IF YOU WANT TO GO, JUST GO.

Have you always wanted to go traveling? So many people have been struck by wanderlust at some time or another but not everyone has acted on it.

The two things I hear from people the most when I tell them of my small adventure to Japan are sighs of,

“If only I had enough money…”

“I’m planning to go but my friend can’t just yet…”

These responses equal to – Not enough money and not enough confidence.

Today I will tackle the second point – Confidence.

Many people are afraid to set off alone, and I can’t say I blame them – they are not alone. Yet if you really have a new adventure abroad that you want to fly away to you’re friends are only going to be holding you back. Maybe you have the savings and they don’t just yet or maybe they want to go to a different location, do different things or maybe none of your friends are really all that interested at all.

When I was first planning to set off to Japan I was asked many people if they would be interested in joining me and when they all looked away and mumbled disinterest or other commitments I looked to the ground defeated. There was no way I could fly to another country alone where I could not speak the language. I was terrified.

I spent months searching the internet for my confidence. As people of my generation do. If you’re lacking something, be it knowledge, strange disease side effects info or confidence – the net is the place to find it.

“Solo travel,” “Can I meet friends abroad?” I googled the same things many times and always read the same answers.

“Solo travel is life changing,” “you can meet friends where ever you go.”

But somehow to the change fearing mind all words seem empty.

In the end I summoned a little hope and found some guts when I realised how scary the thought of nothing ever changing at all was worse than change itself.

Applying for a working holiday visa I set myself up with work before I even left the country. This fact gave me the faith that I would actually meet friends, that I wouldn’t be a lost friendless nobody in a place full of people who did not understand me. The people who I would work with were still strangers to me, yet somehow things looked a little less intimidating.

People in my family thought I was crazy. I needed a companion they had said. Yet I was sick of waiting and had decided to ignore all the negativity and just do it. When I made that resolution in my head the fears turned into giddy anticipation that sent chills running along my arms.

Getting on that flight alone was one of the hardest things I had ever done in my life. Yet from that moment everything started for the first time.

My first adventure abroad and alone and for six months (I had thought at the time).

And you know what? I made friends before I even took off. Turns out making friends wasn’t so hard after all. In fact it was easier to make friends traveling because many people were also alone and wanted to meet people just as much as you did. Solo travelers are attracted to each other. On the other hand those who traveled in groups often stayed to their groups and were not as easily approached.

My two biggest suggestions?

1 – Talk to everyone

2 – Stay in hostels

If you stay in hostels (no matter your age) you are guaranteed to meet other travelers looking to make some friends to share their travels with. If you’re solo I would never suggest a hotel unless you really hate people (some people just do I guess).

Head down to your hostel common room and strike up a conversation with someone. Even those introverts who find starting conversations hard, don’t be worried. I’m introverted myself and always worried about petty things like starting conversations and keeping them flowing. In the end people approached me more than I approached them and I realised we were all a lot alike so conversations came naturally. We were both traveling so it was simple to talk about destinations and adventures we had both had. Often you end up finding a random group of travelers that all wanted to see a certain place. Then somehow the next day you’re with this group running down the subway stairway without  breath screaming to get that last train so you aren’t stranded in the city the rest of the night.

I made friends where I worked and traveled with them. I also did a lot of travel alone and I still met many more friends and many I still talk with now or write to daily through instant messaging. The internet is amazing for keeping us all connected and I can say now that my Facebook news feed has never been so interesting. Those who travel are not boring people. The photos of their new adventures flood my news feed, burying the bitching complaints of old high school acquaintances and mushy kissing selfie spam, (I think I glimpsed baby portraits yesterday).

Traveling solo teaches you a lot about yourself. What you’re capable of and what you really love and enjoy in life. Solo travels opens up things that you never knew existed before, offers to open doors to homes around the world and unforgettable friendships and moments to be made. #travel #musings #Japan #adventure #hostel #solotravel #workingholiday