Many people while I backpack ask me (more particularly because Im a woman), Dont you get lonely traveling by yourself? as if loneliness is something we ladies should not accept and run from. When youre sipping beer on the beach and just listening to the waves, I cant tell you how many times Ive scoped out the couples around me (which are plentiful) and 7/10 times, THEY are the lonely ones. Theyre either looking at their phones or looking at others because theyre sort of shackled to whom they came with. I can tell you that Im almost always happy with the company Im with. Me. Being alone with yourself forces to be in silence when youre maybe not ready to. It makes you talk to people you wouldnt normally. It makes you see that the world isnt actually as scary as people tell you, but that sort of warning about how people really are is a lie you are told routinely, so you stay in your place and stay focused on societys plan for you. Most of all, traveling alone makes you really look at the sides of yourself youd normally be too distracted to even notice. Doing it over years helps you accept those parts a bit more and the relative insignificance of the person you actually are in the world. Dont take that as a negative. It leaves you completely open to the kindness of humanity. You get to be an onlooker of history and culture in the making. You get to be nothing in a sea of everything and just watch people BE. Its 2014 and Im still constantly asked why I travel alone as a woman. This is where we are at as a society. I suppose the simple answer is: Because I need to.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 16:45:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015