I Went Solo Traveling and Came Back as a Completely Different Person (And I Have Receipts)
Listen, I know every influencer ever has said "travel changed my life," but hear me out, I'm not talking about acquiring a new aesthetic or finding myself in Bali. I'm talking about a fundamental personality shift that my own family has commented on. And honestly? It's wild.
The Before Times: Peak Anxious Energy
Before my solo trip, I was the person who needed a group text to go to Chipotle. I'm talking full-blown social anxiety, decision paralysis, and the kind of over-planning that would make a military general weep. I had spreadsheets for my spreadsheets. My friends used to joke that I was basically a sentient checklist in human form.
I was also extremely concerned with what other people thought. Like, embarrassingly so. Did someone glance at me weird at the grocery store? I'd replay that moment for three days straight. I was living in everyone else's heads rent-free, except the rent was anxiety and the lease was non-negotiable.
The Solo Trip That Broke My Brain (In The Best Way)
I booked a two-week trip to Southeast Asia on a whim, which, for old me, was equivalent to skydiving without a parachute. No set itinerary, just me, a backpack, and a prayer. The first three days were terrifying. I questioned every choice. Was this selfish? Would I look lonely eating alone? (Spoiler alert: literally nobody cared.)
But then something shifted. Maybe it was the 47th time I'd asked a stranger for directions. Maybe it was accidentally joining a group of backpackers at a hostel and having the best conversation of my life with people I'd never see again. Or maybe it was the realization that nobody on the street knows my credit score or my work emailso what was I even worried about?
Plot Twist: I Became Someone Confident
I came home and my mom literally asked if I was feeling okay because I was making eye contact and speaking in full sentences without apologizing for my existence. My best friend said I had "main character energy" now, which sounds ridiculous but is actually accurate?
Suddenly I could:
✨ Make decisions without consulting my entire group chatand not spiral about it
✨ Sit alone at restaurants without feeling like everyone was judging me
✨ Say "no" without a 10-paragraph explanationjust a simple no!
✨ Talk to strangers like a normal human who isn't experiencing cardiac arrest
It's not that travel magically "fixed" my anxiety. It's that I had to fix things when there was nobody else to rely on. When you're navigating the streets of Chiang Mai at sunset with no cell service and a vague sense of direction, you either figure it out or you don't. And guess what? I figured it out.
The Science-Y Part (Because I'm Still Kind of a Nerd)
Apparently there's research showing that solo travel literally rewires your brain's confidence circuits. When you successfully navigate unfamiliar situations alone, your brain goes "oh, I CAN do hard things," and suddenly everything else feels less impossible. It's like leveling up in a video game, except the video game is your entire personality.
Real Talk Though
I'm not saying solo travel is the cure-all for everyone. But if you're someone who feels small, scared, or trapped by your own anxiety, the kind that whispers that you can't do things alone, I'm here to tell you that you absolutely can. You might surprise yourself. You might even come home as someone you actually like being.
Have you taken a solo trip that changed you? Or are you thinking about it but scared? Drop your questions and stories in the comments because honestly, I'd love to hear them.
Sometimes you need to get lost to find yourself. And sometimes you just need to order pad thai by yourself to realize you're braver than you thought.