What inspired you to do your first solo trip?

What inspired you to do your first solo trip?

I think the seed was planted long before I ever realized it.

I have an older sister, and when I was still in school and living at home, she traveled to Jerusalem. She was studying anthropology in college and went with a group to participate in an archaeological dig. I remember being completely fascinated by it. We had grown up in a small town, and suddenly my sister was halfway around the world experiencing a place that felt almost unimaginable to me.

This was long before we had the internet at our fingertips, so the world didn't feel nearly as accessible as it does today. I couldn't pull up a video of Jerusalem or scroll through someone's photos from their trip. Seeing her pictures and hearing her stories opened something up in me. I wanted to know what other places felt like. What did the people sound like? What music did they listen to? What did they eat? What did the streets and buildings look like? How did people live?

I wanted to see all of it.

Years later, in my early 20s, I found myself divorced, raising a young daughter and living in Denver when I went to work for a company that imported women's fashion accessories from Turkey. Because some of our products were manufactured there, the job occasionally required travel to Istanbul to visit manufacturers, inspect products and source new items.

And suddenly, that enormous world I had wondered about as a girl wasn't theoretical anymore. I was getting on a plane and flying into it.

While I would eventually meet up with colleagues once I arrived, I had to make that journey on my own. At the time, that felt HUGE. My international travel experience consisted of one quick trip across the border from San Diego into Tijuana, Mexico. I was definitely not a seasoned world traveler! I was young, I was a single mom, and I was traveling by myself to a country and culture completely unfamiliar to me.

I was excited. I was intimidated. I was probably a little terrified.

And I absolutely loved it.

That first experience in Turkey changed something in me. Istanbul was unlike anything I had ever seen, heard, tasted or experienced before, and I couldn't get enough of it. But just as important as discovering another part of the world was discovering something about myself: I could do this.

I could navigate an unfamiliar place. I could figure things out when I didn't know exactly what I was doing. I could sit at a restaurant alone, wander through a city alone, get lost and find my way again. I didn't have to wait for someone else to be available, interested or brave enough to come with me.

That realization gave me an incredible sense of freedom.

I've been traveling ever since, and while I love traveling with other people, solo travel still holds a very special place in my heart. There is something incredibly powerful about realizing that the world is yours to explore — whether or not anyone else is ready to go with you.

What inspired you to share your experiences here?

THE BEAR! 😂

Okay, not just the bear — but there is some truth behind that answer.

There has been a much bigger conversation happening among women over the last several years about safety, independence, relationships, boundaries and what it means to build a life that genuinely feels like your own. And underneath so many of those conversations, I hear the same thing: women wanting to feel more confident trusting themselves. That really resonates with me.

One of the greatest gifts solo-travel has given me is a deep sense of self-trust. When you're alone in another city or another country, there isn't always someone beside you to make the decision, read the map, solve the problem or tell you what to do next. You learn to pay attention. You learn to trust your instincts. You learn that being uncomfortable doesn't necessarily mean you're incapable. And every time you figure something out, you carry a little more confidence home with you.

I know there are women who dream about seeing the world but keep waiting: for a partner, a friend, the right circumstances, the perfect time or simply the confidence to go. I also know that traveling alone can feel intimidating, particularly when safety is a very real consideration for women. I don't want to romanticize solo travel or pretend there aren't things we need to think about. I want to talk about all of it… where I've felt safe, where I've been uncomfortable, what I've learned, what I would do differently, the mistakes I've made, the places I've fallen in love with and the moments that have reminded me just how capable I am. And maybe, another woman will read one of these stories and think, "I could do that."

For me, that is really what It's Not That Serious™ is about. Sharing our experiences, telling the truth about what we've learned and creating spaces where women can learn from one another instead of feeling like we have to figure everything out alone.

If my travel stories help even one woman feel a little more confident booking the ticket, taking the trip or simply doing something she's been waiting for someone else to do with her, then they're worth sharing.

-Carrie H.