When I finished college, the goal of my first job was simply to make enough money to save up and go traveling. And that’s exactly what I did. After years of dreaming, I was finally going to travel by myself. Since then, I have been hooked. I love traveling, I was simply born for it. I love going to new countries and exploring different cultures. I love witnessing how different people live their lives in different parts of the world. I also love being a tourist; I get a thrill from using one of those fold-up paper maps to get around a new city.

Back then, and even now, I get the same response from people when they hear I like to travel by myself. It ranges from compliments like “oh you’re so brave” and “wow I could never do that” to questions like “do you not get bored?” Well, I’ll be honest, it’s not always the easiest thing being in a completely foreign country alone, but it’s usually always worth the challenge. Traveling alone has taught me so much about myself that I never otherwise would have known. I’ve learned my limits and when to push them. I learned to take things easy sometimes, and that I can get just as much out of a place by sitting in a coffee shop and watching the local world go by, instead of spending entrance fees to local sites. I’ve learned that it’s okay to make new friends that I’ll never see again, and the people are usually friendly and want to help.

Getty Images/DigitalVision/Justin Paget

Older people usually say to me “I wish that I’d done that at your age”. I am determined not to say that when I get older. I don’t want to regret the things I didn’t do. There definitely have been trips that I wished at the time I could enjoy the experience with someone. But there’s rarely a time when other people’s schedules align to give this opportunity. So I’d rather go alone, than not go at all. And I actually quite enjoy my own company.