I didn't start out
confident. I started
out curious.

My first solo travel experience happened completely by accident.

Picture this: It's 2013, and you're going on your first out-of-state collegiate trip. Two weeks before you leave, your organization meets to discuss the particulars. Everyone is excited. Whoooo, California for the first time!

And then, bam.

You realize you booked your flight to San Francisco.

The conference is in Sacramento.

Did I mention I was a broke college student and didn't have the funds for a new flight?

So what should've been an easy conference trip suddenly became my first solo adventure.

I spent the entire travel day exploring San Francisco while simultaneously trying to figure out how the hell I was going to make it to Sacramento. My journey involved a local bus, Greyhound, light rail, and eventually being escorted the rest of the way by a total stranger at night after my phone died.

Did I say clueless? I meant careless. Because where was my portable charger? Or at least a backup battery (RIP accessible phone batteries)? Why was I talking to strangers on train platforms at night? 😭

I didn't start off as some seasoned traveler, and to be honest, I'm kinda not that now either.

I am much more careful and much less clueless. Same amount of natural curiosity.

But the biggest difference is that these days, I let my confidence lead me.

I'm more versed in the language of travel and all its little nuances. I know enough to wander a little farther, stay a little longer, and have a lot more fun. Naturally, this means I still end up in the craziest predicaments and the most random situations with strangers. I'm a Sagittarius stellium, after all.

But that's part of the adventure.

It's part of the plot.

It's part of my life's play.

Confidence doesn't always come before the adventure. Sometimes, the adventure is what gives it to you.

I'm Lauren. World traveler by nature, astrology student by cosmic curiosity, and the woman behind The Ninth House Wanderer.

When I'm not on a plane, you can usually catch me floating somewhere between my two homes, Chicago and Denver, probably planning where I'm going next.

Won't you wander with me?