Seven reasons you should travel alone

So, this summer I took the ultimate plunge and decided to set out across Africa riding solo. Jason Derulo style. It was a two month stint around Southern Africa independently. There is a lot of stigma with traveling solo. Will I be safe? Will I make friends? And, moreover, will people think I'm a crazy weirdo? It’s these thoughts which often restrict people from taking the plunge and getting out there. It can be hard being around people who don't have the same aspirations as you, but that doesn't mean you need to let your dreams fester. Traveling alone is an incredible experience and here are seven top notch reasons too.

1: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE.

Did you hear me? I said NEVER.

 I remember sitting on my flight to Cape Town a nervous wreck, full of excitement, dread and anticipation (but mostly dread). "I'm not going to meet anyone!” I exclaimed silently in my head.  “It’s fine”, I reasoned to myself, “It’s only two months, I can get by alone for eight weeks?” These thoughts turned out to be completely futile as its turns out when you're travelling alone you are never alone. People are ridiculously friendly and everyone always wants new friends. I couldn't help thinking I'd reached the peak of my popularity that summer, feeling like the brunette and clumsier version of Regina George. In fact I can only think of one evening when I was alone and that was self-inflicted, as I had a very important Jodi Picoult book I needed to get through. You meet different people every day and often get asked the same questions. By the end of the trip you'll be able to round off your important information in a matter of seconds. My name is Rea, I'm 21 and I've just finished university. If I was a sofa I'd be a recliner, I'd rather have no toes than fingers and I’d like to think in ten years’ time I'll be helping Harry Styles pick out polka dot tea towels for our new home. You know? The basics.

2. You meet the most incredible people.

So you get it. You are never alone when travelling and the best part is that these people are usually incredible. You get to meet people from all walks of life. Whether that's a crazy jam-sniffing Canadian, young soldiers from Israel, an American with a 'suns out guns out' tank top, or a girl from Manchester who has eaten monkey and chips. The best part is that they are usually similar minded with the same dreams and aspirations as you. They motivate you to do better, travel more and live more freely.

3. Travelling with friends could be a disaster.

Don't get me wrong I love my friends. When I was sat on that plane on the way to start my adventure the only thing I wanted was them. I needed someone to tell me my hair looked like a birds’ nest and someone to ridicule my choice of footwear (trainers from year nine gym are never a good look). However, in hindsight, I don't think I could have done these two months with my partner in crime. For one spending that much time with your best friend could be intense. Eating together, sleeping in the same room, brushing your teeth together, it is bound to cause arguments at some point.  She wants pizza, you want African cuisine. She wants to go cage shark diving, but you want to read a book. She wants a Mojito on a two for one deal, but you want a Long Island Ice Tea! It’s bound to end in disaster.

I think having friends with you when travelling could also hold you back.  If you have your friends, you may sometimes feel you don't want to make an effort with new people. I remember one night being ridiculously hung-over, wanting nothing more than my pillow. However in an attempt to not appear anti-social, I somehow got goaded into playing an insane game of beer pong and ended up on the mountainside with a herd of goats and some crazy Australians.  If I'd have had my friends that night, I probably would have settled for a cup of Horlicks and an early night. I would have never engaged in a drunken argument with a very sassy goat. A must for your bucket list.

4. You learn things about yourself

There is that awful cliché that when you are travelling 'you find yourself'. What does that even mean? Where was I hiding all this bloody time? I'm pretty sure I could find myself before and it was usually pining in my bedroom after Topshops' new lines.  So, in an attempt to ditch the cliché, I would say that you learn new things about yourself. For example, I learnt that I can talk to anyone and, in doing so, talk the hind legs off a donkey. I like to be alone, I love being with nature, don't like busy cities and have an irrational fear of goats (I realise that this sounds like a personal ad for match.com). I never knew that I could have such interesting and exciting conversations with strangers, but when you are pushed into these situations you surprise yourself. It also helps you clarify your goals, dreams and aspirations. A lot of travelling is spent on busses staring out of windows listening to Taylor Swift songs. This prolonged silence, and the sweet notes of Tay Swizzle, give you a good opportunity to clarify who you are and what you want to be.

5. You are pushed out of your comfort zone

Building on my last point, travelling is all about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. The complete act of packing up your life and travelling to another part of the world alone is, dare I say it, pretty dam badass.  This complete freedom can be daunting and pushes you out of your comfort zone, which only has excellent results. You start to do the craziest things! Whether that’s white water rafting down the, crocodile infested, Zambezi river, walking with lions,  skydiving, swimming with sharks or surfing. Or, not speaking from personal experience (cough* cough*), sleeping in an national park to hear an elephant outside your tent and sharing your dying wishes with a six foot, strange, German man.

6. You can be anyone you want to be.

Another great part of travelling alone is getting the chance to leave everything behind, all your worries, secrets, insecurities, gone. You can be whoever the heck you want to be!  You can take it to the extreme like I did, telling strange men you are a marine biologist with a Lebanese boyfriend called Julio (pronounced Hoolio), (what Lebanese person is called Julio?). Or you can be more subtle and do all the things you’ve always wanted too without scrutiny. You can kiss that boy you find cute with the nerdy glasses. You can share the opinions you’ve always kept under wraps.  Ross and Rachel weren’t, technically, on a break and…. I don’t really like Christmas.  You can make the most outrageous jokes and watch them fall flat because WHO CARES, you can pick up, leave and start again tomorrow at a new destination! It truly is a liberating process.

7. You are a crazy weirdo. Embrace it.

Finally, why worry if people think you are crazy for travelling alone? You are crazy and that’s something to be proud of. You dropped your life, friends, family, home comforts to live out your dreams and follow your passions. If that makes us crazy weirdos, I know I don’t care.  That’s exactly what I want to be.


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