I don’t think you really get the full “travel” experience unless you’ve done it alone. You don’t have to fly for ten hours, or to go to a country halfway around the world - you could just get in your car or train to go to a city a couple hours away that you’ve never been to. You just have to broaden your horizon a little bit, get to know what life is like outside of the routine world you’ve been living in. And the key is, to do it alone. We’re so used to having other people to depend on, if we get lost, at least we’re lost together. There’s still a sense of security, some familiarity you have with you. Remove all of that - all of the things you’ve gotten used to - and dive into a world of unfamiliarity. You’ll find that all that’s left is yourself.

I think traveling makes you more aware of who you are, which encourages self-love and independence, which detaches you from the constant need to have someone’s approval. You are you, you define yourself - and gathering all these new experiences alone helps build character. You remove yourself from cultural ties and are able to make your own judgments about certain things. You experience the good, the bad, the beautiful, the scary - all by yourself. It’s honestly the best thing you could do for yourself. In the process of finding your way around a place you don’t know, sometimes you end up finding just what it is you’re looking for.