It was a foggy Christmas Eve in 2009, and my friend and I were on a train from Heathrow Airport to downtown London. We sat quietly as we passed row houses with remnants of a recent snowfall and let it sink in that we were in England, beginning what would be an amazing trip.
Less than two months earlier Jen told me she was going to London for Christmas and then to Paris with a friend for New Year’s Eve. Two weeks later, I booked a flight to London. I had been to Paris as part of a school trip, so instead of going there with the others, I booked my return flight out of Dublin to experience something new.
I have always enjoyed traveling, but I was limiting myself by not having anybody to go with me since it is harder for my friends who are married with children to get away. I never thought traveling internationally by myself was an option, so this was the perfect opportunity to travel with a friend and then branch off on my own.
After three uncharacteristically sunny days in London, I boarded a train to Edinburgh, Scotland to start my solo adventure. I watched the English countryside go by in a blur as the soothing rhythm of the train put me at ease. I spent two nights in Edinburgh, exploring the icy city by foot, quickly getting my bearings, and enjoying my new-found independence.
From there, I took a short flight to Dublin. I was welcomed to the city by cold rain and gusty winds, but I made the most of it by familiarizing myself with the city on a bus tour, along with the requisite visit to the Guinness Storehouse. Along the way, I learned a lot about myself, including the joy I found in exploring a city independently while snapping hundreds of pictures and later reflecting by writing in my journal.
On New Year’s Eve, I took a guided tour by train to the west coast of Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher. The sky was blue and clear, and the green cliffs with the crashing waves below were breathtaking, despite the below-normal temperatures and frigid winds. Back in Dublin that night, I rang in the new year with hundreds of other people in the streets outside of Christchurch Cathedral while huge snowflakes fell and the church bells chimed. It will be one of my most memorable holidays, and the trip was a springboard to what I hope will be many more trips.
Since then, I traveled back to London alone for a 10-day trip to see my friend get married in a traditional Ghanaian ceremony, as well as several solo trips in the United States. I have discovered that not only am I able to successfully travel alone, but I also thrive on the independence and freedom it has given me.
