For some travelling solo is the best thing in the world, for others, it is the worst thing imaginable. This can be due to a lack of confidence, or just preferring spending time with other people.

Most of my trips in 2022 were by myself, and I must say that I learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of and what really matters to me as a person.

I want to use this post to share what I have learned about myself whilst travelling and how these have helped shape me and helped me evolve as a person.

1 – I can budget responsibly

There is no denying it, travel can be expensive at times. It is important that when travelling I ensure I have enough money to cover any expenses that are notmal whilst abroad, as well as being able to cover any emergencies that may arise.

To ensure I always have enough money for each trip I follow a standard routine and plan out my finances for my upcoming trip. I personally use a Google Sheet to outline my income and expenses to calculate how much disposable income I will have to book and spend on each trip.

2- I can compose myself when things go wrong

My travel often goes smoothly, however, sometimes things go wrong. From bags not arriving to cancelled trains some trips throw challenges my way.

When I first started travelling I would worry beforehand that this was always going to happen and that I would not know how to deal with it.

Now I have realised that I can deal with these situations. When my bags failed to arrive in Newark with Lufthansa I knew exactly what I needed to do and how to get my money and bags back.

My advice, when things go wrong, communicate with somebody, even if they are not with you. I found that telling my parents that something had went wrong helped as I could ask them for advice and learn from them.

3 – I enjoy my own company

I have always spent most of my time in my own company. I am the type of person that would rather spend a Saturday night at home rather than out clubbing.

I think that has helped me with travelling. I have found that as 2022 progressed I became more confident in myself being abroad alone.

I was able to enjoy myself and do what I wanted to do knowing that if I needed to talk to somebody my parents were a phone call away.

4 – Social Media is full of rubbish

We have all seen celebrities and “influencers” posting constantly on social media their expensive first class holidays and rooms in five star hotels and super cars to millions of followers who idol that lifestyle.

Well I am here to tell you that this lifestyle is heavily scripted, and that the majority of people would be happier on a £9.99 Ryanair flight compared to a £5,000 Emirates first class flight.

5 – I value life experiences over materialistic things

I have learnt that when I am travelling I would rather have the memories of a location than a meaningless gift.

When I was in Malaga in December 2022 I realised that having the memories of that trip and how much I enjoyed it was so much better than having a souvenir that did not hold any meaning to me.

6 – Life is always challenging, but I know how to deal with it

2022 was not the best of years when it comes to things happening, however, I am still here and able to write this post.

I know that if something was a challenge in my life and I needed help that the best thing to do is talk about it to somebody. It is easy to worry about the small things in life “what does this person think of me” or “why did this person say that to me” when in reality nobody cares.