How Did I Become a Solo Traveler?

I've been traveling since 2012, mostly solo. So how did I become a solo traveler?

I was on holiday with my parents on a cruise ship. I met three fun girls to hang with when I wanted to explore the activities and ports of call. They were au pairs from Brazil and Czechia. They told me all about their travels and what they did as au pairs...they were so cool! I remember the kids movie called 'Au Pair' and then this moment on a family vacation planted the seed in my mind that would ultimately change my life forever.

I had limited solo travel around the US and abroad in 2012. I had done the 10-12 hour drive up to the summer camp I had been working at for four previous summers. I hadn't done much travel on my own except my fellow camp counselor friends convinced me to reunite for New Year's Eve in the UK at the end of 2011. I didn't know that this was a thing to do. I loved it and I was hooked.

As graduation from university loomed closer, I realized I needed a break (the job market was not good either) to do something different before getting fully settled in the American rat race. I applied to au pair positions in Europe since I wanted to go there. I emailed and interviewed with multiple families over Skype, and somehow landed one of the better-paying gigs in Brussels, Belgium.

Truthfully I didn't have a ton of knowledge about the place. I knew they had sprouts (didn't like them before my move), waffles, chocolate, and beer (also didn't like this before my move), but I did not expect to love a place so much and leave a piece of my heart there. I've left pieces of my heart in many places now and it has been a beautiful thing.

When I arrived in Brussels, I only knew a few phrases in French and nothing about the Dutch language. Everything was truly foreign, but I loved immersing myself in it all. I shyly ordered food in my baby-level of French and stumbled onto unknown public transit lines with my Nokia brick phone. I was along for the ride!

Again, I was hooked. I loved the vibrancy of life in Belgium and Europe at large throughout my solo travels. Taking public transportation that worked efficiently was a dream along with the incredible culture surrounding so many different types of food and the sense of community amongst my friends that I made from all over the world.

Solo traveling allowed me to learn more about the world than what was ever taught to me during all my years of schooling. Solo traveled educated me about many places and people. It also taught me so much about myself in my 20s and pushed me to be this empowered chameleon of adaptability that I am today in my 30s. Travel is a privilege and I am forever grateful for the privilege to have been able to see and do all that I have done up to this point. I owe it all to my desire to learn everything possible about this pretty rock that we all share and to my drive to grow. I will forever be a solo traveler (with friends along the way) on this big adventure called life.