Guest Blog: How to Survive Being a Solo Traveler
One of our Emerald Embassadors (our version of a brand ambassador) is here to share some tips for adjusting to life as a travel nurse!
Meet Nurse Danni! She hails from Philly but currently calls Los Angeles her home. She’s been on assignment with Emerald for some time now and is always a welcome guest at our #OnlyAtEmerald events.
Keep reading to see how to survive being a solo traveler from someone who’s been there before:
My name is Danni and I’m a Travel ER / Trauma RN from Philly currently living in La La land (LA). I became a nurse when I was 20 years old and have been growing and glowing in this career for 7 years. I started my nursing program Abington Memorial Hospital Dixon School of Nursing right after high school. After graduating from nursing school in June, I passed my NCLEX in July (yay!) and started working on a Med-Surg unit at the hospital that I did my clinical at, Abington- Jefferson Health. After two years of Med-Surg I found myself wanted more of a challenge and decided to transfer to the ER/ETC (emergency trauma center). Four years later, I decided that I wanted to take my talents on the road and try my hand at travel nursing.
My entire family is on the East Coast, primarily in Philly. I have never lived out of state on my own before so I decided to stay closer to home and take on an assignment in DC. I loved DC, everything about it from the young professional atmosphere to the night life. California was my next stop. I wanted to continue to spread my wings, so the Bay Area was next on my hit list.
Little did I know I was in for a rude awakening. Being homesick really took a toll on me. My personality can be described as bubbly and outgoing, however if I am out of my comfort zone, I am the opposite.
If this sounds like you, here are some things I did that helped me:
5 Tips for Surviving with Homesickness and Loneliness
1) Facetime is your best friend!
I had 6 nephews with 4 being under the age of 12, they grow so fast, at times there can be 3-6 months before I am able to go home and I feel like I don’t even know who these guys are.
2) Work-out
Working out is not only good for the body but it’s also a good way to clear your mind and get rid of negative energy. I personally joined a gym so that I could meet and engage with new people
3) Try prayer and meditation
I learned the art of meditation at a women’s’ empowerment event in Philly hosted by Nurse Mo. I try to incorporate it into my everyday routine starting with 5-7 mins of meditation and ending in prayer at the beginning and end of my day
4) Go to events
Look out for different events that strike your interests in the surrounding area. Going to them will help you explore your new city and interacting with different people makes it easier to make friends. My travel company, Epic Travel Staffing, puts on fantastic nursing events which has helped me meet and engage with so many amazing nurses and soon to be nurses.
5) Journal
I am obsessed with notebooks, journals, planners etc. I was at Barnes and Noble and came across this super cute journal and decided that I would start writing out my feelings. My thought is, once my thoughts are “out of my mind” I can move on and go about my day with my positive vibes.
I hope that these tips can help anyone with their struggles on solo traveling. I’ve been getting a lot of DMs on Instagram (@RealNurseDanni) inquiring about travel nursing and my experiences. I decided to start a YouYube channel to answer those questions and to talk about my experiences as a travel nurse. My YouTube channel is called “Adventures Of Danni” and I urge you all to subscribe and check it out.
Danni RN
–This blog post originally appeared on AdventuresofDanni.com
Thank you for sharing your experiences and your travel tips Danni! Make sure you check out her blog for more tips and tricks for travel nurses!