6 months ago, I had a silly dream about driving across the country. I never thought it would happen, especially not alone. I just didn’t think I had the guts.

In the past 2 weeks, I have driven over 3,000 miles through 12 states and visited 13 towns. I am now just outside of the North entrance of Yellowstone National Park, where I will start my new job tomorrow morning. Not only did I make it to my destination safely, I had the time of my life.

Here are the top 6 things I’ve learned through the amazing experiences I’ve had on this life-changing trip.

1) Most things are never as scary in real life as they are in your head.  Before I left, I kept subconsciously imagining the worst. Not only did the things I imagined not happen, but the trip was better than I imagined. Our brains want to protect us, keep us safe within familiarity and stop us from trying new, potentially threatening things. This lesson came up more times than I can count or name, mostly right before I left. I was terrified that something horrible would happen or that I’d be debilitated by my fear (yeah, I was afraid of being afraid…) but when I got on the road, I was pleasantly surprised at how not scary it was driving in new places (even big ones with lots of traffic and the steep, narrow scenic roads), going out at night, talking to locals, and being on my own. Taking risks challenged me to grow and made me feel alive. I was surprised by my own strength. I did it!

2) Women can safely and successfully travel alone. Yes, traveling alone can be dangerous, and unfortunately, female travelers take a larger risk going solo than males. This almost held me back from going, but man, am I glad I didn’t let it. I’ve found a new sense of confidence, independence, and empowerment. I made smart decisions but still pushed myself to do things that I was afraid of, like check out a local bar in a tiny Wyoming mountain town, Buffalo, and talk to the two rugged cowboys about why they love their little town so much. Some people’s red flags might go off at a scene like that, but I also learned that most people in this world are good. Yes, you have to guard yourself to a certain extent, but being too cautious can cause you to miss out on some really great experiences.

3) When you are open to receiving, you will be received. I encountered several peculiar “coincidences” on the trip. At Snaggy Mountain, I ran into someone I knew from Sarasota. Last night in Buffalo, there was a group of young musicians hanging out at the campfire and one of them was also from Sarasota. In St. Louis, I sat down at a coffee shop and noticed that on the wall right in front of me were two license plates: Wyoming, and Florida right underneath it. And tonight I went to a saloon-type local restaurant in Gardiner and happened to sit next to a man from Miami, likely the only other Jew in this town and possibly in Montana. The odds of all of these happenings are slim, and whether or not they were some type of “signs,” they certainly felt like little gifts.

4) I am okay alone – better than okay. One of the reasons I was afraid before I left was because I was afraid of myself. I wasn’t sure that I liked myself enough to spend all this time alone. As it turns out, I’ve gotten comfortable being by myself, but not just comfortable – enjoying my own company. I would sing my guts out in the car and make up songs, talk to myself, smile and giggle to myself. I think that this also, ironically, made me more comfortable talking to other people. I was so proud to tell my story, and loved hearing others’ too.

5) It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. Okay, I know it’s really cliche, but it’s such a good, timeless lesson. Being on the road was a really great reminder of this because every time I got into my car to get somewhere or thought I had to rush, I tried to remember to enjoy every moment. When I was bored with driving and couldn’t help but thinking, “Are we there yet?!” I paused to reframe and appreciate the trees, the open road, whatever was around. There is beauty in every moment and it’s easy to miss when we are so focused on the end goal. It’s important to have a path, but the entire path is important, especially that which leads you to where you’re going.

6) Everything is perfect exactly the way it is. Not every moment of the trip was sunshine and rainbows. There were tough moments, too, especially when things didn’t go exactly as I had hoped or expected. There was so much I wanted to do and as much as I wanted to be spontaneous and challenge myself, I also had to learn when to say no. I had very little planned before I left other than a general route, and I eased into the idea of “going with the flow,” something pretty foreign and intimidating to me. I practiced non-attachment and releasing expectations and began to learn that whatever happens is exactly what is supposed to happen, even if not what you thought. Accepting things as they are makes life much happier.

There are so many more things I learned and experienced and I would love to share more one-on-one. I’m a little sad that this part of the journey is coming to a close, but it has led me to my next step and allowed me to learn and grow in ways I never would have otherwise. I’ll never feel like I missed out or that I let fear get the best of me. I’ll never look back.