Going to make this short. This morning, during breakfast, I met two female hostellers -- one from Australia and the other from New Zealand (who is living in London, go figure) -- who are traveling solo. Neither seemed particularly outgoing, but were both friendly enough once you spoke to them. I imagine that's how I must have appeared, too.

Anyway, the girl from Australia was spending two weeks in Spain alone, and a combined total of three months in Europe. She then was headed for two weeks in Mexico then a bit of sightseeing in the States, including New York and San Francisco. I asked her if traveling alone was hard and she told me she preferred it. "You can do whatever you want, whenever you want, there's loads of flexibility," she said, which is true. "It does get lonely though." I was glad to hear her say that. The New Zealander agreed, saying that you can have an amazing day and be overwhelmed by the fact that you're in such an amazing place, but still get really down by the early evening, when you've run out of energy and you'd just like to be with friends.

It was so good to know that I'm not the only one who feels that way. I am supremely grateful for this trip, and I'm learning invaluable things about the world, some of which I probably won't get a grasp on for quite some time. I wouldn't give up anything for this experience, and I'm beginning to see the benefits of doing this on my own.

One thing this trip has taught me is to appreciate myself. That may sound trivial, but for any of you who really know me, you know that's important. I'm literally forced to like myself and appreciate myself, as I'm my sole companion. And, honestly, it hasn't been that hard. I'm learning so much about myself, namely what I like and don't. For someone who's so accustomed to naturally yielding to others, this is extremely valuable.