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Editor-in-Chief Lilli Malone discusses traveling solo.
When I committed to Loyola, one of the things I was most excited about was the prospect of studying abroad. When I started classes, however, I quickly became aware of a choice I would have to make.
I could either be an editor at The Phoenix, or I could live out my Roman dreams at the John Felice Rome Center with my friends.
You’ll likely not find it shocking — based on our weekly interaction through this article — to learn I chose to give my time to The Phoenix. People frequently ask me if I’ve regretted this decision, and my answer is always the same.
“No. Not studying abroad doesn’t mean you can’t still travel.”
It’s easy to feel like your only options for travel as a 20-something-year-old in college are to study abroad or travel with friends, but this becomes complicated when you have other commitments and your friends — and you — have very empty bank accounts.
There’s actually a third option: solo travel. The terrifying, exhilarating, life-altering experience that is solo travel is one you shouldn’t allow to pass you by. It can, without a doubt, be expensive, but with proper budgeting, a good backpack and the right mindset, I promise the experience will be worth your while.
I was fortunate and privileged enough to take three solo trips in 2025. One through Spain during winter break, another through Italy over spring break and the third through Ireland which I recently returned from. Each of them gave me a new list of friends from all over the world, memories I will spend the rest of my life thinking and talking about and a worldview that’s been changed for the better.
If you ever feel trapped by American politics, schoolwork, obligations or the dread of what’s to come after graduation, consider a trip alone. I can almost guarantee you it’ll be one of the least lonely experiences you ever have.
This week in The Phoenix, the first since returning from winter break, read about the good and the bad of “homeless chic” in opinion, hear about the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Walk for Warmth in news, catch up on the happenings of the men’s basketball team in sports and get ready for the Grammy’s with our staff’s predictions in arts.