My parents met at a youth hostel in Switzerland. Travel is the very reason that I’m alive on this earth. And solo travel is considered a rite of passage in my family.
Before my first solo trip, I spent hours on Pinterest trying to gain some insight on cities around the world. I read blog post after blog post, written by women who had taken months, years off to travel the world. Alone.
The minute I graduated from college, I bought a one-way ticket to Munich. After 3 months of working at a summer camp to save up funds, I kissed my boyfriend goodbye at Newark Airport and boarded an airplane to the unknown. I thought the next three months were going to be a breeze. People would be throwing themselves at me to get to know the cool, hip, solo California girl.
But what I learned is that solo traveling is not easy. It’s like really freaking hard, actually.
The next three months were made up of days where I met awesome people and went on awesome adventures and other days where I cried alone in the hostel laundry room (true story). But I didn’t return home without learning a few things.