Now many young peopleare travelingaround the world on their own, notbecause they have no one to travel with,but because they prefer to go alone. Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least oncein their life. "lt opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone."Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents. ln foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after youifyou get ill, or lend you money if yourwallet is stolen, it is challenging. This iswhat drives young people to travel alone. lt is seen as character building andachance to prove that they can make it on their own. Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to gotraveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document hisadventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier." The peopleyou meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to youand it forces you to grow as a person, " said the 30-year-old man. Richardson describes traveling alone like "a shot in the arm, " whichmakes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything".He said, "The feeling of having conquered something on my own is a majorpart of what drives me each day when I'm dealing with a difficult task.I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside thatnothing is impossible if I try." The great 19th-century explorer John Muir once said, "Only by goingalone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness."