My First Solo Vacation: A Life Milestone

I’m 39 years old, and I just took my first solo vacation. In 2014, I made goals for myself that I wanted to accomplish from age 36 to 45. On that list, was take a vacation by myself. I told myself that I would complete this goal before I hit 38 years old.

I didn’t complete that goal before I hit 38. But 3 days before my 39th birthday, I’m happy to report that I took that vacation. When I told everyone that I was making this solo trip, they looked at me like I was an insane person. I would get responses like “Really? You want to go by yourself?” Yes, I really did.

My Why

Why did I want to go by myself? I knew that I could only do this if I’m mentally in the right place and totally secure. There’s a stigma associated with doing things alone, but I’ve always admired those who could. To me, taking this trip was a symbol of getting closer to that person that I wanted to become.

My Realization

As I left my house, I instantly got nervous and a little fearful. I didn’t quite understand that. I’ve wanted to take this solo trip for years. So I got in my car (The Falcon aka The Millenium Falcon) and started driving and listening to a podcast. Something didn’t feel right.

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I turned off the podcast and started playing Taylor Swift (Lover and Reputation) on Spotify. That’s when it hit me; I’m actually doing this. The thoughts that ran through my head were “this isn’t you” and “you don’t do this,” which instantly made me more nervous.

I quickly caught myself in those negative thoughts and said, “no.” My thinking quickly turned to “This is me” and “I am doing this.” Suddenly, an influx of emotion, which hit me like an ocean wave. I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time (sounds crazy, I know).

It was right then and there that I knew that I hit a huge milestone in my life. At that moment, I opened my sunroof and turned up the Tay Tay. I stuck my hand out of the top of the sunroof and made a peace sign like I was in that movie, Thelma and Louise. Nothing was going to stop me now.

Closing Statement

Now, if you’re thinking “girl, it’s just a vacation by yourself, calm down,” I would like you to stop right there. This trip was a huge life milestone for me. I’m always trying to grow and promote growth, so this my friends is what it looks like to be evolving.

You know, I wasn’t sure if I would like taking a vacation by myself. But I knew that I would never know either way if I didn’t go. So what happened? I enjoyed myself so much that I will be making this a tradition.

Photos by myself

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