How Do You Tell Your Friends...
...You're Going Around the World - Solo?

Once you've made up your mind to go, you'll have to tell your friends you're leaving.

So you break the big news: you've bought a one-way ticket (you don't know when you'll be back, right?) you've pulled all your money out (or at least got a brand new credit card), you've picked out your travel gear and your laptop, and you have at least a vague idea of where you'd like to go.

You'll expect them to be thrilled, enthusiastic, a bit envious maybe, and above all, supportive.

They may not be.

Some of your friends may actually be indifferent - you'll get no reaction at all. 

Others may be angry - you're leaving them, after all. 

And some, of course, will be delirious for you. 

The skeptics, which often make up a large-ish group, might say some of the following:

• You'll never get a job when you come back, not in this economic climate.
• You'll miss everyone. You'll be incredibly lonely and you'll wish you never left.
• You won't last a month.
• You'll get lost. (Isn't that what women do?)
• You'll hate the food/people/poverty/creepy crawlies.
• You'll run out of money.
• You'll get mugged/raped/kidnapped/killed.

Debunking the Myths

It makes sense for your friends to be worried - but they're not necessarily right.

The job? True, you might not find something easily when you return, although if you volunteer or look for overseas jobs along the way, you could be adding to your CV. On the other hand, you might - as I did after three years on the road - find something even better.

Friends and family? Of course you'll miss everyone - that's almost a given. But these days we have laptops, roaming, cellphones, Skype, Facebook, email... these days, keeping in touch is as easy as you want it to be.

You won't last? Wait and see. Unless your friends are fortune-tellers, there's no way they can know how long you'll be gone. I announced I'd be gone six months. I returned three years later. The best-laid plans...

You'll get lost? Really? You can't read a map or a guidebook? You can't ask for directions? Sorry to be harsh on this one but maybe you need new friends.

You'll hate the food - and plenty of other things? You may indeed dislike some facets of what you see. After all, you don't love everything back home, do you? Chances are, though, that what you enjoy and discover will far outweigh what you don't like.

You'll run out of money? Not if you've planned properly and saved and budgeted. And lets face it, if you've gotten this far, you probably have a pretty good idea of how much you can spend.

You'll end up hurt - or worse. Come now - unless you travel to some of the world's most dangerous places, you'll be no more at risk than you would be in your own country. Crime exists everywhere. So do traffic accidents and crazy people. In fact, understanding the basics of safe travel may make you more aware of dangers than you would at home. Nothing is ever totally safe, but there is a lot you can do to avoid crime abroad.

How should you react to your friends' reactions?

Whatever they say when you tell your friends about your RTW plans, you have choices about how you deal with their reactions:

• You can ignore what people say if they're being negative.
• You can try to bring them around to your way of thinking.
• You can try to reassure them by giving them plenty of details about your trip. All your research will show just how serious you are.
• You can simply accept that if people care about you, they'll worry. And just let it go.

Chances are, once they see how serious you are they may well come around and support what you're trying to do.

And lets face it - not everyone thinks it's fun to take off for an undetermined time on your own to places yet to be decided on a budget and to face the possibility of loneliness, strange insects and radical differences in lifestyle.

As human beings, though, we all want to be supported in what we do so if that doesn't happen, we may be in need of a little inspiration. Why not share your concerns on one of the many travel forums out there, or you can dip into some inspirational literature by checking out some of the best travel books by or for women or reading any of thousands of travel blogs written by solo women on the road.

The good news is that many people will be supportive. They'll be excited for you, knowing you're following your dream, your path, and simply living each day to the fullest.

Hold on to their thoughts and remember their words.

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