Book: Go Your Own Way
I've been doing an internship at the local public library every week, which has been great for a number of reasons. One of the main side perks is that I have an excuse to go to the library every week and check out books! On my lunch break one week I was looking for a quick read and picked up this anthology of short stories of travel writing. All the authors are women, writing about their solo journeys. I thought it would just be a way to pass the time, but the stories in the book drew me in.
I have to say I never used to be interested in travel at all-- I never cracked open the travel section of the newspaper, never had an inkling of desire to see the world and experience new cultures and worldviews. I think a lot of that was my attachment to the familiar, to what I knew, and the comfort of home. There was definitely some degree of fear of the unfamiliar and the new. I had traveled out of the state and country, but it was always within the safe, protective confines of my immediate family, where I didn't have to make decisions or worry about anything, really.
However, in the past few years, I have taken trips outside of my immediate family, with just friends, and occasionally by myself. Some were out of the state, one was overseas, and some I planned myself. Over time, the idea of travel has become less alien and unfamiliar to me, and therefore less scary.
The stories of the women in the book are a mixture of accounts, containing soul-searching journeys, risky ventures, touching human experiences, chance encounters, and of course, bad relationship escapism. Each of them is a short read, a singular moment seeing the world in a new way. As I read I imagined myself traveling alone or with a friend on a similar journey and recording my experiences and photos together. The thought is an exciting one, and I hope someday to set foot in a completely new place, equipped with my eyes and camera.
Go Your Own Way: Women Travel the World Solo
Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick, and Christina Henry de Tessan, editors
I have to say I never used to be interested in travel at all-- I never cracked open the travel section of the newspaper, never had an inkling of desire to see the world and experience new cultures and worldviews. I think a lot of that was my attachment to the familiar, to what I knew, and the comfort of home. There was definitely some degree of fear of the unfamiliar and the new. I had traveled out of the state and country, but it was always within the safe, protective confines of my immediate family, where I didn't have to make decisions or worry about anything, really.
However, in the past few years, I have taken trips outside of my immediate family, with just friends, and occasionally by myself. Some were out of the state, one was overseas, and some I planned myself. Over time, the idea of travel has become less alien and unfamiliar to me, and therefore less scary.
The stories of the women in the book are a mixture of accounts, containing soul-searching journeys, risky ventures, touching human experiences, chance encounters, and of course, bad relationship escapism. Each of them is a short read, a singular moment seeing the world in a new way. As I read I imagined myself traveling alone or with a friend on a similar journey and recording my experiences and photos together. The thought is an exciting one, and I hope someday to set foot in a completely new place, equipped with my eyes and camera.
Go Your Own Way: Women Travel the World Solo
Faith Conlon, Ingrid Emerick, and Christina Henry de Tessan, editors
