This young woman knew exactly the kind of traveler she wanted to be: moseying, relaxing, and soaking up the sights at a leisurely pace. Conversely, since she was on vacation preceding a wedding, she was traveling with a big group of extended family members who wanted the opposite. They were rushing to each site, checking their boxes, and trying to fast-track their Japan-style journey. Out of place and out of sync with everyone, the young woman decided to head out on her own to enjoy Japan solo.
It's for this reason that I don't love to travel in large groups; it's impossible to please everyone. Traveling is like a well-worn pair of boots; the longer you're walking around, the more customized the fit, which is why it's so personalized and one of the reasons that traveling is so meaningful. Now, I've been all over the world and have encountered many traveling faux pas in my day, and one thing that's cemented in my mind is that there are very few people in this world that any one person can tolerate for longer than 3 days.
By the time you reach 72 hours of socializing and traveling together, that's usually the mental limit. After that, things descend into chaos.
Bickering and snickering start, and the traveling fever turns into a bona fide rash on your chest, stemming from stress, train anxiety, and a mild food coma. So when that rift begins to form between yourself and your travel buddies, even if they are family, it's time to take a step away, slow down, and go at your own speed. This young traveler was self-aware enough to understand her needs on her first-ever trip abroad, but her vacationing family members couldn't possibly understand that her version of an adventure included a matcha tea and a restful afternoon in a garden, not 55 touristic stops and scenic locations across a 10-mile tourist's walking path.
It's not every day that someone so young understands themselves so deeply, and I think that this woman has a lifetime of cool, otherworldly adventures ahead of her… At her own speed.
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