{"id":346,"date":"2025-08-20T18:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T18:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/?p=346"},"modified":"2025-08-22T12:56:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T12:56:20","slug":"tracee-ellis-ross-solo-traveling-taught-me-that-im-my-own-best-travel-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/tracee-ellis-ross-solo-traveling-taught-me-that-im-my-own-best-travel-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracee Ellis Ross\u2019 Solo Traveling Taught Me That I\u2019m My Own Best Travel Partner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I just so happened to be taking my first solo trip at the same time as Tracee Ellis Ross\u2019<\/a> new series Solo Traveling<\/em><\/a> hit Roku. And it turned out to be divine timing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A weeklong trip to Oaxaca City and Mexico City had been on my vision board for about two years. As an avid traveler, I\u2019ve always loved Mexico. I became obsessed with everything I had heard about the culture, food and art of these two cities and found myself daydreaming about sipping a mezcalrita at a speakeasy and dancing with a belly full of the country\u2019s finest tacos. iIt remained just a dream as I came up with excuses for why I couldn\u2019t go just yet \u2014 I needed a decent amount of time off from work, a good chunk of disposable income, a snatched waist, and a great travel partner. The list was getting longer and longer. It wasn\u2019t until I was at my absolute wit\u2019s end and needed a vacation for my mental health\u2019s sake that I realized that I\u2019m my own best travel partner.<\/p>\n

This is the thesis of Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross.<\/a> <\/em>Over the course of three episodes, Ross packs viewers in her carry-on as she takes us with her on solo trips to Marrakech, Morocco, Riviera Maya, Mexico and Marbella, Spain. The Girlfriends<\/em> star<\/a> is already known for her aspirational life approach, charismatic silliness and all-around majestic aura, but there was something very special about seeing Ross share her solo travel so intimately. Her awkward moments dining alone felt as resonant as the loneliness she\u2019s honest about feeling.<\/p>\n

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I did exactly what the hell I wanted for eight days straight\u2026 It was healing. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

But Ross underscores the curse of constantly waiting for a \u201cperfect time\u201d in your life to do the things you desire:\u201cSo much of what solo travel is about for me [is] not waiting for something in order to walk towards my life, in order to be in my life, in order to experience my life,\u201d she said in Episode 1.<\/p>\n

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As a Black woman solo traveler, there are plenty of factors to take into account. I was heading to a country where I don\u2019t know anyone and don\u2019t speak the language. When I talked about my travel plans with friends and family, they\u2019d tell me to \u201cbe careful\u201d because of stories of travelers going missing or racism they experienced abroad. I nearly backed out of my trip until I recognized that if I let others project their fears onto me, I\u2019ll still end up just dreaming about this trip instead of taking it.<\/p>\n

So with only mild anxiety and a whole lot of wanderlust, I took a dream vacation by myself. My first stop was Oaxaca City, where I stayed at Grana BNB<\/a>, a gorgeous former mansion turned bed and breakfast with amazing service in the state\u2019s capital. During my visit, Oaxaca was celebrating La Guelaguetza<\/a>, an annual festival that emphasizes communal reciprocity. And I truly felt their generosity. Daily performances, museums, parades and a hell of a lot of mezcal and mole (the region\u2019s signature) kept me busy over the course of 4 days. On the third day, I visited Hierve el Agua<\/a> for a grueling hike that was absolutely worth it to see one of only two petrified waterfalls in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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On Friday, I arrived at my accommodations at Hotel Volga<\/a> for four days in Mexico City. I splurged a bit, treating myself to a more luxurious stay in the city. Located in the bustling Roma Norte, I ended up walking around the neighborhood a lot. I felt as if I was growing taller the more I explored. Even with it being the rainy season, I felt like this trip\u2019s timing couldn\u2019t have been better. From buying a ticket from a scalper at a Luchadores match to dining solo at the Michelin-starred Pujol<\/a>, I moved around like the only one granting me permission was me. And that\u2019s something I tend to forget at home as calendar invites and imagined responsibilities take control.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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We deserve a life full of wonder, rest, joy and vulnerability. And we deserve to know that the world is our oyster regardless of who is or isn\u2019t on life\u2019s journey with us.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

My trip felt like jazz. Impromptu, soulful, vibrant and exploratory. I did exactly what the hell I wanted for eight days straight and sometimes that was nothing. It was healing. As Black women, we\u2019re constantly checking on others, nurturing our communities and playing maternal roles regardless of if we choose to have children of our own or not. It\u2019s overly draining.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ross dropped so many gems in her show. But what stood out to me the most was how much the show uses silence to underscore Ross\u2019 time to herself. I found myself sitting in silence a lot. I often opted for the room\u2019s AC or rainfall over my headphones. I relished in the quiet. But I also found myself a bit anxious because of it until I got used to it. Then I realized those were the same moments that I was going deeper into myself in ways I couldn\u2019t access without travel.<\/p>\n

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At 33, I\u2019ve had to get real about what my biggest fears actually are. Nowhere on that list is getting lost, hurting myself in another country or getting racist stares. What I fear most is regret that I let anxieties stop me from living the life my heart desires.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m responsible for my own happiness,\u201d Ross said in the show. Black women must remember that for our own sake. We deserve a life full of wonder, rest, joy and vulnerability. And we deserve to know that the world is our oyster regardless of who is or isn\u2019t on life\u2019s journey with us.<\/p>\n

Though this was my first international solo trip, it won\u2019t be my last. And with Solo Traveling<\/em> now renewed for a second season, I hope more of us find the courage to stop waiting for others and see that we\u2019re our own best travel buddy.<\/p>\n

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I just so happened to be taking my first solo trip at the same time as Tracee Ellis Ross\u2019 new series Solo Traveling hit Roku. And it turned out to be divine timing.\u00a0 A weeklong trip to Oaxaca City and Mexico City had been on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346\/revisions\/354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.1shiawase-body.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}