Lone Traveller

[1]

Image Thumbnail:

Growing up is never easy and there are chances you already know that by now. But sitting at home, you are never getting anywhere, literally. One of the most important education one can give oneself is to keep one’s eyes open; especially in a land they don’t call home.
Travelling has always been immensely popular with youngsters and teenagers, but while parents of the earlier generation thought of themselves as accommodating by allowing their children to travel in groups, today’s parents need to be a step ahead. The increasing tendency among teenagers to break free from the daily rigmarole is translating into a need to travel alone.
Teens today look at travelling as a journey to experience the world around them, best done when they are alone, without any interference from family and even friends.
William Richmond, an undergraduate student holds his spiritual wellness very close to his heart and believes that he feels closer to nature when he is travelling all by himself.
“There are times when one needs to get away from the rat race and be alone, especially in a different environment,” he says. Listing mountains as his favourite destination, he maintains a journal where he lists all his travel experiences, something that helps him chronicle his journeys. “My last trip was from Mcleod Gunj to Triund in Himachal Pradesh, an experience I can’t forget,” he tells us.
Though not everyone feels that it is the only way to travel, most think that travelling alone is an important learning process.
Sarthak Harbola, a first year student feels that travelling alone teaches you the importance of a social circle. “I undertook a trekking trip sometime back, where all went well for the first two days, but then I started getting massively bored. Then I made a new discovery, I was an extremely social being,” he says.
Shivani Sharma, who is pursuing English (Hons), also feels that travelling leads to a lot of self-discovering, albeit of a different kind. “As a girl who travels alone, I have to learn to deal with a lot of people. Right from the ticket-checker to the person on the next seat, travelling alone makes you deal with many situations,” she tells us.
The thought of letting their kids travel all alone is enough to send shivers down any parents’ spine. But then it is important to understand that it might be a part of the oncoming adulthood.
Arnab Chowdhary, a father of a 17-year-old daughter feels there is enough trust between them to know that she won’t take silly decisions.
“As long as she convinces my wife and I that she will be safe and has a planned itinerary, we might allow her to do this,” he says.