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When I tell people I am going on a trip, the first question they always ask is “Where?” The second is “Who are you going with?”
This baffles me. I’ve gone on numerous trips by myself, I have a solo travel blog, and I am a proponent of solo travel. And these people know it. Yet they still always ask “Who are you going with?” Not “Are you going alone?” or “Are you going with someone?”, indicating that they know there is a choice involved, but “Who are you going with?”–the assumption that I must be traveling with someone.
This shows just how deeply ingrained our travel expectations are in our society. I’m sure if these people gave it some thought, they’d remember I often travel solo and revise their wording. But society has brainwashed us into thinking that the only way to travel (or the preferred way to travel) is with other people. People who don’t ever travel alone tend to forget there is a choice involved.
I don’t mean to imply that I don’t sometimes like to travel with a companion. Sometimes, that’s fun. But it’s not, as most people assume, always the “better” way to travel. I have had travel companions in the past who drove me up a wall. Traveling with them was not fun, and it certainly was not better than solo travel.
Solo travel is a choice we all have. You don’t have to wait around for someone else to have the time or the money or the inclination to travel with you. You don’t have to wait until you and someone else can agree on a destination. You don’t have to wait until the “right” travel companion comes along. You can just pick a place that appeals to you and GO. And yes, you can have a lot of fun traveling alone (sometimes more fun than traveling with someone else!). That’s freedom, people. Try it sometime.
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