Last week, I ventured out to Georgia for work. It was a week and a half trip and I was to spend the weekend in Atlanta. However, as I had just gotten back from Portugal when I booked my trip, I had the vacation bug and decided to buy a cheap flight to Orlando so I could spend Saturday and Sunday at Disney and Universal Studios respectively.
While I've traveled alone for work many times, my short trip to Disney was the first time I've traveled for leisure on my own. Initially, the idea scared me a little. Would I enjoy it as much if I didn't have anyone to talk to? But I was also excited about the prospect of doing whatever I wanted without having to consider anyone's opinions.
I arrived late at night on Friday, rented a car on my own (surprisingly easy!) and drove to my AirBnB, where I immediately went to bed. On Saturday, I woke up early and arrived at Magic Kingdom just as the park was opening. It was already a little full and I felt somewhat overwhelmed by crying babies and crowded spaces, but I quickly realized that babies crying and kids running around don't bother me half as much as they used to. If anything, I sort of feel like this trip fed my baby fever a bit. I got on every ride I wanted to get on, ate everything I wanted to eat, and wrapped up my night watching fireworks from the people mover at Tomorrowland while having a yummy Coke slushie. It was heavenly. The only point of the day when I felt a bit lonely was when I was waiting to get on the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train (SO OVERRATED), and I had to stand in line behind a really PDA-heavy couple for two hours. Looking at them made me feel like I neeeded someone to talk to about how grossed out I was, and also immensely jealous because their love for each other was super apparent and I don't know if I'll ever have that.
On Sunday, I went to Universal Studios to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was, for lack of better words, magical. After 4pm I was pretty tired so I got in my car and began my 4 hour drive to Savannah. This probably was the part of the trip that worried me the most because a.) It was 4 hours with just me and my thoughts and b.) I was worried I'd be feeling down after such a special weekend having a great time. To counteract the latter, I only played Disney music on the way there, and sang along.
When I started to feel lonely, I began talking to myself, or rather, to an imaginary companion. I know this sounds crazy for an adult, but it actually made me feel some comfort. I had one sided conversations about how fun the weekend was, what I wanted to eat that night, commentary about things I saw on the road, and many other topics. And I have to say, I didn't feel lonely. I think a big part of what makes me feel lonely is that I sometimes feel like I don't have anyone to share things with, which is sort of a selfish reason to want a partner. But talking to someone made up eased that need enough for me to avoid getting sad. Maybe this is a practice I'll employ more often. Just as I'm sure that I'll be traveling alone again soon. It was so worth it.