I went on an 8-month solo road trip after a breakup. I'm engaged now, but I still travel alone.

In my late 20s, I left my beloved Philadelphia apartment near friends and favorite restaurants and moved to the suburbs closer to my boyfriend and work. Then my boyfriend moved to Texas for a job. After five months of long distance, the pandemic hit, and I started working remotely from his home in Houston. These choices seemed inevitable. Following cues from media and society for most of my life, I thought being in love meant adapting to my partner's needs. Though our relationship had been unsteady, I hoped bending to the demands of his life would help repair our bond. The opposite happened: I felt like I was losing myself. Three months into lockdown, we broke up. I returned to the apartment I had left behind in the Pennsylvania suburbs and immediately felt lost. I passed my ex's old house on morning commutes to work, and our date-night restaurant was the only Thai place in the neighborhood.

I needed time away to heal, and the time I used to spend browsing for engagement rings online was now spent scanning travel blogs on top US destinations. Over the next few weeks, I loaded necessities into my orange Toyota Corolla hatchback. With a plan that included a few national parks and states I'd never visited, I started driving west. A solo road trip helped me focus on my own wants and needsDuring my eight-month trip, I never quite knew where I would end up and spent most nights at campgrounds or self-check-in rentals reserved only a few days in advance. A month into the trip, I also booked the only remaining spot on a guided, three-night backpacking trip to summit Grand Teton three weeks in advance. Though incoming storms made a summit attempt unviable, we made it to base camp. I spent three days admiring the peaks above and the valley below covered in stunning white snow. I realized that traveling without an itinerary and only a few vague ideas of where I wanted to go allowed me to focus every moment on myself. I found myself in the small decisions as much as the largeWhile I still felt heartbroken and lonely at times, I discovered small ways to return to myself. During a stay at Lake Huron, I made white lemon ginger tea with water from my camping stove after an early morning bout of insomnia — a small, nurturing act of self-care. Later that day, I bought five more flavors and continued a daily tea ritual throughout the trip. Because I was only responsible for myself on the road, I was more attuned to what I needed, and I felt myself beginning to heal. I realized it wasn't selfish to pay attention to my own needs, it was self-care. Committing to my needs and wants was critical to building confidence and independence. Like this post? Register at One World News to never miss out on videos, celeb interviews, and best reads.