I REALLY like being alone.
I'm not anti-social, I promise. I generally like people. But I’ve always been good at being by myself. When I was little, I preferred to sit in my room and play with my barbies for several hours than play outside with the other kids.
It's the introvert in me. I'm sure some of you can relate. Extroverts, I've learned, thrive off being around other people. While introverts need to recharge at home, alone. It doesn't mean we don't love our friends. It's just the way we're wired.
Don’t get me wrong. I go out. I do things. I enjoy people. But I can only be around them so much, even the humans I love the most. The bigger and the longer the gathering of people, the more rapidly my energy drains.
I also REALLY like adventures. So when the opportunity came for me to hit the road for six days of exploring new cities in the United States, I wasn’t going to turn it down, and I knew I wanted to take this adventure alone.
I spent many, many months thinking out my road trip. How long did I want it to be? How many stops did I want to take? Did I want to spend 1-2 days in a bunch of cities, or dedicate 3-4 days to two really amazing cities? On the other hand, maybe I wanted to fly? I spent way too much time on the website kayak.com/explore (you're welcome for the hours of daydreaming) deciding which incredible city I wanted to get lost in.
In the end, I chose Asheville, NC and Nashville, TN. And it's going to be just me, myself and I hitting the road next week.
Here are just a couple reasons why I'm going alone:
1. I don’t have to adhere to anyone else’s agenda.
This is probably the number one reason I'm heading out solo. I get to decide what I see, do and eat. I get to decide if I stay in a hotel or an air b&b or someone’s couch. I get to decide what time I get up, what time I go to bed, and what time I leave each city.
2. As a 23-year-old female, I’m capable of holding my own.
I want to prove to myself, and to the world, that I can capable of going out on my own, without someone there to protect me. That I can be a woman traveling alone in a foreign (to me) place, and be safe. Yes, I know it's not foreign in the sense of a different country, but it's far away from home, it's a big, scary city, and it's new to me.
Am I setting myself up for failure? Possibly. Will I regret it if I don’t take a chance? Absolutely. But don't worry, I'm not going into this completely blind and naive (more on that later).
3. I LOVE driving.
Maybe it's because I get carsick really easily, but something about being behind the wheel for several hours makes my heart warm. I love the feeling. I also love being able to stop whenever I want, stretch out, get coffee, explore a new restaurant. Again, it's on my terms.
4. I pick the jams.
And that playlist consists of a LOT of Vance Joy, Halsey, Frank Sinatra, Ray Delmontagne and other roadtrip-esque jams, along with, of course, my podcasts. NPR's Invisibilia, Criminal, Serial Season 2, Chris Jones' The Business of Writing, Ted Talks, The Business of Yoga_...just to name a few.
5. My experiences will be unique.
Traveling alone will allow me to see things in a different light. It will totally push me out of my comfort zone. I'll meet new people, strike up conversations, see and do things I probably wouldn't have if I were with someone else. I'm claiming this road trip. It's mine, my experiences, my lessons.
When I told many of my extroverted friends about my plans to go alone, their reactions usually came in the form of a confused, uncomfortable, "ugh, why??" Hopefully this does a good job of answering that question for you.
Now, for those of you who are still skeptical, I promise you, I'm prepared. I have my days and nights planned out. I will give a copy of my itinerary to my loved ones. I will check in with them once a day. I'm making sure to pack an extra phone charger, an emergency roadside kit, plenty of water, blankets, etc. I have a list of hotels I can run to in case my Air B&B hosts turn out to be creepers. I know how to change a flat tire. I've got a rape whistle and pepper spray on my keychain. I've got in-case-of-emergency money. I'm meeting up with friends at different spots along the trip.
In preparing for this trip, I read all about traveling solo (on websites like Twenty-Something Travel), about the dangers of couchsurfing and Air B&Bs, about how to be prepare. I know what I'm up against. I know that our culture automatically assumes the worst in people. Assumes humans are out to take advantage of me. And some of the time, they are. But i'm going to try to prove, to try to find some humans, who just aren't like that. Could I fail? Absolutely. I'm not naive. I know it's a real possibility that something bad could happen to me. But there's also a real possibility that I could get into a car crash and die tomorrow. And that's not living.
So, from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, I'll be in Asheville, NC and Nashville, Tenn. Give me a holler if you're in town, want to grab a drink, go to a yoga class, show me around. Comment if you know just the place to have brunch in Nashville (don't worry, I'm already planning to go to Taylor Swift's favorite coffeehouse on my Taylor Swift Nashville tour). Let me know if you've ever traveled solo. I'll see you guys post-trip!