Recently, I took a trip to Mexico for the wedding of a close family friend. My mom and dad both couldn't attend, being busy working people, so if I really wanted to go, this was something I had to fund and undertake on my own. After figuring out the preparations, I was finally ready for the journey... or was I? This would be my first time traveling internationally alone, and the only other country I'd been with my parents was Canada. I thought I was ready, and wanted to take on the journey, as a testament to my independence, but what i didn't realize at the time was that I was going to face a host of complications getting there... and coming back, I ran face first into Storm Jonas.

BUT, I did not come from the trip empty handed. I ended it with a new emotional and physical journey in my pocket- and all the life lessons that would come with. As they say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I might as well make that journey easier for those about to embark by sharing what I learned:

1. Ask for help

This is always rule number one when embarking on your first lonesome international journey. You're a fool to think you know what your doing, and nobody expects you to. At the airport, I would constantly be badgering the attendants and cashiers and whoever looked like they knew what they were doing. Even if it was something simple, when it's unfamiliar to you, or when you're used to having a constant guide or partner, it can suddenly become daunting and insurmountable. Asking for help not only clears up confusion, but it reminds you that you're not alone in this, that you don't have to know exactly what you're doing because there are people around you who know exactly what you have to do.

Their job is to help you.

So ask for help.

2. Double check the day before

On my way back from Mexico, I ran face first into Storm Jonas, which cancelled my connecting flight in New York so that I couldn't get my flight back to Vermont to make it in time for school. My layover was in Chicago, and as fate would have it, that's where my sister lives, so I stayed in her apartment for the night to figure out a new flight. I went to Expedia, looking up flights for the next day that could go directly to Vermont. I found one and bought it and the next morning was off to the airport.

Only to find that the flight I thought was that day was actually several weeks later.

Now, you might be laughing at my stupidity, but I defend myself by saying that, in the confusion and chaos, I went forward with haste and was too quick to believe in a silver lining. So, I can't stress this enough. No matter how sure or relieved or hurried you are feeling- DOUBLE CHECK THE DAY BEFORE. EVERY DETAIL.

It will be well worth your time.

3. Call your Mom

Now, that brings me to this very important point. When I was in the predicament outlined in Number 2, I responded to this by sitting in the airport drowning in a handful of tears.

I was petrified of calling my mother and admitting to my absolute stupidity. I was terrified of missing school and falling behind. I was terrified of losing more money to mishaps and misunderstandings.

But, thankfully, I followed my instinct and I called my mom.

And she made me feel terrible.

BUT, in the end, after the scolding and sighing and yelling and ughs and aghs, she told me what to do. She directed me and guided me and forced me to learn from my mistakes. That's what your mom is for. She's been there, she's done that, she's heard it all. And now she's here to bestow her wisdom upon you.

Traveling alone isn't about getting it right all the time. It's about making mistakes and realizing you've made a mistake and going through the right steps to figure out how to correct and learn from that mistake. Even if you're embarrassed and frustrated and mad at yourself and tearing your hair out, call yourself out and then do yourself a huge favor.

Call your freaking mom.

4. Try new things

Part of the magic of traveling is getting out of your comfort zone. You go to strange cities and you learn by getting lost in them. You learn by eating things that have names you can't pronounce and going to museums that look like something you've never seen before. Traveling should shock you; should jar you. It should force you to realize that the world is an expanse that goes far beyond the four corners of your own little universe.

Get out of your universe, and you might find what you've really been looking for.

5. Talk to the people you travel with

Throughout my tumultuous journey, I ended up having to take many many Ubers (to and from the airport; to and from my sister's apartment in Chicago; to and from place after place in unknown cities and spaces). And, one of the newer features of Uber is "UberPool," a way to split the fare of your journey with other commuters on similar routes. I used this feature many times, trying to save money wherever I was going. And I distinctly remember one journey to the airport, shared with a middle aged woman who was a journalist for a Chicago paper and a man in his early 30s who worked in a Rosetta Stone kind of firm that helped international businesses learn languages and communicate with one another. Immediately, we all engaged in a conversation about their work, and rather than condescend me for my youth, they were just as interested in my interests as I was in theirs. I got a taste of different lives, ones that were so far from mine, yet reached me all the same. All of us, off to the airport to then travel thousands of miles away from each other, but in this moment, we were all connected. And this widened my perspective.

