So 7 times out of 10 (i’d say 9 is a little too high and even more cliché) i’ve told someone i’m going travelling it’s gone a little something like this:
(Them): Aw wow you’re going travelling, that’s so exciting! Are you going with your boyfriend?
(Me): Nope.
(Them): Friends??
(Me): Nope, I’m going on my own.
(Them): Oh wow you’re so brave, I could never do that!
And, every. Single. Time. It feels like someones let a wild pack of dogs loose in my head. The thoughts start to bounce around, the doubt, the worry and everything else. Why are they concerned, should I be concerned? Am I really doing the right thing? Am I brave enough to do this?
To be honest with you, I’m not the bravest person and honestly, never in my 22 years of living would I have thought i’d be doing this, going travelling on my own. But I think the main thing that is keeping me going is the benefits i’ll get from doing this on my own.
I could go travelling with a friend and that would be great, but I feel like I need a push in my life – the push to experience the unknown, stepping outside of my comfort zone, forcing myself into situations i’ve never had to be in before.
I’d say my life has been pretty comfortable, i’ve never put myself out there and done something on my own. I mean even going to University I went with people I knew and had two friends from college living in the block next door. I didn’t go there just because they were but, that’s the way it happened.
Obviously i’m SO excited for the experiences, seeing the sights, meeting new people, trying new foods. Yet I think i’m most excited about how this is going to change me – change the way I handle situations when I get back to my ‘normal’ life at the end of the year. I’m excited to make mistakes and learn from them, learn how to be myself, by myself, take every little thing that I do in my stride and just learn how to live in the moment.
So no, I wouldn’t say i’m being brave, brave insinuates that i’m scared to start off with. I’m not scared or worried. I’m positive. I’m excited. I’m AMBITIOUS. It’s not bravery, it’s ambition.