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

"Last month, I took two weeks for a solo 'eat, pray, love' trip from the top to bottom of Italy (although it turned into mostly an 'eat' trip, unless you count my trip to the Vatican). I learned some valuable life lessons, like how many carbs are too many carbs, Instagram stories reign supreme over Snapchat stories, always bring spare phone battery packs, and always read the reviews before you book an Airbnb.

"On a more serious note, traveling alone allows for a significant amount of self-reflection between all of the train rides, long walks, and solo meals. Having so little human contact (aside from the ciaos and grazies), forces you to have all of the contact with your inner self. Taking advantage of this helped me to decide on a career change and cleared myself of everything stressful that had happened in the past few months. Traveling alone can be daunting, but it is well worth it, and at least you'll get way better at taking selfies by the end of it!" — Neysa Smith, associate director at Digital Investment