Going solo......
Ok I may as well digress here a little.... to travel alone or travel with a friend? I´ve done a little of both and and like both!
On your own, you can be whoever you want. More importantly you can 100% be yourself at that point in time without anyone knowing anything about your past. You can be safe in the knowledge that whoever you meet is judging you on who you are at that instant in time and not who you´ve been, what you´ve done or what you´ve said in the past.
We humans are a stubborn bunch and we rarely forget things, for that reason our opinions are normally a culmination of our past interactions with that person. We all know it, if someone stuffs up and says the wrong thing we can remember that moment for 100 years and it sits there forming part of our opinions of that person. It´s easier to forget the good things about a person than the bad things! Can you remember your best takeway in the last month, or just the worst?
So what´s the point? Well I guess people are different people in different situations. Put someone under stress at work and they become a very different person to someone sitting on the beach or at home with friends. Meeting someone whilst travelling away from their stresses means you meet the real person and not someone as a result of external pressures. Realising this is no new thing for me. But being able to see it so clearly in myself is a kick up the arse to maintain a good balance in life.
Stress is a part of our lives but the the question is why do so many of us put ourselves in a situation where we have so much that we become someone we´re not!
So that´s traveling on your own. You can tell someone you´re a photographer, a fireman, a politician and become someone new, or you can just fuzz past those questions and become whoever you are in that moment. I did a lot of fuzzing because as soon as you tell someone you´re an IT project manager then .....zzZZZZZZ!
And then travelling with a friend. Someone to look after your bags whilst you look for a room, someone to sit next to on long bus journeys, someone to play cards with on a cold night, a table for two! It´s lovely being able to share in-jokes with someone and talk about life back in the ´real world´. When travelling alone you have to ask and answer the same questions ever time you meet someone new - Where you from? Where have you been? Have you been to....?? etc etc In other words traveller small talk. Travelling with a friend shields you from that for a while.... at least until you meet the next new person.
Right, which do I prefer? Neither. There is a time and a place for both. Do I wish I had a travel partner for Asia?.... 100% no! I met some great people and probably wouldn´t have had the same experiences with someone from home - After all, who do I know who would sit in a bloody monastery for 2 weeks! Do I wish I travelled South America on my own... again no! Meeting Maria was a great part of the trip and it means we both have something to talk about when in different cities back at home.
On your own, you can be whoever you want. More importantly you can 100% be yourself at that point in time without anyone knowing anything about your past. You can be safe in the knowledge that whoever you meet is judging you on who you are at that instant in time and not who you´ve been, what you´ve done or what you´ve said in the past.
We humans are a stubborn bunch and we rarely forget things, for that reason our opinions are normally a culmination of our past interactions with that person. We all know it, if someone stuffs up and says the wrong thing we can remember that moment for 100 years and it sits there forming part of our opinions of that person. It´s easier to forget the good things about a person than the bad things! Can you remember your best takeway in the last month, or just the worst?
So what´s the point? Well I guess people are different people in different situations. Put someone under stress at work and they become a very different person to someone sitting on the beach or at home with friends. Meeting someone whilst travelling away from their stresses means you meet the real person and not someone as a result of external pressures. Realising this is no new thing for me. But being able to see it so clearly in myself is a kick up the arse to maintain a good balance in life.
Stress is a part of our lives but the the question is why do so many of us put ourselves in a situation where we have so much that we become someone we´re not!
So that´s traveling on your own. You can tell someone you´re a photographer, a fireman, a politician and become someone new, or you can just fuzz past those questions and become whoever you are in that moment. I did a lot of fuzzing because as soon as you tell someone you´re an IT project manager then .....zzZZZZZZ!
And then travelling with a friend. Someone to look after your bags whilst you look for a room, someone to sit next to on long bus journeys, someone to play cards with on a cold night, a table for two! It´s lovely being able to share in-jokes with someone and talk about life back in the ´real world´. When travelling alone you have to ask and answer the same questions ever time you meet someone new - Where you from? Where have you been? Have you been to....?? etc etc In other words traveller small talk. Travelling with a friend shields you from that for a while.... at least until you meet the next new person.
Right, which do I prefer? Neither. There is a time and a place for both. Do I wish I had a travel partner for Asia?.... 100% no! I met some great people and probably wouldn´t have had the same experiences with someone from home - After all, who do I know who would sit in a bloody monastery for 2 weeks! Do I wish I travelled South America on my own... again no! Meeting Maria was a great part of the trip and it means we both have something to talk about when in different cities back at home.
1 comment:
This is the same question that I'm facing. Thank you for your post
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