Solo

 Here’s to the solo travel, the alone time, and the adventures all for me. Here’s to the pursuit of otherness, the complicated glory of change. Here’s to being in a room of strangers with no one to talk to, here’s to the quiet reflection, and the last minute decisions. Here’s to every road, trail, and path walked by one. 

Today I celebrate the adventures I took myself on. The ones I was judged for, the ones I was told I couldn’t do. The experiences I gave myself in the hopes of finding truth and joy. Today I claim them as some of my dearest and most important decisions. The choices that took me out of the cycle and in to the promise. 

The promise is that life is a gift, bought with a price, not to be squandered on expectations and perceptions of others. A gift to empower change, speak truth, offer kindness, encourage depth. Today I celebrate what being solo taught me, how I grew and changed, how I loved, failed, and tried again. 

I celebrate how I was never really alone. How the people I’ve met along the way taught me about generosity and all its different faces. The friends who took me to new and terrifying heights. The words of the wise speaking to me in quiet moments on empty trails and noisy restaurants full of unfamiliar voices. The prayers of many lending me courage to take a chance.

So, today I am celebrating the life that mattered even when it was lonely. I applaud the esteem I allowed myself to feel. I look back on years well lived, and recognize how they brought me to this place of new and beautiful adventure. Today, I take a chance on someone who shows me what I could not see going solo, and I cannot wait for our new life together.