Samism's definitions
The art of throwing clothes, toiletries, and an open heart into a backpack, and buying a one-way ticket to a city you've never been to before. By yourself.
Destinations are chosen by exchange rates , hostel/transit infrastructure, tourist safety, culture, and your adventure craving, trekking mountains, diving reefs, overland safaris, nightlife, beaches. Trips last one week to many months, most successful when loosely planned, leaving room for serendipity as you hear about others' experiences.
Solo travelers stay in hostels ranging from "surprisingly decent" to "let's not touch these floors without socks on". Compromise is unneeded, meaning breakfast at 2pm is valid and pivoting from Tokyo to Thailand because some Australian mentioned a full moon party is completely reasonable. In hostel common rooms you will forge intense friendships with other 20-30 somethings who also dropped everything to see the world. You'll hear new life perspectives over budget dinners, swap travel tips, and swear you'll visit each other (you won't, but Instagram follows are forever). Despite starting solo, you might meet someone and travel together for the next few weeks and sometimes see familiar faces from hostel to hostel. Solo travel exemplifies self-autonomy as you navigate foreign transit and ask for help with a smile and Google Translate. It's liberating, terrifying, and personality-transforming. Having no one to rely on but yourself creates intensely satisfying personal growth.
Destinations are chosen by exchange rates , hostel/transit infrastructure, tourist safety, culture, and your adventure craving, trekking mountains, diving reefs, overland safaris, nightlife, beaches. Trips last one week to many months, most successful when loosely planned, leaving room for serendipity as you hear about others' experiences.
Solo travelers stay in hostels ranging from "surprisingly decent" to "let's not touch these floors without socks on". Compromise is unneeded, meaning breakfast at 2pm is valid and pivoting from Tokyo to Thailand because some Australian mentioned a full moon party is completely reasonable. In hostel common rooms you will forge intense friendships with other 20-30 somethings who also dropped everything to see the world. You'll hear new life perspectives over budget dinners, swap travel tips, and swear you'll visit each other (you won't, but Instagram follows are forever). Despite starting solo, you might meet someone and travel together for the next few weeks and sometimes see familiar faces from hostel to hostel. Solo travel exemplifies self-autonomy as you navigate foreign transit and ask for help with a smile and Google Translate. It's liberating, terrifying, and personality-transforming. Having no one to rely on but yourself creates intensely satisfying personal growth.
She quit her job and went solo traveling for six months. Came back with 47 close friends from 23 countries, a backpack held together by hope and duct tape, and an unshakeable confidence in her ability to figure literally anything out.
by Samism November 6, 2025
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