In March this year, I set off to travel solo around South America. This was something I had been wanting to do for a long time as I have always loved travelling, and I wanted to take a break after studying and working for the last 7 years. I also wanted to challenge myself by doing it solo. I’ve had a rough journey with my mental health over the past 10+ years, and so I really wanted to prove to myself that I could do this on my own.
I had some of the most incredible experiences from watching the sun rise over the Bolivian salt flats, to diving with hammerhead sharks in the Galápagos Islands. I made friends from all over the world and unforgettable memories. It would be disingenuous of me to not mention that there is an unglamorous side to travelling; sleeping in airports, overnight buses, weird room mates, being sick and bedbound. But overall, I had the most amazing time and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
People always joke about going away travelling to “find themselves” and coming back a bare-footed hippie with dreads, but as much as I joked about it too, it really is true that you learn a lot about yourself. You are forced into situations you might not be comfortable in, faced with problems you’ve not dealt with before, and required to be truly reliant on yourself. And that is where you grow. These are a few things I learnt whilst I was away travelling for six months:
1. You are capable of more than you think
As I mentioned before, when you are travelling solo, you have no one to rely on but yourself. Sure you have your friends and family that you can call from overseas, but when it comes to physically doing something, you really are on your own. I was faced with a handful of difficult situations that if you told me I’d be in before I went away, I would have said I wouldn’t be able to handle it. But I did. Because I had to. I got through everything that was thrown at me, and you begin to realise that you are capable of so many things. All that’s needed is a bit of confidence and self-belief.
2. Live in the moment
I think as a society we spend too much time wishing our life away. Waiting for the next thing to come along, or thinking about how we should have done things differently. We forget to live in the present. I met someone who said that they were sad because they only had one week left of travelling before they had to return home. So I advised them to enjoy the time they had left and stop thinking about it being over already. How crazy is it that we wish for certain situations, whether that’s going on holiday or getting to the weekend, but when we get there, we spend the whole time worrying about it ending. Take time to step back and enjoy the now.
3. Your body is so much more than what it looks like
I’ve spent the best part of over a decade destroying my body. Whether that was through periods of malnourishment or acts of self harm, I never truly appreciated what my body actually did for me. We place a lot of emphasis on how our bodies look, rather than what they do for us. Going away on this trip was a big motivation for me to start looking after my body. I understood that if I wanted to go away and do all the things I wanted to, I’d have to start taking care of and fueling myself properly. If I didn’t, my legs wouldn’t have been able to carry me along hikes through the jungle and mountains. My brain wouldn’t have been able to think properly and keep me safe. My arms wouldn’t have been strong enough to carry my bags across each country. I am thankful for what my body can do and what it has enabled me to accomplish.
4. Money doesn’t equate to happiness (to an extent)
There is the age old saying that money doesn’t buy happiness, and I do believe that up to a point. I believe that money has a role to play in happiness when it comes to fulfilling basic human needs and allowing one to not be living paycheck to paycheck. However, some of the happiest people I met didn’t have a lot in terms of materialistic goods. I found that they placed much more emphasis on connections with other people and experiences to find happiness. Having been removed from the corporate bubble for a while, it is clear to see how we can get so caught up in a money chasing cycle. People are always wanting more, but never being satisfied when they get there. And the truth is that these people will never be happy. They say they’ll be happy once they earn £x amount or have x car, but once they get there, it soon becomes not enough, and the vicious cycle continues. It’s hard to live a fulfilling life when you constantly desire for more. I am not implying that we shouldn’t have goals or desire to want to do better in life, but it’s important to treasure and appreciate what we have at present. Remember that at one point, everything you have now is exactly what you wanted.
5. The importance of mindset
After years of different therapies and therapists, I became pessimistic about life. I became skeptical about whether I could really get “better” or if I am just the way I am and there’s no changing that. But whilst I was away, I met some of the most genuinely happy and positive people. Their optimism and can-do attitude was really quite inspiring and speaking to them made me see how the way you view the world changes everything. A situation can be altered simply by the way you look at it. I know this is a lot easier said than done, and I’m sure people have said this to me before to which I’ve responded to with an eye roll, but it’s something I’ve only begun to discover and learn myself. Your mindset and outlook is everything.
I hope that writing about this will serve as a reminder to myself and help me to continue practicing what I learnt. I would highly recommend going solo travelling, whether that’s for part of a journey or even just a weekend away. You learn so much about yourself and how to feel comfortable in your own skin. And if you’re looking for a sign to take some time out and to go travelling, then this is it! It was one of the best decisions I made and I am truly grateful that I got to do it. Thank you to each and every individual who made my experience so special.
-K xxx
May you live every day of your life. 
Great read, really nice and encouraging to know you had such a good time doing this. thanks for sharing!
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