Photo:
Austrian countryside (Photo creds: Laura Branson)

I’ve always heard people say that I shouldn’t let the fact that nobody is able to take a trip with me stop me from traveling. They say “do the trip alone.” I knew the time would come for me to backpack alone, and the thought didn’t frighten me at all.

Well, a few months ago I decided that my summer break would be spent backpacking areas around Europe that I didn’t hit in my trip this past summer, but I wasn’t planning on buying my plane ticket until January. 2 nights ago though, I had a weird feeling to just check the flights, out of nowhere. So I did. And there was one flight roundtrip to London for $850 instead of the typical $1300 (especially during the summer high months, it can get pricey). I decided to be crazy and spontaneous, and buy my ticket now. So it’s official. Next summer, I spend 10 weeks in Europe. Most of it by myself.

What’s interesting though, is that after buying my ticket, this little flutter of nervousness settled in me, making me just a little bit scared about doing that much time all by myself. The funny thing is, it’s a good scared. I welcome the fear because it means i’m doing something exciting and different. It’s a curious fear, because I have so many possibilities ahead of me for new friendships and new experiences, all of which I currently know nothing about. This trip is all mine to make exactly what I want it to be. I’ll never truly live, if I only live life doing the ordinary. I believe that if you’re never scared about the things you do, then you’re living a mediocre life, and to me that’s just not worth it. I know it’s so cliche, but I’d so much rather die standing than live on my knees.