It’s easier to travel alone. I don’t have to worry about other people’s needs, wants, nor worries. I can be selfish and do what I want to do, when I want to do it: Sleep a day away instead of exploring a city, or take a round trip bus trip just to avoid walking. Of course there’s more to this preference for traveling alone, another side I tend to ignore (a sadder side to some). The biggest reason I travel alone is because more often than not I don’t have anyone to go with me.
Growing up, I never did things on my own—meaning I didn’t like playing outside by myself, nor attending parties/family-get-togethers that I didn’t know 90% of the people. I’ve always been an introverted soul, and when I was younger I needed someone I trusted to navigate new waters with. To put the icing on the mentally unstable cake, a few years ago I was officially diagnosed with Social Anxiety: a disorder which causes irrational anxiety when it comes to interacting with people, as well as lowers ones ability to communicate well in social situations.
Since moving away from home, going to college, and settling in my first Big Girl apartment, my need to be around other human beings has dwindled away; drifted off into the winds between the buildings of Uptown Dallas. I go to the grocery store by myself. I go to movies by myself. I’ve traveled to different countries by myself. The more things I do alone, the more I can handle. I’ve learned to revel in my solitude—sometimes to my detriment.
Once you become comfortable in loneliness it’s hard to climb back out of the hole you’ve dug for yourself. Empathy becomes forced and stilted. That part of your brain, the one that controls your actions and words, it’s rusty. It doesn’t remember what a normal conversation is. It doesn’t care about niceties and social norms. These days, I’m better at having deep conversations with my cat—or myself—than I am with another person, no matter how long I’ve known them.
When it comes to travel, it works the same way. After doing things on your own for so long it’s difficult to remind yourself that people act differently. They’re not always going to do what you think they should do. They don’t walk the same speed as you. They don’t want to visit the same places as you. They don’t have a problem with eating with their mouth open. People are different, and for me, that difference can be a detriment to my travel experience.
That’s not to say I’m a perfect travel companion either. I can be a fun person to travel with. I’ll always have snacks and will gladly spend a day lying on the grass rather than walking through another museum. But with the good, comes the very bad. When I get in a dark place it becomes impossible for me to act like a normal human being. I transform into this little gremlin whose only wish is to make the person I’m with feel as horrible as I do.
What makes it worse, is I never know when this transformation is going to happen. It’s a coin toss when you travel with me—either you’ll get the jolly, adventurous Bri, or you get the evil, little gremlin. And I understand that I’m not the only person in the world who is like this, and that the people I travel with have their flaws too, but I notice my own far more than I notice anyone else’s.
Basically, I travel alone because I’m used to it, I don’t have many friends, and I’m a difficult person to travel with.
Do you any of you prefer to travel alone? Any fellow grumpy-cats out there? I figured it was about time my internet companions knew the truth about me, and some of my habits.
Hey everyone. So, I assume we all know about the Hurricane and floods that hit the Southeast coast of Texas this past week. It’s been all over the news, and social media. I grew up in Kemah, Texas and a good 90% of my family still live down there in League City, Clear Lake, Alvin, and Katy. So I’ve listed some charities that I’ve been donating to below.
I didn’t want to take up a whole post about this as I’ve not been affected by the storm (I now live in Dallas), but the devastation is still happening as I write this post and honestly the only thing I can think of to do is to give money to organizations that I believe will help better the lives of every human and animal affected by this disaster.
Greater Houston Community Foundation
Catholic charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
If you know of some other reputable charities please link them in the comments below.
Thanks For Reading!
Little Slice of Bri 
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