Fat Louie Diaries

Solo trips, when planned and prepared with safety in mind, have been some of the most transformative experiences of my 20s. Alone for a few days, in some cases for the first time in our lives, we’re given the chance to truly get to know ourselves, and gain invaluable perspective on our wants, needs, and goals. I have come away from each of my solo trips with a sense of clarity on who I am and where I’m going, and the empowerment to make hard decisions that will make an extremely positive impact on my daily life. If you’re ready to get to know your honest self, a solo trip might be the perfect next step. 

I took my first solo trip at 21, traveling to London to sightsee before meeting a friend in Paris. I spent four luxurious days wandering around the city, going to every museum I wanted, leaving as I felt called to, and blissfully adhering to no one’s itinerary but my own. On long, winding walks through Hyde Park, I began to have deep conversations with myself about what I wanted to do next. In the fall, I’d be a senior in college, and though I had a job lined up post-grad, there were a few months of time left unaccounted for. The safe choice would be to go home, live with my dad, and get a short-term position to tide me over to the summer. However, as I ruminated on this path, I discovered that this was not what I wanted. I decided instead to start applying to seasonal work, an idea that hadn’t occurred to me before, but would launch me on an adventure I can’t imagine not having. 

My next solo excursion was a road trip through Colorado to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah, and then down to Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. At the time, I was living on a ranch in Colorado, and this feat itself felt bigger than I’d ever imagined. Now, I was going to embark on a journey, alone, into the desert, a place I’d never been before. Pushing through the fear, (while still being alert, watching out for where I stopped, and staying safe!), I drove into Arches that first night as the sun set and felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this life and belief in myself. Even if I thought I couldn’t before, I now knew I was capable of moving through mountains, sleeping alone in the desert (in a locked car at a National park sanctioned campsite!), and getting what I wanted out of life, regardless of who was, or wasn’t, in the car with me. This knowledge of my own power gave me the ability to make difficult decisions, push through fear, and sculpt a unique life for myself back East at my new job. 

Most recently, I took a solo trip to Sedona, Arizona, to go hiking in the desert and contemplate a career change that I’d put off for far too long. Out on the trails, my boots coated in the red dirt of the earth, I turned inward and confronted my fear of the unknown, and resolved to TRY, with every part of my being, to make this switch work. Even if it meant there was a chance I didn’t have a job for a few months. Even if it meant I was inviting instability into my life that I thought I couldn’t take on. In the evenings, I began searching vigorously for open roles online, and it was in Sedona that I applied to the job that I would eventually get hired for, allowing me to leave my teaching position and find a new opportunity in an analyst role far more aligned to what I’d wanted to pursue years ago at university. 

Solo trips can often feel scary, especially if you’ve never taken the opportunity to sit with your own thoughts for an extended period of time. But each time I’ve traveled alone, I’ve been introduced to new parts of myself that have given me the strength and power to make difficult choices that changed my life for the better. If a big solo trip to the desert feels too daunting, maybe your solo trip can be a day in a city nearby. Or a day in your own city without your phone or other distractions! However your solo journey manifests, I encourage you to gift yourself the time to be introspective and get to know who you are. Because even if you don’t know it yet, you’re capable of amazing things, and you might just be one leap away from changing your life for the better.