Traveling outside of the country can be nerve-racking. Take it from me, as I have really never traveled alone prior to this past year. After taking a plane home to Maine from upstate New York this past spring, I was overly proud of myself with it being my first time alone in an airport.

Although, after traveling back from Japan by myself this past week, I definitely gave myself a few pats on the back.

I now sit in my apartment at Syracuse University, being away from the safe place of home is so much easier. As this past year has allowed me to branch out and travel places by myself, I can definitely see how natural and easy it becomes, and how quickly the fear lessens.

Upon return from Japan, I entered my four-hour layover in Chicago. After a fifteen hour flight from Japan, my skin felt awful, all I wanted was a shower, and my bed was still a three-hour flight away. While entering the line for customs, I quickly noticed that all of the passengers on my plane had a form in their hands—the very important form that I hadn't even thought to grab.

As this piece of paper was basically proof of my airline traveled on and the destination I had come from, I was not too elated to learn that I had accidentally overlooked the fact that I needed this paper for customs. As my exhausted body inched towards the counter, I was quickly able to find someone who was then able to assure me that I was fine—as I had already filled out all of the important information on the form on the kiosk.

With my empty hands and exhausted presence, I walked to the counter where my heart rate was then able to decrease some. Feeling completely refreshed, I made it through customs, on to my next plane back home to Maine, and into my bed as fast as possible.

With small scares and encounters that have happened over the course of this year spent traveling, I have learned how scary it really isn't. I have truly learned how much I am able to rely on myself to get through nerve-racking experiences. So, as I currently sit back at school in Syracuse, New York, it is so rewarding to learn that being places other than home does not have to be scary at all.

And to think that I have just about overcome my initial fears of traveling feels so amazing.