This past semester, after serving my time in the ‘Burg for three years, I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad. And it. was. life changing. Just… not in the ways every Bucknellian will tell you it was. I mean, sure, there was tea, which the Brits drink with milk??; the scones, which are actually quite good especially with strawberries; and, most importantly, in Bucknell spirit, the pubs, which granted me a space to down 4 pints of cider in one sitting without any judgement. However, amongst the grandeur of Bath, England, I learned a lot more about myself than I thought I would when I booked my ticket.
The first thing I had to undergo while abroad were the new levels of responsibility. I was learning to cook my own meals, balance schoolwork with my new social life, as well as survive in a foreign country all on my own. Though at times, grueling, this granted me a newfound independence, and also a sense of serenity in this solitude. I was all alone and learning to embrace the song of silence that accompanied me. I began enjoying quiet mornings walking to the gym, exploring new food hubs on a late night hunger crawl post-youtube screen time, but more importantly, I enjoyed the intricate details of planning trips filled with things I want to do in places that I wanted to go. In my solitude, I was free from the need to explain myself, accommodate others, and sacrifice my desires. So, what did I do? I planned a multi-stop solo trip.
My first trip was to Ireland, and prior to even booking my ticket, I thought long and hard about what ‘solo traveling’ would entail. It made me think back to the summer when I had watched Tracee Ellis Ross’ Roku series, Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross, in which she, Tracee Ellis Ross, takes a solo trip to countries such as Morocco, Mexico, and Spain. Aside from the unrealisticness of having a camera following me as I bounce from 5-star hotels across continents, Tracee’s journey connected with me because of how she was able to convey and emphasize the beauty in having alone time. I admired how she was assertive in her decision making, but moreover, didn’t let factors such as not having a partner, nor children, discourage her from enjoying traveling. I watched her embrace new experiences filled with trying delicious cuisine from Spain, which unfortunately, did lead to food poisoning, but that’s besides the point; shopping in the Moroccan Marrakech for beautiful fabrics; and sitting poolside in Mexico on a rainy day. In turn, I, too, felt inspired to not let the absence of a partner or friend discourage me from seeing the world and embracing what it has to offer me when I show up as nothing but myself.
I navigated the greenery of Galway all the way down the rocky road to Dublin until I found myself highland dancing to the bagpipes in the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland. After a week of traveling by myself, I emerged confident in my abilities to make executive decisions, plan rigorous events in detail, budget, although I’m still working on this one, and be at peace with the presence of my own thoughts. I spent a lot of alone time those days, alone time which was needed at that point in my life with the new changes emerging from leaving my life behind in the USA. I acquired a taste for what my life could be like in places where no one knew me and I had yet to discover myself. In Ireland, I was a go-getter, confident and assertive; in Scotland, I was outgoing, curious, and fond of pondering. I was falling in love with the possibility of who I could be and building a mosaic of experiences that have shaped me into who I am right now.
Upon my return from solo traveling I felt inspired to do it again, and so off I went to the Netherlands, where I fell in love with the Dutch way of living, and then my last stop in Paris, the city of love, where my greatest act of love was spending my 21st birthday in Paris, taking a cruise along the Seine to watch the Eiffel Tower shimmer. Traveling has always been my life’s greatest desire, and traveling alone has been one of the most unexpected blessings I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to experience. As I step into the next chapter of adulthood, I look forward to discovering infinite possibilities of who I can be around the world.