Yes. Yes, it is happening.

I've dabbled a bit in the blogging world before, but I’ve never fully embraced it—until now (or at least, let’s see how long this enthusiasm lasts). It’s day one, so I’m not sure I can officially call myself a “blogger” just yet.

But the reason you're here today is that I’m about to embark on a pretty big adventure. In just seven days, I’ll be setting off on a solo trip across Europe, and I wanted to document the journey as it unfolds.

Yes, I’m traveling Europe. Alone.

I can’t quite explain how excited I am. And based on some of the reactions I've gotten from friends and family, apparently, my excitement is... noteworthy. Let me share a few:

---

1. “You’re going alone? Not even with a tour group? You’re so brave!”

I’m not one to disagree when someone calls me brave, but honestly, I don’t feel particularly courageous. To be brave, I think you need to be scared first, and I haven’t felt scared yet. Mostly, I’m just buzzing with excitement. (And to those who have had to hear me talk endlessly about this trip—sorry, but not sorry!)

2. “How much is this going to cost?”

I’ve done quite a bit of planning—okay, a lot of planning. No, I didn’t go the absolute cheapest route. I wasn’t about to open a bunch of credit cards for travel points or anything like that. But for those curious, here’s the breakdown: my round-trip flight was around $900, and I bought a global rail pass that lets me hop on trains pretty much everywhere for about $600. I’ll be staying in hostels at around $20 a night. So, you can do the math from there!

3. “Won’t you get lonely?”

To be honest, I’m not sure yet. I’ve always been pretty comfortable doing things on my own, but a whole month solo is a different story. That said, I’m kind of looking forward to a break from... well, everyone. Not in a bad way, but sometimes people have pretty set ideas of who I am, and it can be exhausting living up to those expectations. This trip isn’t about “finding myself,” because I already know who I am. It’s more about giving myself the space to just be without anyone else’s preconceived notions. Sounds refreshing, right?

4. “Where exactly are you going?”

I used to answer this by listing out all the countries, but I quickly learned that most people are just making polite conversation. So, the short answer is: I’m starting in Dublin, Ireland, and after that, I’ll be traveling by train to a bunch of other places across Europe. If you’re really curious, I’ve created pages for each country I plan to visit!

5. “I’m so jealous!”

I used to be jealous of people like me too. So, what’s holding you back?

---

First stop: Dublin, Ireland!

Stay tuned for more updates as I kick off this adventure!