22 – I feel Old; Old Enough

Hi Guys! I  am Anu Olopade. I turned 22 sometimes in September and I felt old, I thought to myself, what have I done? What have I achieved? What have I been doing with my life? I looked in the mirror while ruminating, I still looked young but I was no longer the youngest in the room, in most rooms at that. I realized, I just had to find ME. I was old enough, I could be wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

I always wanted to travel and see the world around me, see places, be exposed to different cultures, to perceive and try something new, I could never always be in a place, I just wanted to get somewhere, I wanted to explore and get out there, but there was always an issue, no one ever wanted to go with me, no one around me felt traveling just to see another place or explore was good enough reason, they had to be going on a business trip, visiting some family or friend, attending a destination wedding or going on a family vacation and trust me there are restrictions of freedom in these instances.

Earlier in the year, I had decided that if no one was going to go with me, I was going to go alone, I was going to go solo, on my own, by myself and with myself. It was almost the end of the year and I had done nothing. It was at this point I decided to do it. I was old enough and didn’t need anyone. However, still bothered about the idea of solo travel, I ran the idea of exploring somewhere different through a couple of friends and as usual, I got turned down. At this point I decided it was time. To avoid the criticism and lectures that comes with a female solo traveling and the inherent dangers involved, I told friends and family that I was going on a vacation with my colleagues in the office. I chose a destination, processed my visa, started having doubts, cleared the doubts by getting a ticket and off I went.

I bet it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made and I will totally be doing a lot more travels and I would totally love it if you follow me on the journey to find Anu Olopade