This weekend I did something that I had yet to do in my (almost) eight week adventure in Paris: I traveled alone. I did not cross any international borders or even go very far at all. I stayed in the city, but I traveled through it by myself. I went to countless monuments and museums, I walked over bridges and through tunnels, I sat and I strolled. I saw Paris through a different lens this weekend, a lens that presented the city as a sight of exploration rather than a the scene of classwork and tight schedules. When something caught my eye, I went to it. When I felt like walking to a new spot, I did so. No rules, no constraints, no boundaries.
It took me a while to feel comfortable enough in Paris to be able to travel through it alone. Even though my normal collegian life is spent in a city, it took time to readjust back to the urban lifestyle as well as to the culture of studying abroad. Just because you are used to living in a city doesn't mean that it is easy to live in any city in the world. Every change in life requires an adjustment period, and studying abroad in no different.
I have finally reached that place where I feel extremely comfortable in Paris. I don't clutch my bag every second in fear that somebody will pickpocket me, and I don't hesitate to sit close to someone on the metro even though there is an open seat. When I bump into someone, I say "Pardon!" instead of "Sorry!", and when someone on the street offers to make me a bracelet I just walk on by instead of indulging in their con act. These little adjustments have helped me to feel more like a local, like someone who is well-versed in the subtleties of the Parisian urban lifestyle. Because of this, I have gained the confidence to be able to travel places on my own without any fears or hesitations.
And wow, did I love it. I spent hours just meandering through the streets, getting myself lost just to find that I knew exactly where I was. When you're alone, you can go wherever you want whenever you want to, and you can spend as much time there as you like. At the end of the day, studying abroad is something that you do for yourself and yourself only. You see things because you want to see them. Nobody forces you to go abroad, and nobody makes you do anything while you are here. Your experience is uniquely and incredibly yours. Traveling, or even just sightseeing alone is special because it is both self-controlled and self-experienced. Be true to yourself, and explore the way that you want to explore!