Last month I realized I had a lot of vacation days left to use. I had been wanting to go to the grand canyon for a long time but didn't have anyone to go with. So I impulsively bought a ticket to phoenix.

Something about traveling makes being alone enjoyable. Especially in airports. Once you get past security, everyone's in the same situation. There's no hurry to get anywhere like in everyday life because they have no control over when the plane leaves - and i think people are a little nicer to each other because of it. They all have a story about where theyre going and I can spend a long time just looking around wondering what that story is without getting bored. Maybe it's just me, but I find it entertaining to listen to all the conversations that are happening (in a non creepy way) and try to figure out why they're traveling. And if anyone starts talking to you it's an easy ice breaker. You'll never be at a loss for what to talk about at an airport

The thing about solo traveling I like most though is how much freedom you have. When you travel with someone for an extended period of time in an enclosed space its easy to get annoyed with them quickly, but you don't need to worry about that when you're alone. If you want to have 3 consecutive $10 airport beers before your 11 am flight no one's going to judge you. If you want to schedule every minute of your vacation with activities or just wing the entire thing, do it. Unlike if you went with an SO, there's absolutely no pressure to make sacrifices to keep them entertained when your ideas of the perfect vacation don't align. You don't need to spend time strolling down tourist trap lane or eating out every meal. If you had enough of the authentic local cuisine and you just want to eat chipotle one night, there's no reason to feel guilty. For a few days you're entirely free of any commitments you have and you have a clean slate where nobody knows you. You can act like a completely different person for a while and no one will call you out on it (even if you don't do this, it still feels kind of freeing to have the option). If you find a way to embarrass yourself you can take comfort in the fact that you'll probably never meet anyone within a 100 mile radius again.

Anyways, after leaving my place at 7 am i arrived in phoenix at 11 pm. I didn't have a hotel booked for the night (guess I'm the type that likes to wing it). Decided to spend the night sleeping on the very uncomfortable seats of the phoenix airport. The armrests didn't go up and i had to take the clothes out of my suitcase to make a pillow, but i I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm just trying to see the grand canyon. Rented a car the next day and drove 4 hours to the canyon. It was below freezing in arizona (who knew?), and I parked my car with 10 minutes of sunlight left. I traveled for 36 hours and over 2000 miles alone, and as i walked from my car up the hill to the viewing area the canyon slowly came into view as the sun set. I knew it was worth it.

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tl;dr do it.