How travelling solo changed me as a person

I won’t say travelling was my childhood dream or I always wanted to travel in my life etc... But somewhere with time and events in my life I developed those wings which were waiting for their first fly. Initially, I was too afraid to travel alone because I knew I was not one of those travellers who just pack their bags and leave and let the path decide their destination. I started travelling very late because I never found someone to travel with me and when I got to know about couch surfing, I never looked back. All these solo trips I did in last few years I realized how much it changed me as a person. My friends thought I went for a holiday, but I kept correcting them about the difference between holiday and travelling. Holidays affect your body, but travel affects your heart. It did to me in many ways.

I became more Patient:

Most of the time things didn’t go as I planned or hoped. I was in places where I didn’t know the language, I didn’t understand the culture and I didn’t know the process of getting something done. The only thing that kept me from panicking was my patience. Travel made me more patient and I didn’t realize until I experienced it when I was back from my trip. You learn things without making any effort and it stays with you.

No More complaints:

Using couch surfing for my trips was the best decision I ever made. When you find a host you don’t expect anything more than a place where you can lay down and it has a roof over your head. Someone who can afford the luxury of a 5-star hotel suddenly expecting only a little space on the couch of a stranger in an unknown country, how great is that. When you learn how not to expect anything you enjoy even the smallest things in your life. When I hosted some CSs and told them I got a bed for them with warm duvet, the expression on their faces were priceless.

Survive in Minimum resources:

On my first trip, I packed a bag which was 30 kg, second trip my bag was 18 kg and on my last trip it was 8 kg. No, I didn’t start walking around naked on my trip, so what changed? It’s just I realized I don’t use the stuff I carry with me, there are lots of things which we think might be useful but end up never using them. I learned how to survive with minimum resources with me. It taught me not to be disappointed in life if I don’t have something I want. I will still live without it and that is more than enough.

Opened my mind:

I will never be able to thank Couch surfing for making me not judging anyone. I stopped believing in media after my first few trips. I have been to places where as per media you would never go, but those are the best people and time I have in my memories. I stopped judging things and people based on what I see or listen on TV; I started exploring myself and make my opinion. I met tons of people worldwide learned about them, asked the stereotype questions about their country and got the total different answer of what I used to think of them. So I would suggest start exploring.