This aspect of my travel taught me that anyone can be a teacher, a guide. Keep learning new and random things from deep, eclectic people. Collect stories and experiences, because those moments will stay with you, trust me.

6. Write & read/absorb & document

Part of the reason I remember so much of my travels and what I learned throughout it is because of, 1) my brown leather journal, 2) the books I took with me in all the spaces in between, which I marked up vigorously, and 3) my computer full of pictures taken by both me and my sister.

There is so much happening at every single moment when you are stretching to different parts of the world, and absorbing things that haven't become dulled with "day-to-day." Be present for every moment, but also take the time to scribble some notes now and again. If you have a profound moment, or if a particular person, pose, color, or shape jars or intrigues you- capture it. And in the spaces between, READ. There's something to be said for reading while traveling. You experience the book in such a particular and breathtaking way.

7. Let go

During my last days in Mexico, word began spreading of Storm Jonas hitting the East Coast. Many of the wedding guests began checking the news, checking flights, adjusting their journeys back to avoid the chaos of the storm. I remember going into an instant panic. I struggle a lot with anxiety, and the thought of missing school started eating at me. I had already dealt with many mishaps without a storm, and now that there was one, I didn't think I'd be able to do it.

But the bride pulled me aside, and laid it all out for me: This is what we're gonna do. This is what's gonna happen. You will be fine.

I realized, what is the point of letting this unexpected occurrence ruin the last days of what was otherwise a magical experience? What will worrying do for me, right now, in this very moment!? Nothing. I had to let go of what wasn't and accept what was. I had to rid myself of past and future, and be in the here and now. Which brings me to...

8. Live in the moment

When I realized my flight to New York was cancelled and I was "stuck" in Chicago, an odd sense of peace and stillness overcame me. My original layover was in TEXAS, but last minute it was switched to Chicago, where my sister lived and went to school. I was in the cab, on the way to her apartment, sitting next to my best friend, who I rarely get to see nowadays, while thinking to myself, "life is so strange."

It seemed like a cosmic moment for me, and I suddenly felt very at peace with where I was. What could school teach me that would make me grow and learn more than this entire experience? More than being right here, right now?

She beamed at me, because despite my stress, she was secretly elated that all this craziness happened. I got to be with her for a few days, immersed in a different life for a while, truly living moment to unanticipated moment.

9. Love being alone

One aspect of traveling alone is that you're going to have many moments, many in-between or even not so in-between moments where the only company you have is yourself. In these niches, I found myself inspired. I would write poetry and letters, I would reflect on the people in my life who I looked up to, and maybe it was the sentimentality of the wedding that got to me, but in these moments I felt such a profound love for everyone who made me the person I am.

It can be hard being alone, because that's when all the things swirling through your mind can come crashing together with no external distractions or release.

But in being alone, I found that I was at peace with myself. When you've been hurled through chaos, you really realize the power and beauty of stillness. And you realize that you can be your own best friend.

10. Be Your Own Guide

One of the days I was in Chicago, I went to a famous pizza joint with my sister and a couple of her friends. There, we met a guy who randomly initiated conversation with us. i don't really remember how, but the conversation started to go in a strange direction. He started talking about how he used to be in finance, how that was what he went to school for and loved. But then when he got a job in finance, he realized the people he had to work with were selfish and greedy and toxic, and not what he wanted his life to be. So he quit.

"I realized that there are so many other ways of making money and making a living than the 9-5, straight and narrow path that everyone tells you life has to be. There are a million ways to stay financially stable that can be structured around the life you really want, what makes you happy."

Be your own guide.

Listen to yourself.

Make your life what you want it to be.