Hello everyone:

You may think that, because you are no longer married, you shouldn’t travel. Hogwash, folks. You can still have a superb time, even if you aren’t accompanied.

Take for example, air flight. I travel frequently, almost always by myself, and I have met some outstanding folks. Last night, I came home from a visit with my dad, only to sit on the plane with two graduate nursing students. They didn’t know each other and I didn’t know them, but by the end of the trip, we were offering encouragement to one another. What fun!

I was able to talk with them about qualifying exams and offer them guidance on preparing for the biggest exam they’ll ever face. My www.practicalmakeperfect.com blog for college student success has five different blog postings on preparing for the examinations.

They chatted about being mature students in a class full of younger women. We talked about setting priorities and the numerous hats we wear as women. What a great time of fellowship!

Perhaps you aren’t going for an advanced degree, so you wouldn’t talk about that type of thing, but you could discuss other things. It turns out, the women I was talking with loved House, M.D. (the topic of my dissertation), so we talked about the various characters. Maybe you are an HGTV fan. Talk about that.

You might face a flight where there’s no one you want to talk to. Fine, always carry an interesting book and you will automatically have something to entertain yourself, should conversation lag.

When you get to your destination, don’t be discouraged.  Go do something you would love to do but haven’t. I went to see some million dollar houses one afternoon of my recent trip. They were having an open house, and I love to look at fancy homes. As a result of my doing this, I had a wonderful time seeing a gorgeous home and I met the angel Gabriel, or so he said. That’s a story, in and of itself. Make a comment if you want to hear it.

Best,

Dr. Sheri