I was born in Beijing and was raised by a traditional Chinese family that told me succeeding academically was the only way to find success in life. I spent most of my time studying and never got to travel or enjoy hobbies.

In the early 2000s, I moved to the US on my own to pursue my education as an international student. I lived in Florida, Texas, and Southern California before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2017. While I initially faced language and culture barriers, I adapted quickly to life in the US. I'm someone you call a "third culture individual" — I identify with both my American and Chinese cultures. I feel at home in the Bay Area, a place that celebrates diversity and inclusion.

Since moving to the US, I've earned a Ph.D. in information science and now work at a university as an academic. After living in the US for the past 20 years, I'm also a naturalized US citizen.

I traveled solo after breaking off my engagement

Apart from visiting family in China — my last trip to Beijing was in 2018 — I hadn't traveled solo until last year. I had always lived my life according to my parents' expectations. Like most Chinese parents, they expected me to succeed academically, get married, and have kids by a certain age. I never felt I was doing enough.

Angela cycling in Copenhagen, Denmark.




Courtesy of Angela/

After breaking off the engagement, I worked on healing myself. Last year, I decided to try something I'd never done before, which was to travel solo internationally. For the first time, I felt like I was prioritizing myself and putting what I wanted to do first. I began documenting my solo travel on TikTok and Instagram.

I found it easy to connect with people abroad

I started my journey with a solo trip to Denmark and Sweden in November. A month later, I embarked on a monthlong solo trip traveling to eight cities in Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Vatican City. And in February, I traveled to Iceland to celebrate my birthday on my own.

In addition to my regular time off, I have over 30 days of vacation a year I can accumulate. Because I work at a university, I also follow the academic calendar. For the monthlong trip to Europe, I took 3 weeks off and had a week of holiday leave for the Christmas break.

In total, I spent around $8,000 on that trip. All of my years of hard work have provided me with enough savings to fund my trips.

One of the things that I loved most about traveling solo was being able to meet and socialize with people from all walks of life. I'm an outgoing and social person, and it helped that I stayed in hostels so I could meet other travelers. But I realized that it was easy to meet people anywhere just by starting a conversation and saying hi.

Angela dining out in Iceland.




Courtesy of Angela/

In Rome, at the Colosseum, I met another solo traveler. After taking photos of each other, we ended up chatting and spending the rest of the day exploring the city and having dinner together. I met several different people in the same way.

Solo travel helped push me out of my comfort zone

Solo traveling is such an empowering experience. I have the complete freedom to decide what I want to do and where I want to go. I enjoy solitude when I want and socialize when I want.

It is the serendipity that makes solo traveling beautiful. I did a lot of self-discovery and self-growth. I learned that you don't have to live life a certain way. The world is big, there are many ways to live a fulfilling life. It's helped me gain clarity and put things into perspective.