Picture this: It is your senior year of college. You’ve got three different career choices to decide between as well as the debate if you’re going to grad school or not. In an attempt to avoid adult responsibilities, you turn to TikTok as an escape, only to see so many people finding ways to make their dream a reality.
Option #5 enters the chat: Travel Lifestyle.
“But how are you going to do it? Don’t you have to get a job to work on paying your loans back? You have to get a typical 9-5 in order to succeed. It’s not safe to go anywhere alone. You’re going to mess up your future.”
These were just a few of the things repeatedly told to me as I was explaining my true dreams to those close to me. I now understand that these were said from a place of love, care, and concern, but at the time they only hurt and made me doubt myself.
Instead of folding into their concerns, I began drawing up a plan to be able to safely make these dreams a reality.
Senior Year of College
I’ve known for a long time that living a life without exploring is not for me. After completing a few week-long trips, the travel bug hit me hard. It had been gnawing at me all senior year of college to do something big and out of my comfort zone. I knew I had to do something otherwise I would regret never following my dreams. I had seen plenty of women on social media who were solo traveling, but never from the community or area that I’m from. When I talked about this to my parents, man were they scared/upset/apprehensive, but I knew in my heart that this is what I needed so I began planning.
Affording a Summer of Travel
My biggest concern I needed to address was how I was going to pay for a whole summer of traveling. At this time, remote jobs were on the rise thanks to the pandemic, but I didn’t have any specific experience or schooling in many of the areas needed. This is where I found Alex Fasulo, the Freelance Fairy. She showed how possible it is to make an income from your laptop and I went all in. In September 2021 I began a career as a freelance content/copywriter. It had been a slow and steady process to gain traffic, so I knew I needed other income.
I had been working since April 2021 at an adult group home but knew that if I wanted to live freely this summer I would need to save even more. So in December 2021, I applied for a second part-time job. I was now working nights after classes, weekends, and freelance writing when I received orders. Working all of these jobs allowed me to pay for my current bills and also save up a bunch for this summer.
I quit both jobs before leaving in June 2022 but continued to take orders for my freelance writing business. This is how I was able to afford my travels and so the travels began.
Summer Road Trip 2022
It all started with a Facebook post.
In June I set out on a two-month road trip with two girls I had never met before. I did a little Facebook and Instagram stalking of course and also Facetimed them a few times, but in all reality, we were complete strangers.
Why might I set out with strangers? Well, everyone I knew was extremely concerned for my safety traveling alone. I understood this and also considered that it would be more fun with friends. However, none of my friends wanted to live out of their cars for two months. Thus my two options were: 1) Travel solo anyways or 2) join an all-female outdoorsy group to make new friends. I chose the second option.
Outdoorsy Gals allowed me to connect with so many wonderful human beings who gave me tips, tricks, and hacks for solo female traveling! This group made me feel so sure about my decision and feeling this validation propelled my excitement. From here, the vague itineraries began. This group also connected me to two amazing women who I am so thankful for.
Living the Life of my Dreams
There is so much more that I could say about my start in solo travel, including how I was able to solo travel to Canada for the very first time, but this is just an intro post. I could honestly write an entire book about everything I went through leading up to it
I really just wanted people to know that it is possible and that you are capable of doing anything you can dream of. You just have to believe in yourself and stay dedicated to making it a reality. I’m still not where I want to be and have so many more things planned, but I am working to make it happen.