So, you’re interested in solo travel but can’t bring yourself to start?

Traveling the world should be a human right. Granted, there are other items on the list, but I’d argue that travel still ends up somewhere on there. Growing up in New York City, I’m always surrounded by food and fashion from across the globe. Attending a CUNY only increased my exposure, so much so that I began begging my friends’ group chat for a trip. Two weeks in Greece was all I asked for. I ended up with five.

Returning from that trip, I realized I had spent two out of five weeks with friends who were burnt out and wanted to go back home. Meanwhile, they were spending two out of five weeks with someone who felt like he was just getting started abroad. Needless to say, many future trips were going to be planned for me, myself, and I. The only problem was, I felt so unsure about traveling by myself, I kept putting off my first trip for as long as I could.

Fast forward to 2022, and my final years at college were peppered in with local road trips … and a pandemic. Fresh from lockdown, with a newly minted Bachelor’s degree, I decided I was ready for a trip. A solo trip, because my friends were not on board with spending two weeks in the unknown. I found myself skipping my college graduation in favor of a six hour flight to Barcelona.

Any nerves I felt about traveling alone were wiped out when I sat down to an empty right and middle row; five seats of space between me and the next person. I might as well have been wearing a sign on my forehead. Landing in Barcelona, I stepped into a country where I knew no one, and setting my Tinder passport to Barcelona unsurprisingly yielded minimal results (I wasn’t actually surprised).

Staying in the Spanish countryside, I found myself reconnecting with religion, both old and new. I spent my days re-introducing myself to me and to God at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church of Atonement (ironic). I spent my nights at the Parc del Fòrum re-introducing myself to me, and sometimes someone named Jesus as well; I settled into Sound & Vision, my new religion, with a congregation way more inclusive than the one I grew up in. I found myself welcomed with open arms.

So, you’re re-acquainted with religion, what does that have to do with me?

Solo Travel is a therapeutic experience, including the crying and uncomfortable conversations. The best part is you’re having these conversations with yourself. This isn’t talking to yourself on some random European street, but it’s the pep talks in the mirror, extensive thoughts on a quiet hike, and even when Lorde is playing Ribs and the last time you heard the song live was when you were seventeen on the verge of graduating high school … and now you just graduated college.

Solo Travel is a personal experience over religious, but the fact of the matter is they go hand in hand. You’re scared at first, then you’re having fun, then you’re scared again. You’re having scari-fun, which is arguably more fun than showing up to the same building day after day anxious about messing up the wrong project and jeopardizing your immediate future. Crawling down Tibidabo, inching to the Airport, I physically felt different than when I first left home. Waiting for my flight to board, I began searching for my next flight.

I wouldnt remember any of this without my travelers notebook, which held two full journals of my religious ramblings, drunk venting, and overall astonishment at what the world ahead of me looked like. I first purchased mine in 2021, and this became my traveling best friend. Holding all my trip notes, daily journals, and even stickers I’ve collected over the years, I rely on this journal as a discrete, portable way to capture my life in a way I can easily look back on. You can check out The Traveler’s Company here, and customize your journal for your next journey. Until then, you can scribble all your ideas into it, their Patented MD Paper is perfect for capturing all types of inks and ideas.