13 Invaluable Lessons That Prove How Important It Is to Experience Traveling Alone

"I had very much been dependent on someone else for my entire life for travel. Whether it be my parents, my friends, or my significant other, someone else would always do all the planning. I am very much the introvert. Toward the end of my last relationship, at 33, I was forced to finally take a camping/hiking trip by myself to a place I've never been before, and it was the greatest experience I've ever done and hands down my favorite trip. I had never experienced such freedom and true relaxation to not be asking, 'Well, what do you want to do? What do you think about this?'

"When I got back to the land of the internet, I immediately booked another camping/hiking trip for a few months later. However, being a short female (5'0"), I did purchase a new machete! A lesson learned was to double-check everything twice because you don't have that other person saying, 'Don't forget to pack this!' . . . and I did forget to pack a few things the first time around. Another lesson is just having more knowledge for future solo trips, and I've become more bold because of them." — Angie Woo, POPSUGAR ad trafficker