Your 20s are such an important time to discover what you love and the kind of adult you are going to be. It is also a great time to explore the world and create some amazing memories. As someone who is coming to the end of her 20s, I can say travelling solo has been one of the best things I have ever done. I learnt how I want to live my life and built myself up into the person I am today. So lets talk about five ways in which solo travel has helped me grow in my 20s.
And if you don't want to read, I've made a video about it!
Life lesson 1: Even though I live at home I am still independence
So there's a lot of people nowadays after coming back from University or even not going in the first place, end up living with their parents. This can really take a hit for you as a young adult. You can feel like you don't have your independence or that you are 'not an adult'. Going away by yourself is such a great way to grow that independence, to realise that you can take care of yourself, that you can rely on yourself and most importantly you can trust your instincts. You know just you average important thing to learn as a human.
I've definitely felt more independent in the last 2 years than I ever have. I found that I have grown so much more, not just personally but also financially. I feel a lot more confident that I can support myself.
Life Lesson 2: You just need to seem confident (fake it until you make it)
There is so many ways to grow your confidence in life and the way that I've grown my
confidence is by traveling solo. I have so much more confidence in myself and in other people because I know that I can trust my instincts. I think that travel in your 20s is important because you can really test your limits by going to places that you never thought you'd be able to explore.
Life Lesson 3: Learn how to network
When travelling solo you have to learn to get to know new people constantly. This is an incredible skill to have especially when you're going forward in life. There will be many times where you will need to network, create connections and you won't have that safety net of your friends. It forces you to come out of your shell and actually talk to people who you might not have spoken to otherwise. I think that's the best thing about traveling.
Some of the people that I've met traveling are some of my best friends now, and no matter where I go if I know they're gonna be near I will always give them a call. Having those relationships and having those connections to people around the world can be so important and giving you more places to go on holiday.
Life Lesson 4: You start to put yourself first
Another lesson I've learnt while solo traveling, is that you have to put yourself first. Being more selfish, is not a bad thing. It shows you that you don't have to go along with what everyone else. You can be your own person, you can be selfish, it's okay to not want to do what your friends are doing, it's okay for you to go and do what you want.
This was such an important lesson for me, as I was obsessed with what others think of me while I was young. It stopped me from doing so much. Travel has shown me that I can go and be independent, do those things I've always wanted to, be selfish and enjoy myself.
Life Lesson 5: You learn how to be by yourself
Learning how to be by myself, has been one of the biggest lessons I have learnt. When I first started to travel I went to Australia with my boyfriend at the time. Unfortunately, we did not work out and I was forced to be by myself. This is was first time I felt completely by myself.
We have such a crazy world where you're told that you need to have 'so many friends' and you need to 'be social all the time'. You don't. You can choose whether you want to go make friends with the people in your hostel, or if you just want to spend time like reading a book by the pool, going and doing activities or going on tours and seeing historical sites. That is up to you and it means that you can learn to be by yourself.
I am now comfortable in my own company and therefore more comfortable in other peoples company.
Those are the life lessons that I have learned, I've had a rough journey and but I wouldn't have it
any other way and I have loved every minute of my troubles and I've learned a lot about myself. I hope you can too!
Comment below and let know where you would want your first solo trip to be
Travel safe and Stay happy
Love From, Kesvi
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