When I left the UK to travel across Australia in January 2024, I had no concrete plans to guide
my journey and no real expectations about what the future held. I’d booked my first week of
accommodation through a tour company, but everything beyond that was uncertain. Five
months later, I found myself working and living at a hostel in Sydney, alongside countless other
young people who had also taken a leap of faith and decided to travel the world.
The fear of the unknown can prompt a sense of vulnerability in people, especially affecting those
who choose to travel alone. My own vulnerable moments allowed me to appreciate the kindness
of strangers, and encouraged me to extend the same warmth and concern to them in return.
Those I met at the hostel became a surrogate family to me while I was away.
Naturally, these relationships weren’t always smooth sailing, but there was an unspoken promise existing between us; one which offered to care for one another whilst we were so far from home.
I have often struggled with feelings of isolation growing up, particularly following the advent of
COVID-19. The pandemic created not only a physical distance between people, but also an
emotional one, causing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression to become
significantly more widespread, specifically amongst the younger generation. I was in my first
year of university when the first lockdown was announced, and even though a sense of
normality was slowly restored over the next two years, the effects of the pandemic were
palpable within the student community long after social venues had been reopened for public
use.
In the aftermath of COVID-19, many university students seemed more reclusive and detached
from each other; and I personally became wary of feeling too comfortable in the company of
friends, worrying that this privilege could just as easily be snatched away again. After graduating
from university, I knew something had to change, and decided I wanted to break the cycle of
social isolation and anxiety for good. Whilst moving to the other side of the world on my own in
order to do this might seem drastic, I knew that home was only ever one flight away.
As it turned out, I never truly felt alone whilst in Australia, because there was strength in the
number of equally nervous and slightly lost solo travellers hoping to bond with others. In being
faced with uncertainty, I became so much more appreciative of small moments of comfort that I
would usually take for granted; whether that was a phone call with my mother when I was
missing home, or a conversation with another hostel guest who was also struggling to navigate
the city. I often felt overwhelmed by the generosity of others, who were always eager to lend a
hand if I was carrying heavy bags, or share their ingredients with people who were struggling to
cook a proper meal in the hostel kitchen.
It feels increasingly challenging to form meaningful relationships with others in an age where
digital communication takes precedence over face-to-face interaction. In this social climate, it
seems unsurprising that loneliness is considered one of the most prevalent threats to public
wellbeing today. So many of us are lacking the sense of mutual understanding that gets lost in
translation online, and the prospect of community seems increasingly rare and unattainable.
Although it is undeniably ironic that it took me travelling nearly 10,000 miles away to feel more connected to those around me, I am truly grateful for this experience, and wouldn’t change any
part of it.
I left Australia with a distinct sense of hope for the future - intermingled with post-travelling
blues, of course. The time I spent away encouraged me to be brave and more open to forming
new friendships: an experience which can be daunting in your early twenties. I was reminded of
the importance of these relationships, which should be cherished rather than feared. Now that
I've returned home, I know I will retain the courage I discovered whilst travelling, feeling
confident in the knowledge that strangers need not always be strangers.
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