Starting 2026 with honest stories about solo living, solo travel, and navigating the world as a neurodivergent person with social anxiety.
Hello, and happy 2026.
If you're reading this, you might be someone who understands what it's like to feel a little out of step with the world. Maybe you've scrolled past countless travel photos of friend groups and felt that familiar pang. Maybe you've canceled plans at the last minute because the thought of being in a crowded room made your chest tight. Maybe you've wondered if there's something wrong with you for preferring your own company, or struggled to explain to others why certain situations that seem easy for everyone else feel impossibly hard for you.
I'm starting this blog because I've been there. I am there. And I've learned that there's a whole world of us navigating life a little differently, often feeling like we're the only ones.
What This Space Is About
This blog is about solo living and solo travel, yes. But more than that, it's about what it means to build a life that actually fits you, even when that life looks nothing like what you expected or what everyone else seems to be doing.
I'm neurodivergent. I live with social anxiety. And I've spent years trying to force myself into shapes that weren't mine, attending events that drained me, saying yes when I meant no, and feeling like I was failing at some fundamental aspect of being human.
Solo travel changed something for me. Not in a "I found myself on a mountaintop" way, but in quieter, more practical ways. I learned that I could trust myself. That I could handle uncertainty. That being alone didn't have to mean being lonely, and that sometimes the most peaceful moments happen when you stop trying to perform for anyone else.
What You'll Find Here
I'll be writing about the realities of traveling alone when social anxiety comes along for the ride. The strategies that actually help, and the ones that don't. The victories that might seem small to others but feel enormous to us.
I'll share what solo living has taught me about creating spaces and routines that support rather than drain my energy. How to handle the questions from well-meaning people who don't quite understand why you'd choose to live this way. How to build community on your own terms.
And I'll write about being neurodivergent in a world that wasn't built with us in mind. The accommodations and workarounds. The self-advocacy. The ongoing process of unlearning shame and learning to work with your brain instead of against it.
💡 A Quiet Truth
The goal isn't to become someone else—it's to build a life where you can be yourself.
Why Now?
Because it's 2026, and I'm tired of waiting until I'm "better" or "fixed" or somehow different before I start living. I'm learning that maybe the goal isn't to become someone else, but to build a life where I can be myself.
If you're here, maybe you're learning that too.
This won't be a blog of perfect solutions or transformation stories. It'll be honest. Sometimes messy. Hopefully useful. I'm figuring this out as I go, and I'm inviting you to come along for the journey.
What to Expect
- You are not broken for needing extra time to recharge
- Your accommodations are valid
- Traveling solo doesn't require confidence—just curiosity
- Building a life that fits you is worth it
So here's to 2026. To new beginnings that honor who we actually are. To the quiet rebels who choose their own path, even when it's lonely. To building lives that fit.
I'm glad you're here.