The Written Podcast: It’s The Same, But Completely Different in Every Way

It’s one thing going away on holiday with company, it’s another thing going away on your own. What’s different about going on holiday on your own is that you’re on your own. In fact, doing anything on your own is different to when doing something with company, that’s a fact I think we can all agree on. Many of us have experienced many a thing whilst on our own, going to the cinema, theatre, concert, abroad to another country. As of writing this article, I have yet to experience going abroad on my own, but when this article is released, I would have experienced going to New York City all by myself. And yes, I am nervous.

What inspired me to write this article was when having a casual conversation with my mum about how I’ve been through many airports before, so I’ll know what to expect when I get to Heathrow. I agreed with her. I do know what to expect when I get to Heathrow, when boarding a plane, and when I get off the plane into America. What I haven’t – or rather cannot – prepare myself for is what to expect whilst doing all of that on my own. If I were to list all the experiences in order of how many times I’ve been through them, going through an airport on my own would be right at the bottom. It’ll be something I’ve done multiple times, but something I’ve never done before, and that changes how it is all perceived entirely.

Just because you’ve experienced something multiple times before, does not mean you are prepared for what to do when you’re on your own, because then it’ll all become alien once more.

I am nervous about travelling on my own. When this article goes up, I’d have been and returned. I’m fascinated by how it will feel like going through everything I’d been before, but instead with someone else, all by myself. I’m curious about how different it’ll feel, and I’m intrigued by the idea of being so far away from home, by myself.

The moment I step onto New York City’s soil, after going through the airport’s procedures, acknowledging just how far away from home I truly am. The furthest I’ve ever been away from home by myself is Cornwall, which is a 5 and a half hours’ drive, and was for only one night. The furthest I’ve ever been away from home with company is Chicago, and for 1 week. This holiday will be the furthest I’ve ever been away from home on my own. And I am nervous.

Being nervous for a trip is a good thing in some ways, because you double and triple check everything to make sure it’s all in order and the necessities are packed, but it doesn’t matter how many times you check, you still feel as if you’ve forgotten something, and it doesn’t matter how many times I reassure myself I have everything I need, I know for certain that as I am travelling to the airport by coach, I’ll feel like I’ve forgotten something. The really annoying moment will come when I get to my hotel room and rest from a long trip, that I’ll discover what I’ve forgotten if anything… and if I could simply nip back home and get it, I wouldn’t need to spend 8 hours on a plane to get there.

A few people have expressed their surprise when discovering I’m going to New York, others have given me encouragement. Being the first holiday abroad on my own, I did dedicate some time into thinking where I’d like to go. The reason why I chose New York City was, whilst it’s a city far bigger than I’ve ever been to before, it’s still a city nevertheless. I’ve been to London many times before, so I chose New York City because of the subtle sense of familiarity with it being a city. That was the logic I used when making my overall decision. I now have to wait to see if that logic was sound or not. As a city, it shouldn’t be too different – with built up areas, tall buildings, incredibly dense crowds moving in all different directions, the constant sounds of vehicles forging their way through the city – but it’ll be utterly different to London in every way I can imagine, because it’s New York, and I’m on my own.

I have constructed a list of things I’d like to do when I’m there, but the one thing that intrigues me the most is the Museum of Mathematics. Located on 26^th street, I’m fascinated to learn what it has on its displays. Will it explore the history of maths, the pioneering moments that’s changed the way we think about maths, those incredible minds that discovered or even crafted some aspects of the maths we know – or maybe all of the above?

I’m sure once I get to my hotel room and I put my suitcase down in the corner and lay back on my bed, it won’t feel too daunting. The most daunting experience about the entire holiday will be travelling to and from New York. Once I’m up in the air and gotten comfy in my chair, browsing through the selection of films to relax to, I won’t feel any less nervous than if I had company, because in truth, when holidaying abroad on your own, you’re your own company, and if I can do it with company, then I can do it on my own… that sounded a little too “self-help”, didn’t it? I haven’t been on the holiday yet; can you tell?

When I get back from my holiday, I’ll write what it felt like to be away for that long, that far away, in New York City. I’m going to take so many pictures, eat so many new foods, and go to 7-Eleven, where I will be purchasing myself a Big Gulp, something I’ve been wanting to see in person for quite a while. It’ll be fun.

See you when I get back.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)