By Alexa 
I didn’t start solo traveling until I was 27 years old. When I first started to travel solo, it wasn’t my intention to do so. All throughout college, I would try to convince my friends and boyfriend at the time to travel with me. Being in southern California, they felt like L.A. was the world – and that world was enough. L.A. is beautiful, L.A. is wonderful, and the vibe makes it a place like no other. Yet, I understood that there was much more of the world to visit, discover, and explore.
All Places are Created Equal
Growing up in a military family, I traveled often and frequently. It made me take an understanding that no place in the world is better than another and no place in the world is worse than any other. Every place in the world big or small has something wonderful about it and every place in the world has something terrible about it. I wanted to step outside of L.A. and see it all.
The Cage
Looking back, that was a cage that I was trapping myself in. I only started my travels once I was no longer in that relationship, once I graduated from college, and once I was no longer hanging out with those friends. It was like a breath of fresh air to be doing what I’d been wanting to do for so long without limitations or attachments.
It’s not to talk down on them. What they wanted was just fine. There’s nothing wrong with staying in a space where you’re happy, comfortable, and feel like you’re where you want to be or supposed to be. My soul just wanted more.
If you look at the people in your circle and you don’t get inspired, then you don’t have a circle, you have a cage.
Nipsey hussle
In retrospect, I felt like I was trapped. Going to the regular dinner nights at the same fufu restaurants just wasn’t cutting it. Booking a flight to visit a new location was what was important to me. Learning was important to me. Seeing a new place was important to me. When it was all said and done, I postponed my dreams to travel and when I finally did travel, it was by myself anyways.
Regrets
One of my regrets in life was that I didn’t step out sooner. Not stepping out to do what I truly wanted to do caused me to have resentment towards the people I was around because I took their unwillingness to come with me as a sign of my unworthiness to do receive help in pursuing my goals and dreams. It felt like a lack of reciprocity because they didn’t desire to invest in the things that I was interested in even though I invested in what they were interested in.
I’ve learned since then that nobody was wrong, we were all just misaligned. I also realize that not everybody has the capacity to do the things that I can do and want to do.
Either way, nobody should feel like they’re trapped in a cage. Nobody should ever be the source of inspiration for everyone else while feeling suffocated and uninspired themselves. That feeling stifles a person in life, stops growth, and has long-lasting repercussions.
Go Alone
What I learned from this is to go alone. This doesn’t just apply to travel. This is anything in life. Just go alone. Start the business alone, go to that college alone, move to that new city alone. Sometimes, the journey is yours to start alone, and then the people that are meant to come along on that journey will find you after you’ve taken that first step. I’ve met so many people since I stepped out and seen so many new and amazing places. Although I’ve been doing this for years, I still feel like I’m just getting started and that’s a great feeling.
