Start Your Journey Solo

When I took my first solo trip abroad, I’d been waiting on my friends and boyfriend to join me for a long time. I’d always ask them to take this trip or take that trip, but they were hailing from the great city of Los Angeles and the great state of California, and what even exists outside of California? No, no, no, outside of dinners at fancy restaurants and the occasional night out at the movies what more was there to want to see? It just wasn’t for them and I could respect that. However, what wasn’t good, was that I sat around waiting for them to be ready, wanting them to want the adventure with me, trying to persuade people to go to places that they just didn’t want to go to. 

And so I stayed in Los Angeles too, stuck in that beautiful cage that is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. But it wasn’t enough. I’d always known from the time I was a little girl that I wanted to explore the world, that I wanted to see all that it possessed and L.A. wasn’t the whole world for me. It was a beautiful world, but not the whole world. I wanted to see more. 

On a chance trip to D.C. to visit family, someone casually remarked that it was cool that I traveled. It was funny to me at the time because the only place that person had seen me visit was New York, but that was more than they had seen. Yet, their words put a battery in my back. It reminded me that I didn’t want to just see New York or L.A. or various parts of America. It was reminder that I’d always wanted to see the world. And so when I got back home, that’s what I did. 

I went home and booked my first solo travel trip to Martinique and I had so much fun it wasn’t even funny.

Had I stayed in L.A., had I waited for the people around me to come with me, I would have been stuck in the cage forever. Sometimes, you must step out and start your journey by yourself and you’ll meet the people you’re meant to meet on your journey once you’ve started. 

I’ve met many a people in my travels and they have been great, fellow travelers like myself. They’ve hailed from many nations and countries and come from various backgrounds. 

Not everyone is meant to go with you on your personal journey and that’s ok. It can be heartbreaking, but sometimes moving on without those folks that you want to come with you will only lead you to better, more faith-based, loving relationships with other people who also weren’t afraid to step out.