I may not be Han Solo, but if you consider exploring New York and Paris the same as navigating through the galaxy then get me a Chewie!
A few months ago, I made the executive decision to travel to New York City and Paris alone. While I believe it’s always best to create memories with other people, I would usually hear about the benefits of solo travel. They say it involves self reflection; after all, the only person you have to talk to is yourself.
That’s the thing with solo travel; you realize that in the end, you are the only one there for yourself when no one else is. The amount of self confidence and strength required is immense. You can’t rely on a friend to speak out for you when you’re too shy. You can’t hope that your mother will do all the grown-up stuff (e.g. checking into hotels, calling maintenance). You can only believe in yourself.
This is especially important when traveling to another country alone. You truly have to have confidence in yourself to ask questions and find places. In my case, not many people spoke my language fluently so speaking up in French or making an attempt to mime what you want is critical.
After my six days of solo travel, I no longer believe that traveling with someone is the best way. You can make memories with or without someone. In the end, you learn and you grow both ways. It would have been nice to have someone to travel with, seeing as you could have someone to talk to, but you also meet strangers and learn their stories along the way.
If you asked me to travel alone again, I’d definitely take on the challenge... just give me some time to learn the language.
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