solo travel

august 3rd, 2024 - a personal take on a trendy experience

through joys & frustrations
feeling at peace & aching with lonliness
these journeys have thrown me into the deep end
& i'm still learning how to swim 

i've learned that my mind quiets 
in the mountains & by the water 
that public transportation makes me nervous
but the feeling of completing a travel day 
with no mistakes? 
unmatched 

i've held myself while i've cried happy tears 
melancholy tears 
angry tears 
tears that have come with disbelief at the fact 
that the life i'm living is actually my own 
that i'm doing something I had always wanted to do 
but always thought i would be too scared 
to carry out 

i've become a bit more introverted
a bit less tolerable for humans with energy 
that weighs me down 
i like myself a bit more & i've learned how to 
express that with sticking up for myself 
knowing when to use my voice 
even if it might be "too loud" to others 

i've decided that a book & a journal 
are the best inanimate travel companions 
that it's ok to be embarrassed when i
don't know the language 
but it's not ok to let that keep me 
from putting myself out there and meeting 
beautifully interesting people 
like the travel buddies 
who always seem to come to me
when i least expect it 
& always break my heart, just a little bit
when they go their separate ways

in my opinion, taking a train or bus 
is more satisfying than renting a car 
there's nothing like sitting back & watching 
the world go by through a picture window 
& not worrying about how many glasses 
of wine you drank 

not having a routine can be difficult 
but somehow i always fall into some kind of pattern 
in each new place 

my "old lady" sketchers will never 
be stylish 
but i refuse to put miles of blisters on my feet 
as they are the precious parts of me that 
allow me to explore 

last but not least, 
being in foreign places filled with grandeur 
& centuries old magic 
never makes me forget about my home 
or miss it any less 
& that is hard 
but that is also just ok