit with him outside his shop and enjoy tea and cookies with him, and I accepted.

This decision was a risk and something I ordinarily would have been afraid to accept because of all the horror stories I’ve heard about accepting things from strangers. As I started to spiral into memories about my elementary school assembly talks on “Stranger Danger,” I reminded myself that this trip was about taking risks and growing outside my comfort zone.

So I accepted. And it was the best decision I made that night.

After the long conversation about our life stories, I walked back to my hostel under the pitch-black Spanish sky, wondering where the night would take me next. I plopped onto my tiny bed and was soon greeted by the same college students I shared the hostel with.

After some small talk, they invited me to come explore the night life and alleged free tapas offered in Granada. Though I was exhausted and nervous about hanging out with a group of people I didn’t have any previous relationship to, I went outside my comfort zone and accepted.

And that was the second best decision I made that night.

I ate until I was stuffed, chatted the night away, and made three new friends within the span of a few hours in a foreign country. It was crazy and something I wouldn’t have done if my friends were traveling with me, and I loved it.

We stumbled back to our hostel and slept, and in the morning, I woke up bright and early and trekked up the Alhambra before boarding my flight back to Milan. The Alhambra’s beauty didn’t disappoint (even though it was pouring the day I went), and I learned so much about Granada’s history in that one visit.

And just a few hours later, I was back home in Milan. I came to an empty apartment and enjoyed my last night of silence before my friends returned from their trips. I changed into my pajamas and sprawled in bed, and the only thought that ran through my mind was, “Damn.” I was sweaty, sleep deprived, and grimy from the rain, but somehow I felt the most energy in that moment than I have in months.

My solo trip taught me more about myself and the city I resided in than the trips I went on with a large group of friends. I’m very comfortable with my group, to the point where I clique off with them and only stick to our schedule that we planned.

But I realize that I don’t want that anymore. I want to talk to locals and take the road less traveled, not only see the top sites. I want to be spontaneous, and as corny as it sounds, I want to feel young. My trip to Granada was unforgettable because of the experiences, not because of the views. I’m tired of planning and feeling like the sites I’m seeing are a chore, I just want to live for the present and loosen my grip on the future.

I’m currently writing this on a turbulent RyanAir flight to Dublin, and I’m so excited to experience Irish culture for a few days. Though I’m going with a group of friends, my solo trip made me feel more in tune with my goals and purpose behind my study abroad experience, and now I’m ready to make the most of the month I have left in Europe.