It looked as if they had taken a run down school bus, added a bar above the middle row for people to hold on to and cleared out the two back seats as a luggage compartment.

Down the aisles came families, other backpackers and oddly enough at least ten people selling phone cases, hair clips, some type of liquid in a bag and assorted pastries.

A heavy set woman holding a ziploc bag full of a green, milky liquid looked at me and said, “Te quieres?!”.

Shaking my head I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

What in the world was happening in my life right now?

As beads of sweat ran down my face the bus started to fill up more. Within a few minutes there were three of us sitting in a place meant for two and the entire aisle was filled with people. The engine roared and we were off.

I was dirty, sweaty, hadn’t worn make up or touched an appliance to my hair in a month and life was damn good.

Making the decision to travel solo in my twenties was never a choice I intended to make. I always assumed I would travel with my friends and take short week long vacations to different destinations around the world.

Six months ago I realized that quick trips were not going to be an efficient form of travel for me. I wanted to see a lot and to do it as young as possible.

After making the decision, I finished up my lease, bought a backpack and headed out into the unknown.

I spent my summer swimming in the Caribbean ocean in Central America and the fall backpacking Europe.

The number one reason you need to travel solo in your twenties is to become aware of your potential.

I had no idea that I would be able to figure out public transport systems in different languages, that I was capable of making friends all around the world and that I would be able to make any travel dream I had come true.

I didn’t know that I could really pull off the digital nomad lifestyle, working online while seeing some of the most beautiful sites in the world.

I am the most grateful for having figured out the potential that is within me at 25 years old, instead of waiting for an epiphany twenty years down the line.

Knowing how much potential is reserved within me tells me one thing, I have no excuse.

There is never any reason not to go for your largest dream because there is a one hundred percent chance that you can attain it.

Covered in other people’s sweat, breathing in the hot muggy air of a school bus filled with eighty people and looking out the dirty windows I realized that I had just freed myself of all of the limitations that a normal life had accidentally put on me.

Traveling solo enlightens you. It shows you that you can pull off anything you put your mind to. That in fact, there is so much potential in you that you could reach for the stars and you still would have room for growth.

By coming face to face with the potential that I have, I no longer have a fear of going for the lifestyle of my dreams. Just as I know where I want to travel to and then I get myself there and around to all the sites and excursions that I want to-I can go for my goals. I know what my goals are and I know that I can get myself to them and then some.

Book that one way and get on the next level of life, the level where fear dissipates and all your left with is overwhelming, beautiful confidence.