That’s the question that so many people in my life have asked me. “You’re traveling by yourself?”
From my close friends, to acquaintances, to my family members, they all look at me the same – “What?! You’re crazy! A young, single, Afro-Latina woman traveling by herself in the world.” My response is always very nonchalant as I have been traveling by myself since the age of 8. My mother first put me on an airplane by myself, well technically with my younger brother (he was 6), to meet our dad on the other side, in another state. I wasn’t scared at all. I was in fact super excited to get on the plane for a new adventure! From a very young age, my family have traveled and moved around quite a bit. And each time, I am always excited for something new to happen. New things to see, a new town to explore, meeting new people, making new friends. The feeling of newness was all around me and it was a constant.
My Childhood
I was raised on traveling. It’s in my family blood. My mother started traveling and studying in different parts of the world around the age of 16. Studying medicine and doing her residency in Spain, Venezuela and Mexico before landing in the middle of the United States of America – good ole Kansas. That’s state that my mother and father met on a blind date (through a mutual friend) and the state that my brother and I were born in. Boring right? Well, since that day that I was born in January, I have lived in 6 different cities (Overland Park, KS, St. Louis, MO, Chicago, IL, Queens, NY, Olathe, KS, and Cincinnati, OH) all before the age of 12. That’s quite a bit of traveling and moving around as a kid. Kids should have their own frequent flier miles from the time when they are born.
Anyways, all that to say, I have plenty of experience traveling and traveling alone in this small planet that we call ‘Earth’. Needless to say, I am a pro when it comes to traveling. It’s innate in me!
Need advice on traveling alone, comment on this post and I’ll be glad to help. Safe travels!
