Thirty thousand feet above Virginia, the CRJ-700 started shaking. Not unusual turbulence—the kind that makes your stomach drop and strangers lock eyes. But what got me wasn't the plane bouncing like a tin can. It was realizing I had nobody to text. Nobody waiting for my "landed safe" message. The woman next to me gripped her husband's hand. The businessman behind me called his wife. I just sat there, watching DC's lights grow bigger, thinking about how I'd gotten so comfortable being the person who disappears for weeks without anyone really noticing. The plane landed smooth as silk. I walked through DCA alone, like always. Sometimes the scariest turbulence happens when you're perfectly still. #Travel #SoloTravelTruth #PostTripReality