I have absolutely no room for complaints in my life. I’m young, healthy, and everyone I love is alive and well. I am not in debt, I have good friends, and my family is incredible. And yet, I still have moments of suffering… I still feel crippling moments of loneliness.
Loneliness seems to rear its ugly head at the hight of my happiness. In moments that I find myself smiling to myself, laughing, and doing what I love – like traveling solo. And yet, as I wander cobblestone streets in old medieval towns, I feel a familiar knock on my door. Loneliness. And while it doesn’t come often, when it does… it sucks.
Loneliness leaves me with doubts and insecurities. Questions of the future when in reality, I know that worry, fears, doubts, and insecurities solve NOTHING. While 90% of the time I can “trust my journey” and believe that my path is taking me somewhere incredible, there are other times I can’t help but think… WTF am I doing? Why am I not looking to settle down? Why don’t I want to live in a big beautiful house and decorate for the holidays? Why do I feel stifled when I meet someone that I might like?
Truth: Everyone Gets Lonely at Times
No matter what anyone tells you, or what anyone’s life looks like on social media… we are all lonely at times. We are all questioning our existence. We are all thinking WTF on a regular basis. And while we don’t all admit it, we are all human and we all suffer. But there is beauty in suffering. We wake up. We can laugh, we can cry. Feel the joy, or feel sorrow. Be content, or be jealous of “X’s” life as portrayed on social media.
But remember that this is YOUR journey. And you can only do it once. So whether you want to travel the world. Procreate. Adopt animals. Help children in Africa. It is YOUR journey. And while there will be that familiar feeling of loneliness at times… it is not invited to stay. No matter what it might *tell* you, the feeling of loneliness will pass before you know it.
So sit with the loneliness. Breathe it in and appreciate that it will go away. Wake up. Smile. Be grateful for where you’re at on this journey called life. And remember that you only have one chance to do it. Life is precious. Time is precious. And so are you. Don’t waste it away.
For more on lessons learned on the road check out the posts below:
Traveling with Anxiety As a Solo Traveler – And How to Overcome it
13 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Lone Traveller
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Kylee is a Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurse passionate about making travel affordable and accessible to nurses. Inspiring nurses to travel both near and far, Kylee began Passports and Preemies in 2017 while volunteering in Skopje, North Macedonia as a way to reach nurses and advocate for the prevention of nurse burnout by traveling. Kylee is the original creator of the “8 Day Vacay” – a vacation geared towards nurses who aim to take advantage of the potentially 8 days off between work weeks with no need to use PTO.
You’re killin it!! Tell that little man bye bye and keep living for those cliches! Love you!!
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I LOVE YOU MORE! And miss you so so so much!!!!
Love the piece kylee. You are a gifted writer. Your advice is on point.
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Awe thank you 🙂
You are so inspirational! Love the whole last sentence of this post! Kylee – I hope you’re having a great time in York! I was there last November and it’s such a beautiful (but busy!) city. Have fun and keep being your positive awesome self!
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Thank you Crystal!!!! You’re the best! And yes, SO BUSY! Wasn’t expecting it….
Thinkin of ya! I know you’re having a blast! Wish I could join in! Xo
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I wish you could more!!!
This was SO beautifully written and I couldn’t agree more! I recently came to discover the difference of being alone, and dealing with lonliness. They’re two very different things, but I think the very first step to dealing with it is learning to love yourself and the skin you’re in XX
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So right 🙂 – I’ve also found that I can be in a crowded room with lots of friends and still feel lonely.
I know I’m late to reading this, but Ky. This is amazing. I am seriously clinging to every word of this post. Thank you for sharing your heart and journey as you follow your dream. Praying for you!! ❤️❤️❤️