Traveling alone can come for a variety of reasons; it could be work, for school, and internship, to go to see family, for me, however, it was a fantasy. I always knew I wanted to see the world, I grew up exploring it after all. Did you know I was in Paris before Jay Z?? At the time travel seemed like a normal way of life, it wasn’t until I got older that I realized the blessings I overlooked.
Since I was all too familiar with travel, but had no idea how to plan or book anything, I had trial runs with the INs and OUTs of the booking process. I had a group trip from my church at like, 16 and was crying in the car until I saw a 13 year old strolling in the sliding airport doors. I even cried going off to college at 18 and I was only 35 minutes, if that much, away from home! (lol) It wasn’t that I was a cry baby either, these were actually the few moments I remember really crying, but I was grappling with the reality that I was getting older and having to do things outside my comfort zone. As the “baby” of the family, I was so used to everyone else planning and doing things for me, so, putting my big girl panties on, was less than thrilling. As I got older I started having fun “trying panties on (so to speak ),” but that’s for another blog post (lol)
Now that you get a brief synopsis of my young girl mentality, you can see why traveling alone was a fantasy. I knew after that first church group trip I COULD do it, I just couldn’t fathom how and when. Fast forward past my early 20’s, my wedding at mid 20’s, my honeymoon, meeting up with others at the airport, and a couple (unforgettable) group trips, I was faced with the option to travel alone…. like ALL alone. It was my chance and I took it!
The country of chance was Croatia, and for who I am, it was a perfect introduction to the solo travel world. I recently heard Gayle King (you know Oprah’s bestie) say that Croatia would be 1 of 2 of her most recommended places to visit and I couldn’t agree more!
Firstly, THE SAFETY there is impeccable, and as someone born and raised in the U.S. it was a complete culture shock. Just people living, drinking, smoking all the cigarettes they do in Europe, and going about their lives. This was the perfect place to explore, relax and get back to me.
What crosses your mind during all this? Even with the reality of your safety, there are so many swirling thoughts that come and go, because, for once, you really don’t have to focus on anyone but yourself and do whatever it is your heart desires. It is then that you ask yourself questions you knew you cared about and questions you didn’t.
If you’ve gotten this far with reading, I know there are things you can relate to, identify with, or imagine yourself feeling the same. I want to dive into those feelings little deeper. For the sake of keeping your reading time minimal, there will be follow up posts to highlight the spiritual depth that seems bottomless once you begin exploring your mind a soul.
Below are the #bonus pictures I like to share with y’all as personal peeks of what my life is like behind the scenes, and ways to share myself with you as gratitude for you sharing your time and mental space with me. Your thoughts are welcome and appreciated in this space. Let’s continue to mentally and socially blossom. 1 luv.
