My 2022 Costa Rica trip was a pivotal moment in my life. After 18 months of working dead-end jobs, I saved enough to book my first-ever group tour. As a solo traveler, I didn’t know any of the other 34 travelers, some of whom came with people they knew. It was a big risk that turned out to be one of the best trips I could’ve asked for. I bathed in the hot springs in Arenal, went on a catamaran tour in Tamarindo, zip-lined above the trees in Monteverde, and found companionship in Jaco.

This trip pushed me outside my comfort zone. It was scary being suspended high in the air zipping 20mph, with nothing but a single rope keeping you from a fatal fall. Or being dropped three stories into a shallow pool of water. It was even scary singing karaoke for the first time ever, and in front of a large group no less. But I did them because I wanted to be bold. I wanted to be adventurous. By telling myself I already was, I did things that only a bold and adventurous person does and therefore I became so.