Do you ever feel the need of taking a break from the hustle of daily life and spending the next few months traveling? Many people across the world feel the same urge at one time or another, but few have the resources or the time to manage it.
While some take practical aspects into consideration, others look at the opportunity and prefer the experience over their professional lives. This is not to say that one should be reckless and disregard their responsibilities, rather it means that one should try to balance both aspects of their lives.
If you have enough financial resources, you should plan a vacation at least once a year. If you can manage to save up, it would be worth it. Traveling not only broadens your worldview but enhances your knowledge of the world as well.
Every culture has its own dynamics, and regardless of how much you read about it on the Internet or in books, unless you experience it, you cannot feel it. Similarly, there are many beautiful destinations to which no photograph can do justice. You have to be there to absorb the beauty.
Moreover, there are places that attract many visitors a year. Pigeon Forge in Tennessee is one such place, that attracts a lot of visitors. If you are looking for a hotel to stay there, just Google “Pigeon Forge hotels” check out the reviews, and book a room right away. Traveling with friends and family is fun, but traveling alone can give you a totally different experience.
This article is aimed at solo travelers. If you are considering traveling alone, but are uncertain about it, let us give you a list of life lessons you will only learn by traveling solo.
A taste of independence:
You are going to a different territory alone. Unless you are a celebrity, nobody probably knows you there. Nobody is there to keep an eye on you, except for law enforcement because you need to obey the local laws. The adventure will give you a taste of independence.
You are all by yourself and nobody knows about your background, so no one can judge you on that. Your conduct will determine how people behave with you. This will make your individuality shine.
A sense of responsibility:
You will have to take care of yourself. Unlike your hometown, you will not have friends and family there who would have your back. So, how you live there while managing your resources is totally up to you. You will feel like a responsible adult and will do things based on your individual preferences.
The importance of planning:
If you are traveling alone, you certainly need a plan. You cannot just wake up and expect things to be lined up. If you need to go somewhere, you need to book tickets in advance, wake up on time, and make sure you do not miss the bus. Similarly, you need to ensure that you have enough resources for the trip. These thoughts can make you anxious, but you will learn the importance of planning.
Getting out of the comfort zone:
One of the major perks of traveling alone is you will get out of your comfort zone. In your hometown, you are probably used to different things, but in a different territory, you are dealing with unfamiliar people and unfamiliar things. You start doing things that you were not originally comfortable with, and this takes you out of your comfort zone. Obviously, for some people this can be quite a lot, and despite the drive to do it, this can play on people’s minds. Luckily, there are group travel trips for solo women travelers available to those who are in need so they can get the support they need and the confidence to be ‘uncomfortable’.
Testing your limits:
If you are on a camping or hiking trip, you will get to test your limits. You start challenging yourself. For example, if you are uncertain whether your body can take a strenuous hike, you challenge yourself to go ahead with it, and you start seeing the limits of your body. Getting past your limits is an experience in itself, and the feeling you get after finishing the hike is particularly rewarding.
Learning about different cultures:
If you are in a foreign territory, you cannot expect to behave in your usual style and expect others to understand you. Every culture has its particular details which one should get acquainted with before stepping foot into that territory.
As you start experiencing their culture with an open mind, you start developing a sense of understanding, and your perspective of people and their lives broadens. This is extremely useful in developing a broader understanding of humanity. We tend to look at the world through the lens of the society we have been brought up in, whereas the truth is that not everyone in the world behaves the same.
Learning new languages:
If you spend a reasonable amount of time in a foreign territory, interacting with locals, you start developing an understanding of their language. If you plan on staying there longer, you start learning more about the language. The best route to language acquisition is to develop an understanding of it and then practice it with native speakers.
Traveling allows you to learn more than one language. Since you are traveling alone, you would need to interact with people of different cultures frequently, therefore, there is a great chance that you will get to acquire languages quickly.
Less is more:
There is only so much luggage you can carry yourself. Moreover, if you are going camping or trekking, you would have to carry it yourself, and nobody wants to have more burden than they can carry. So, with a few valuables, you begin to cherish the little things in life. You may not have many extra clothes on you, but you will learn to live well within your available means. You may have heard people say that “less is more”. You feel it when you travel alone.
Conclusion:
There are numerous life lessons to be learned from traveling solo, but we have limited the list to a few of these points. If you get an opportunity to travel alone, do consider jotting down more in your travel journal.
