“Joe, did you book your ticket yet?” I asked.

　　我问：“乔，你订票了吗?”

　　“No. I changed my mind. I’m not going to go.”

　　“没有，我改主意了，我不打算去了。”

　　“What? You aren’t going to Australia? We’ve been planning this vacation for months!”

　　“什么?你决定不去澳大利亚了吗?我们已经为这个度假准备了几个月啊。”

　　“Yeah, I don’t feel like it. We’ll go some other time.”

　　“是的，我不想去了。我们以后再去吧。”

　　Over the coming weeks, I attempted to get my friend to reconsider, but to no avail. When Joe changed his mind, he changed his mind. Our trip to Australia – our big post-college adventure – was off. And none of my friends wanted to replace him. If I wanted to travel, it would have to be on my own.

　　接下来的几个星期里，我试着让朋友再重新考虑一下，但没有奏效。乔改变了想法和决定。我们去澳大利亚的旅程，也是我们的毕业旅行，泡汤了。其他朋友里面也没有想替代乔的人。如果我想去旅行，我一定要自己一个人去。

　　It’s a pattern that has repeated itself over the years. While a few people have joined me along the way. But when it comes down to the wire, something always comes up, they’re suddenly too busy, or they get cold feet and change their mind.

　　这种模式已经持续了好多年。有人想和我一起旅行，但到了准备出发的那一刻，总有些麻烦出现，他们太忙了或者临阵退缩再就是改变主意了。

　　It’s taught me that if I wait for others, I’ll never go anywhere.

　　这教会了我，如果再继续等别人，那我哪里都去不了了。

　　But there are places I want to go, people to see, experiences to have, and food to try — and only so much time to accomplish it all.

　　但是有些地方我想去，有些人我想见，有些经历我想体验，有些美食我想去品尝……只有这么点时间来完成这一切。

　　So I refuse to wait – I won’t let others keep me from realizing my dreams.

　　因此我拒绝等待——我不想别人陪我实现梦想。

　　It can bescary

　　traveling alone – especially when you’ve never done it before. But, to me, growing old without experiencing everything you want from life is scarier.

　　一个人独自旅行会很害怕，特别是如果你之前没有这样做过。但是，对我来说，随着年龄的增长，人生中想体验的却没有去经历会更可怕。

　　If you’ve been putting off a trip because you’re waiting for someone to go with – stop. Just go. Don’t let others hold you back from your dreams. Trust me, along the way you’ll make plenty of friends – from other solo travelers who thought “Screw it, if I don’t go, I’ll never go” to locals interested in meeting new people. You’re never alone when you travel.

　　如果你已经因为等待某人而推迟了旅行，那么拒绝等他吧。出发去旅行，不要让任何人阻碍你追寻梦想的脚步。相信我，一路上你会遇到很多朋友——从其他觉得“算了，如果我不去就再也不会去了”的独自旅行的人，到对新面孔充满好奇的当地人。独自旅行一路上并不孤单。

　　More than that, solo travel gives you ultimate freedom. You wake up and it’s just you – what you want, where you want, when you want. In that freedom and infinite space of possibility, you meet yourself. You hit the limits of what you like and don’t like. There’s no one to pull you in any one direction or override

　　your reasons. Want sushi? Get sushi. Want to leave? Leave. Want to try bungee jumping? Go for it.

　　不止那些，独自旅行会给你无尽的自由。起床，全部由你来做决定——想要什么、想去哪里、什么时候做什么，都听自己的。自由世界，无穷尽的自由，你遇见的是你自己。喜欢什么、不喜欢什么自己来决定。没有人会把你朝某个方向推或是否决你。想吃寿司?那就去吃吧。想走了?那就走吧。想去玩蹦极?那就去吧。

　　It’s sink or swim and you have to learn how to survive – who to trust, how to make friends, how to find your way around alone. That’s the greatest reward of solo travel – the personal growth. Each time you go away, you learn to become a little more independent, confident, and in tune with your emotions and desires.

　　潜水或游泳，你要学会如何生存——该相信谁、怎样交朋友、一个人如何找路。独自旅行最大的奖励的就是个人的成长。每出行一次，你都会变得更独立、自信、遵从内心和欲望。

　　Solo travel is not for everyone. Some people return home soon after departing, others cry for weeks before embracing it, and some just embrace

　　it right away. But you’ll never learn that if you don’t travel once by yourself. Whether a weekend away, a two-week vacation or trip around the world, try it at least once.

　　独自旅行不是针对每一个人。有些人出发没多久就立马回家，有些人在出发之前会哭很久，也有一些人会立刻接受独自旅行。但是如果你从未有过独自旅行的经历，你永远也学不会。不论是离开一、两周的假期或是一个短途的世界游，至少尝试一次。

　　Don’t wait for people or hold back from living your dreams. You could be waiting a long time until someone finally says “yes.” There’s only now and if you don’t go, you’ll regret it.

　　不要为了等他人或是停滞自己追寻梦想的脚步。你可能会等很久直到别人最后说：“好。”只有现在，如果你说不去，会后悔的。

　　Because if I hadn’t stopped waiting, I’d still be in my cubicle

　　, trying to convince Joe to go to Australia, and wondering if I’d ever get to see the world.

　　因为如果我没有停止等待，我还会被困住，尝试去说服乔一起去澳大利亚，也不知道是否有机会去看世界。

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（责任编辑：何莹莹）