 The story I have for you guys today is one that I want you to listen to carefully because there's a really really important message that I want you to pay attention to but before that you need to walk and go find the Eiffel Tower because today is my last day in Paris. I do want to get that final look because God knows when I will be back in Paris again. Let's go. There she is. I don't know if everyone who's been to Paris agrees with me but every time I make it to the Eiffel Tower it's the same feeling. It never gets old. You always get that wow this is the Eiffel Tower because it's just so incredible. I personally am not a big fan of Paris but the Eiffel Tower is always mesmerizing. It's such a wonderful structure. This is a story that I've been wanting to share with you guys for quite a while and hopefully you can take some lessons out of it. If you're on Facebook you probably saw some of these travel groups especially those for women and there are a bunch of them that are super helpful especially for female travelers who want to get more into solo travel so I would go to one of these groups specifically. I don't want to share the exact name but it has an incredible supportive community so usually if someone is traveling solo for the first time they would go in and get tips from other travelers about safety, good places to visit, how to stay safe if a destination is safe and there's also this thing where travelers can offer to host each other so let's say for example I have some space in my apartment and I'm willing to host somebody in my country. I would post to the group and say that I have availability these days. I'm willing to host you and this way these female travelers are supporting each other or if you are a guest or you want to introduce yourself as a guest you can go to the group and you can post the destination that you are traveling to and see if there is somebody who's willing to host you. This way you're not really traveling alone, you get to meet new friends or at the very least you feel safe for your first solo trip and you have somebody who's probably willing to show you around and even travel with you which is so helpful. I have personally met so many incredible women on this group. They usually have great admins to make sure that everything is well organized and people are respecting the rules etc etc. There are always some weird stories posted to this group, usually women who end up finding themselves in weird situations so for example if somebody is traveling and couch surfing they are sharing somebody's couch and then at some point they don't feel safe during their stay for one reason or the other. They would post an emergency message on the group and if there is somebody in the region where they are traveling they might be open to host them which is really helpful. I love the support behind it and the good intention behind it and the willingness to help other female travelers who are in the sticky situations but there is this story that I saw the other day and it really stuck with me and I wanted to share it with you guys and this story was from a person who traveled from her country to probably the other side of the world to meet up with this guy who she talked to for months online. It was the time for them to meet face to face and so he suggested that she traveled to the country where he lives to meet up with him and he also offered that she stays with him in his apartment so she accepted she traveled to the other side of the world met up with this person stayed with him but then at some point of her stay she started feeling unsafe because this person was abusive I'm not sure if it was like physical abuse or mental abuse but it's still abuse so she was not safe at all and she posted to the group asking for help and it was an emergency like she was trying to get out of the situation as soon as she can but she also pointed that not only she's not feeling safe but she doesn't have the resources to get herself out of that situation which to me it just blew my mind because first of all the title I chose for this video you never travel the distance for a guy and even even if you find yourself in a situation where you think it's reasonable for you to travel the distance to meet up with somebody that you don't know because by the end of the day talking to somebody online is not the same as seeing them face to face like people change what you see online chatting online and being out of your sight is not what you get when you see that person face to face that's one but then two even if you decide to travel the distance I mean at least think about having your own accommodation and having that safe space because you are in a country that a is not a country that you are familiar with the environment is not something that you are familiar with the person is not something that you are familiar with at the very least have a place for you that you can go to and crash for the end of the day or even if you decide to stay with this person at the very least have the plan B and have some resources to help yourself and get yourself out of your out of that situation instead of begging other people which I there's nothing wrong with asking for help when it's necessary it's better than not asking for help and you know the situation can escalate really fast but this is where the importance of being independent and having that cushion and that emergency fund to help yourself when you need help because it's just not a fun situation to be in and this is why I think for women especially being independent and being financially independent is so crucial whether you are traveling or not traveling it's so important to have a say in in what you want to do with your life and you have the power to help yourself because when you have that financial independence you are capable of making decisions for yourself you don't need anyone else like you don't need anybody to help you you don't need this person to to beat you up because they know they have the upper hand and they have the power to abuse you like this person I'm 100% sure that if he knew that you are capable of getting yourself out of that sticky situation he probably wouldn't be um abusing you to to begin with so please please please whether you are traveler or not traveler always prioritize being independent and not relying on on anyone especially when you become an adult like don't rely on anybody yourself yourself and yourself first not your parents not a partner not your husband not your boyfriend or girlfriend it's yourself have that emergency fund always I always tell my my friends or like younger siblings it's always important to have a couple of thousand dollars underneath you to help you get out of sticky situation in this life and you will go through sticky situations and honestly for me I was very happy to see that there were so many women for this story specifically I was happy to see that there were so many women who were willing to drive and get the person out of that situation but not everyone has access to helpful people like this and at the same time I was thinking to myself okay it's good to have groups like this that can back you up and women that can back you up when it's needed but at the same time I couldn't help judging this person and judging this situation because sometimes we go after our emotions and we forget to use our brains like why why would you do that no matter how much you you are in love with this person put your hearts aside and try to use your brain because somebody who's using their brain they're not gonna allow themselves to be in a situation like this I think that's the story that's the message please please please be very very careful we always share the the beauty of travel and the positives of travel but there are so many dark stories out there especially for solo female travel keep enjoying your travels but please please please be very careful