Why you should travel solo?

by Urvashi Dutta (India)

I didn't expect to find India

Travelling is something that sets you free. It gives you sense of freedom. since childhood , I used to like travelling, just going one place to another, just being in an unknown space but my love for traveling boomed when I first head solo to have an altogether different experience. As soon as I boarded the flight I had panic attacks inside me, how am I going to survive in a totally new country for two months without any contacts? what am I gonna eat? where will I be living? it was not even 20 mins on the flight and I was already having a breakdown. I calmed myself hoping everything will be better. It was my first time flying to a different country, that too alone! Its been a more than a year since I first traveled solo and it completely changed my life. More than freedom, you get a lot of sense of responsibility as well as learn how to survive on your own. It was more of a learning experience than fun. It was when I boarded my flight to Ho Chi Minh city from New Delhi. At first, I acted all cool in front of my parents when they asked if I was going to be okay in a completely different country where English is not the first language or even second. It was not a complete backpacking trip, I went there for a cause. I went there for a volunteer program by AIESEC India. I was teaching University and High School students public speaking and preparing them for their future perspectives. I, then a first year university student, was totally terrified on how will I be able to manage everything and get liked by my students, but everything went great, thanks for all the local volunteers and other global volunteers who were there from different countries around the world. The best part about the trip was me, exploring through the streets having sheer freedom of exploring the streets and myself. I planned my itinerary, lived on the backpacking street in travel hostels, met so many new people, even made some friends for life. I went on that trip when I was not in a very good phase of my life, I was looking down on myself but what happened during the trip it totally changed me. I found so much of self confidence, I knew what I was doing. Travelling alone means you’ll have to make your own decisions leading you to become more confident and strong-willed. There’s nothing like overcoming problems on your own without leaning on anyone. I know it can be intimidating when planning or even thinking about a solo trip but you will never know what life has planned for you if you don’t try! you just need to muster up a little courage for a total new experience of self discovery and confidence and it might change your whole life 🙂