This is one of the things most people have been asking me since I started traveling solo… “But don’t you get lonely traveling the world without having friends or family with you or close to you?”
The answer is sometimes…
No, traveling alone does not mean loneliness
This is the real question traveling alone is not synonymous with loneliness, during my stay especially when I live in the coliving it is almost impossible to spend entire days alone, I always find someone to chat with or go out for lunch or spend an afternoon at the beach.
I can say that since November of last year when I left for the first time alone, I have never suffered from loneliness, I have felt lonely, but for me, it’s not the same thing.
What does it mean to me to feel lonely?
Feeling lonely means being distant from all my affections, and not having the people I love by my side at all times. In other cases, I’m afraid of being alone because I don’t want to lose even those people on whom I can always rely, on whom I know I always have a shoulder to cry or support when I need it.
Traveling a lot, it’s not always easy to keep in touch with people, either because of the time difference or because of a very opposite lifestyle, it’s often difficult to find the connection that in other circumstances had united us so much.
I’m afraid of this, of losing the connection with the people I love, or of being abandoned by the people I love because I’ve chosen to undertake a lifestyle that is different from the ordinary. This for me means feeling alone, but it is not loneliness. I’ve had my moments of crying in the shower so no one would hear me, sure! This time more than I thought, but then it all passes, and you always find someone to give you a hand and support.
Loneliness is something deep that never leaves you, that you struggle to overcome, that takes you into an abyss from which it is difficult to get out.
In Portugal and here in Mexico, I never suffered from loneliness, I never felt that way. Especially when I live in Selina, I spend most of my time talking to people, wonderful people with whom I’m establishing truly unforgettable relationships.
It is these people who try to never make me feel alone and smile at me or give me a moment and listen to my thoughts when I am feeling down or need someone. These people have become my family, the family that you build around the world, and one way or another will never abound.
In one of the next articles, I might tell you about what it’s like to build a family around the world and when these people become really important to you!
