We’ve all been there. Staring at the price of the flight for way too long, weighing the pros and cons, and mentally calculating how little you are going to have to spend for the next few months. Maybe you’ll miss a couple of classes or lose time you could’ve spent studying. Maybe you’ll spend the next two weeks living off of ramen and eggs at home. Maybe your bank account will be in a little pain for a minute.
But a couple of years from now, you’re not going to remember the random week you saved money by staying home and finishing your assignments early. You will remember the weekend you spontaneously flew across the country to see (or surprise) one of your best friends. Going out in a new environment, meeting new people, seeing what life is like in a place you’re completely new to, is one of the best experiences I can advocate for — and make my case for just booking the flight.
It Doesn’t Have to Be extreme
Over this past school year, I’ve visited friends in New York, Oregon, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Texas, Nevada, and Arizona — every trip planned by myself. Between delayed flights, figuring out unfamiliar cities, and saying yes to people I barely knew, I realized solo travel has very little to do with having it all together — it’s about deciding life is worth experiencing now, not “eventually” when the time is right.
By saying “solo travel,” some people jump striaght to thinking backpacking around Europe with a 40-pound bag and a dream. That’s an amazing experience to have too, but what I’m talking about doesn’t need to be that high-stakes and daunting.
Solo travel doesn’t have to be extreme to be formative or memorable. Sometimes it’s literally just booking a flight to a state over and spending a weekend sleeping on your friend’s couch. It’s seeing how different other people’s lives are from your own — different college towns, different routines, different ways people spend their Friday nights.
For me, the best parts are always the in-between moments. Sitting alone during a layover with nowhere to be for the first time in weeks. Figuring out a last-minute gate change with strangers who suddenly become your temporary best friends. One time, I sat next to someone on a flight, randomly ran into him later that night, and ended up having one of the funniest nights of the entire trip. None of those moments were planned. That’s the point.
No strings Attached
There’s also something freeing about going somewhere with no expectations attached. You can reinvent yourself a little. Talk to new people. Leave your comfort zone because nobody there knows the version of you that’s too nervous to. Every trip teaches you something different — not just about other places, but about yourself. Texas ended up being one of my favorite places I visited, which shocked me considering every stereotype I had about it beforehand. Other places taught me the opposite lesson. Either way, you learn.
Looking Back
I think solo travel also taught me how to actually enjoy my own company. In college, especially, you’re almost never alone. You’re constantly surrounded by roommates, classmates, coworkers, notifications, group chats — there’s always noise. Traveling by yourself forces you to sit with your own thoughts a little more. At first, it feels uncomfortable.
Then eventually, it becomes freeing. I remember being scared to board my first flight alone, but with so much practice, you become an expert. You stop caring so much about looking awkward, eating alone, or exploring somewhere by yourself. You realize most people are too focused on their own lives to judge yours anyway. There’s a certain confidence that comes from proving to yourself that you can figure things out on your own, even in completely unfamiliar places.
I think a lot of people spend college waiting for the “perfect” time to do things. More money, less homework, a better schedule, someone to go with. But realistically, there will always be a reason not to book the flight. You’ll always have responsibilities. You’ll always have excuses.
Money will come back. One day we’ll gradaute. But memories with your friends, new experiences, late night stories (and the photos, especially). If this is a case for anything, it’s for taking advantage of the present, our friendships, and our youth while we still have them.
At some point, you just have to decide the experience is worth it anyway.
Because in the end, the flights blur together. The stress about money fades. But the memories never really do.