I am an introvert at heart, so being alone is second nature to me. Doing things on my own has been a unintentional goal of mine and my mom even tells me I’ve always been a little independent. Therefore, I knew that I would be spending a lot of time alone before going on my trip to Vegas, which was completely okay with me. So I explored while my cousins were at work, and I hung out with them when they were free. Some (not all) of my discoveries in that post were based on things that I went to by myself as well as references of my family and friends. I even went as far as to travel to and from Vegas myself by plane as well as booked my own flights, which are things I’ve never done before. I wanted to see if I can really do it, ya know. I wanted to get out of my little bubble and do it for me. This blog post will be an extension to my previous post about my trip to Vegas.
This year has been a very emotional roller coaster of events. On one hand, I haven’t traveled this much in my life – Cincinnati, Detroit, Atlanta, the Newport Levee, Vegas, and (soon-to-be) Chicago – which are all good things. My dream is to travel a lot one day. On the other hand, there were also some devastating events that made me feel like I’m in a plateau. For example, a minor one would be the whole week of my birthday sucked. And I mean really sucked, which is nothing new because I’d be lucky when my birthday turns out to be a good one. I won’t mention why to prevent creating a pity party.
Somewhere far away from home felt like something I needed, something to look forward to, and something to take my mind off of the upsetting moments. With that being said, I decided to go to a place that was not on my list of places to see one day: a city in Nevada called “The Meadow”… or formally called Las Vegas by the Spanish.
When I was alone in Vegas I felt like an explorer. I wanted to do a whole bunch of stuff without people telling me what I can/can’t do. I felt… free… yea that’s a good word for it.
Freedom
Many people would have thought it would be weird, but I didn’t really care. I got to do things that were completely out of my comfort zone, like getting on a tour bus to go to the south rim of The Grand Canyon from Vegas to Arizona and back. Additionally, I still met some people from different parts of the world even though I was alone. Now don’t get me wrong, I did not go out walking The Strip or go to a club alone at night! I’m a little paranoid to do that at home; so I wasn’t going to change that habit. Even though I wanted to go to a club in Vegas, I chose not to. It was my choice and I don’t regret it.
Based on some of my time alone traveling and exploring Vegas, hear are some things I kept in mind:
1. You have the freedom to do whatever you want. Even though it’s always great and exciting to go on a vacay with your girls/homies/friends/family/etc., it’s a wonderful thing to make your own plans. You can go wherever you want and come home whenever you want. It’s all up to you.
2. It’s okay to meet new people. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Remember, I am an introvert; so this was big for me! I met people from Toronto (Canada), the DMV area, and Memphis (TN). You don’t have to talk about your life’s story. Small talk is always okay 🙂
3. Unless you’re going to a show, you are on time to everything. Think about it…
4. Be vigilant. I always thought this would be different for men than women due to the stereotypes (e.g., women can’t protect themselves, men can protect themselves better, women are weak, etc.); however, vigilance is bliss regardless of how well you can protect yourself. You may be alone on your vacation, but that doesn’t mean people won’t take advantage of it. Based on what you wear as a woman, I think that can determine (unfortunately) how people will notice you. For example, I didn’t want to dress in skin-tight clothes while being alone in a city I did not know about… unless I was trying to find someone… KIDDING 😀
Fortunately, I never experienced that when I was in Vegas. I was always in a crowd, never looking as if I’m walking alone. Luckily, I ran into people that invited me to sit with them or hang out with them, and I never had that intuition to say no. My dad and papa always told me to never leave my drink on the table, and to get a new one if I do. Additionally, I chose not to out at night on my own because being alone in public at night doesn’t seem safe to me no matter where I am. I was also told to be aware of people on The Strip at night anyway; so I stayed in and watched YouTube and movies until I fell asleep. Now this doesn’t mean you are restricted to only do certain things. This just mean you need to be careful, especially if you plan on going out at night alone. Again, it’s your choice, you’re freedom 🙂
Is it okay to travel to and explore a foreign city alone? Yes… I think so 🙂 One day I want to travel to a place where I don’t know anyone, just to see if I can do it. It won’t be in the near future, but it’s on my bucket list. If my mother can do it, then so can I.
~Live Laugh Love~