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Travelling alone is a strange experience. You learn things about yourself that no one can teach you. Unable to convince anyone to go with me, or simply having a lack of friends to ask, I journeyed to Fiji on my own. This was a quest of self fulfilment to cross Fiji off my bucket list, inspired by none other than Jim Carry’s eponymous character in The Truman Show. After 36 hours on a plane, and a couple hours on a bus, I finally arrived. And cue panic attack. Okay bouncing back; the beach is beautiful, the food is good, and meeting some people is nice and much less intimidating than it initially appeared. Travelling alone and with anxiety seem like difficult hurdles to overcome. Although once there, I gathered myself together and had an amazing time despite the odds stacked against me. I did yoga, went surfing, and hiking. I signed up for an excursion to go snorkelling with sharks off the reef. As the boat sped past the island, past majestic cliffside views and schools of fish glinting in the clear blue water. The local guide pulled into a small bay, announcing “this is my village, I’m going to get the spear gun.” Looking to each other in shock and mock fear, questioning without words, “is he really going to get a spear gun?” and responding, “I guess we’ll find out if he comes back with a spear gun.” And then he came back with a spear gun. Snorkelling through a beautiful section of reef, admiring the exotic fish, and swimming over sharks, suddenly a harpoon flies past my face and hits its mark. Climbing back into the boat, the guide loaded up the fish he had caught and we headed off back to the hostel. It was amazing to connect with nature in such a beautiful way, and also experience how the locals integrate their lives with their work. The man guiding us on this snorkelling expedition took this opportunity to catch fish for his family all while giving us an incredible experience. This integration of tourism with the needs of the local community really made an impression. The experience of local culture as well as nature, was truly spectacular. Occasionally while travelling alone, you have such an amazing experience, you question whether it really happened. No one you know is there to share it with you, or reminisce about it when you get back home. Its almost as if it wasn’t real, because no one knows about it but you. It will live on in your memory alone. A fleeting moment shared with strangers you will likely never see again. Its something you treasure as yours and yours alone. But also makes you wonder, was any of it real? Was I really that adventurous and did that all on my own? Looking back its hard to imagine myself undertaking such an endeavour on my own. But its something I’ll always be able to treasure and hold on to as proof of my own bravery and courage. A lingering confidence boost to turn to if I ever question myself. Taking the world head on by myself really made me feel confident and capable of handing pretty much anything that the world can throw at me. With or without anyone to help me or hold me back. Building the confidence to take a trip on my own took guts, and I’m proud of myself for doing it. Life is meant to be lived. I’ve decided that I don’t want to be a passenger on the train of my own life. I want to drive the train. Taking charge of my life, and making things happen that make me happy and drive me towards the person I want to be. This trip shaped a new idea of who I want to be, and paved the way for me to get there. Travelling alone can seem daunting and scary, but I would advise anyone who’s considering it to take the leap. Go for it. Do it for yourself, and for the person you could be at the end of it all.