By Andrew Santis

It was half-past noon on a sunny Thursday afternoon in Paris, and I was standing in the middle of the famous Champs-Élysées trying to make sense of what had just happened to me. I was replaying the scene in my head over and over, wishing I did something different, or acted quicker, to avoid the theft of my iPhone 6 from my left-hand pocket.

I could not believe I became the victim of a crime only five hours after landing in Paris, a city I had never been to before and where I did not speak the language.
Oh, and did I mention I was traveling alone?

That’s right. While my friends and classmates spent their summers interning at banks, volunteering as camp counselors or working at Fordham, I had the privilege of traveling to ten European cities by myself. I use the word ‘privilege’ because traveling alone as an adolescent rarely happens, but when it does, and you have done it, you will want to experience the perks that come with it again and again. The thought of traveling alone never crossed my mind, but when two opportunities — one from school and the other from my internship — came knocking, I went along with it.

Traveling alone may not sound appealing to everyone; it might seem like a scary, boring or even solitary experience. One night, during my week in Berlin, I felt very lonely because I noticed that Berliners were almost always accompanied by someone at the local establishments. Coincidentally, the morning after, I found and read a piece on Yahoo News titled “How Solo Travel Changed My Life (And How It Can Change Yours Too),” which helped me get through that mini-slump and realize how great it was to be traveling alone.

The best aspect about solo travel is freedom. For two months I did not have to compromise with anyone about where to eat or which landmarks to visit. I also had the liberty to change my itinerary at the last second to fit in more sightseeing in one day, shift visits around or stay out later. Because I was in control of my time, I feel like I took in the sights, the people, the culture and the food a lot better than if I was traveling with someone. In other words, I had a better connection with each city I visited. Something I did that I would not have been able to do if I was traveling with others was walking. I love to walk; it is a great way to get to know any city (and burn off the food and drinks). Instead of carelessly spending (read: wasting) money on bus, tram or subway tickets, I would walk for miles until I arrived at my destination.

I had not yet experienced independence when I left for Europe (I live at home with my family), so I had to get used to cooking my own food, doing my own laundry and managing my personal expenses. Living in a flat in London and living in people’s homes in Germany through Airbnb added a tremendous bonus to developing independence. In terms of money, I had to budget grocery shopping for the week, the occasional transportation and personal expenses, and consistently check exchange rates to get an accurate picture of how much I was spending each day. I also had to learn how to do laundry the European way. Not only did I have to wait two hours for the wash cycle to complete, but I had to wait at least one full day for my clothes to dry on the drying racks because the washing machine would only drain the water from the clothes. Not to mention, I learned how to file a police report when my phone was stolen, dealt with the airline that did not get my check-in luggage on my flight to Paris, used physical maps to navigate my way around cities and I had to move myself (and my three heavy bags) from train station to train station and from home to home all on public transportation. All of these experiences helped me develop character, allowed me to solve problems out on my own and prepared me for adulthood.

If you have plans to travel soon, I encourage you to consider traveling alone. There is much more to solo travel than complete freedom and independence, like the benefit of minimum distractions from travel companions, which will allow you to fully immerse yourself in a country’s culture. There will be challenges and obstacles that you will be forced to overcome, but do not fret because you will figure things out. Traveling alone will make you a more open-minded individual and help you adapt to today’s global world.

Everyone should travel alone at least once in their lives because it is such a unique experience that is sure to transform your life.

Andrew Santis, GSB ’16, is a marketing major from Queens.