你今天me time了嗎?

If you’ve ever traveled with other people, chances are you’ve had to make compromises. When you want to get up early to watch the sunrise, for example, your friends may argue that getting enough sleep is more important. And when you want to try the exotic food, your friends might say it looks weird and drag you to a Chinese restaurant instead.

如果你與他人出遊，很有可能需要遷就彼此。打個比方，當你想早起看日出時，你的朋友或許覺得睡覺更重要。當你想嘗試異國風情的食物時，你的朋友或許會覺得那有點奇怪，而將你拉去了一家中餐館。

This is probably why more people these days are choosing to travel alone. According to reports on holiday habits from the Association of British Travel Agents, the percentage of people in the UK who take solo trips has been increasing, from 6 percent in 2011, to 12 percent in 2017, and to 15 percent in 2018. Most of these people said they choose to travel alone because this allows them to “do what they want”.

這或許是越來越多的人選擇獨自旅行的原因。據英國旅行社協會關於度假習慣的報告顯示，獨自出遊的英國人比例正在上升，從2011年的6%，到2017年的12%，再增至2018年的15%。這其中，大多數人表示，他們選擇獨自出遊，是因爲這能令他們“做自己想做的事”。

In fact, traveling alone is only a part of a recent trend of people wanting to take more time alone – or what’s called “me time”.

事實上，近來人們希望擁有更多獨處時光（所謂的“私人專屬時間”）成爲了一種趨勢，而獨自出遊只是其中的一小部分罷了。

“Imagine yourself as a full jug of water and everything and everyone else that demands your attention is an empty glass. When you provide what is needed to them you are draining your own water supply,” editor Nicole Lyons wrote for mental health social network PsychCentral. “But how are you refilling your jug? This is where your ‘me time’ comes in.”

“想象你自己是一壺滿滿的水，其餘所有需要你關注的人和事都是一個空玻璃杯。當你給予它們所需的關注時，你也正消耗着自身的水量，”編輯妮可·里昂在心理健康社交網站“心理中心”上如此寫道。“但你要如何補充自己水壺中的水量呢？這時候就需要‘私人專屬時間’了。”

However, it’s still quite a common belief that those who do things alone are losers and that they’re alone simply because they don’t have anybody to be with. But why can’t people just be enough for themselves?

但仍有許多人認爲，獨自做事的人都是失敗者，他們孤身一人，僅僅是因爲沒人想和他們在一起。但爲什麼人們不能滿足於獨自一人呢？

The now Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle once wrote on her blog in 2016 about how she enjoyed taking herself out to dinner and traveling alone.

如今的蘇塞克斯公爵夫人梅根·馬克爾2016年曾在其博客中稱，自己十分享受一個人出門吃晚餐以及旅行的時光。

“It’s not easy. But it’s important,” she wrote. “To be present and to power through the feelings that waffle through your head and heart of loneliness and boredom. Let that stuff go. Enjoy it alone.”

“這並非易事。但這十分重要，”她寫道。“要在孤獨厭倦之感席捲身心時直面一切並激勵自己前行。將那種感覺拋諸腦後。享受獨處時光。”