My first trip ended up traveling for 229 days, through three continents and 24 different countries. I spent Halloween in Transylvania (home of Dracula), camped in the desert in Egypt, rode horses and camels through the mountains of Turkey, and more.

Try to avoid fear at first

In 2020, like many others, I was faced with the isolation that COVID-19 brought us. I spent eighteen months building my wanderlust for the world. I began to find curiosity in looking into new places and dreaming of being able to see them on my own.

As much as I dreamed, I never thought I would be able to do it. I was too scared to overcome fear, scared of the idea of getting up and leaving everything I knew to travel the world alone. Wanting to experience new cultures without having to leave my room, I began studying Mandarin and teaching English to Chinese students online. I thought this would satisfy my urge to see the world, but it only made it greater.

Find a way to travel and study both

As those eighteen long months of isolation drew to a close and I finished my final year of high school, I looked for what I would be doing next. I had always seen myself continuing my education and was not ready to give up on that. My wanderlust continued to grow as I began to figure out what university I would attend. One day I had the relaxation, why can't I just do both?

With lots of research, I finally landed on a way to do it. Through a local college, I was able to take classes that would allow me to travel through different time zones and be able to make my own schedule around them. Finally, I had figured out the perfect way to do school and travel, but now I had to face my fear of leaving everything I knew to do it.

Decide to begin my first solo trip starting from Turkey

Where to go? Where to go on your own when you have no clue what you are doing? I had no one around me that had solo traveled before and said to me to try a solo trip once in my life. So I had to rely on myself and my research to do it.

After months of research and studying places, I finally found the perfect one, Turkey. Now you may wonder why Turkey? I was asked this many times and even asked myself that same question. Many people told me it was unsafe for women, or that it was a dangerous place overall. Though these questions alarmed me I stuck to my instincts and bought my ticket leaving less than a month later.

After some very hard goodbyes and a lot of questioning if I could travel on my own, I packed up one giant backpack and a duffle bag and was on my way. I had a day-long layover in Lisbon, Portugal which was where I would stay in my first ever hostel. Not knowing anyone that had been to a hostel before I had no clue what to expect. When I arrived, I was shocked to find the helpfulness and community that it held, and I knew that through the worry, it was all worth it.

Turkey becomes my love

When I arrived in Turkey, I instantly fell in love. The people, the food, the nature, it was just the most beautiful place. I spent a month there (and would return six months later to see it again), before heading off to see more places. I had no clue what my adventure would bring, but I can now safely say that buying that ticket was the best choice I could have made.

I ended up traveling for 229 days, through three continents and 24 different countries. I spent Halloween in Transylvania (home of Dracula), camped in the desert in Egypt, rode horses and camels through the mountains of Turkey, and so much more. I have made countless new friends that I still speak to all the time.

Being a solo female traveler, especially for the first time, can be scary, but it is one of the most worthwhile things in the world. Not to mention that while I traveled the world I was able to achieve my goal of continuing my education at the same time. Travel is such a beautiful thing, and I truly believe anyone can do it.

👩 Delaney Brewer(IG: @whereevenisdelaney) lives in the U.S. Traveling and learning about new cultures is her passion. After her first solo trip of 229 days, through three continents and 24 different countries, She falls in love with traveling even more. This is just the beginning of her travel life.