December 26, 2025 • 8 mins
As we wrap up the holiday season and look toward the new year, Emily's reflecting on the beauty of long-standing traditions. Now's as good of a time as any to take inventory of your life and consider what new traditions you want to establish moving forward. She also answers a listener question about the fears of solo travel, sharing her top safety tips for women exploring the world on their own.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Hello, Hello Emily. Here you are listening to five Minute
Friday from Hurdle. Happy holidays everyone. I have been really
thinking a lot this week, in particular about traditions. I
have some that I partake in with my family every
year around this time, things like going to Arthur Avenue
(00:38):
to do food shopping in all of the best Italian
shops in the Bronx before Christmas Eve and then eating
at Domini's if you know, you know, going to my
grandmother's for Christmas Eve and we're not doing the twelve
fishes in proper Italian form, but there is a fish
situation happening there, likely muscles for sure. And Christmas Day
(01:03):
hanging out with my mom and going to get Chinese
food and watch movies. And I do it every year
and it brings me so much joy. Last year, my
family got a little bit bigger and my dad remarried,
and it was really interesting because it was almost as
though I took this opportunity with new members of my family,
(01:27):
step siblings, stepmother, to ask myself what traditions do we
want to create, what do we want to do together?
And in reflecting on that, we haven't come up with
anything just yet. It's a work in progress. But it
doesn't need to be something like that to have an
excuse to create a new thing that you do regularly.
(01:52):
It doesn't need to be some massive, big event. Although
how special it is for us to be to grow
our family, I digress. I think about rituals and traditions
when it comes to myself. What are things that I
want to be a part of my every year, of
(02:14):
maybe even part of my every week or every day.
A few years back, I started this tradition marrymaking with
my friends, and what it is is me inviting girlfriends
over to literally deck the halls, to decorate my tree,
to eat pizza, sip cocktails and just have a nice time.
(02:35):
And now it's a tradition that I look forward to
every single year. Last year, I deliberately threw a holiday party.
I know this is funny because I am a single
person LLC. But I threw a holiday party for myself
and I got dressed up and was very intentional with
it and took myself to dinner. And this year I
was very intentional with doing the same thing. Any day,
(02:58):
any week any more is an opportunity for you to
do inventory and say maybe I want to make this
new tradition for myself. I understand that it can be challenging,
especially around this time of year when things are maybe
different than how they used to be. There are people
that are in and out of your life. Family is
always looking different. And what if instead of harping on
(03:22):
the things that you are without, you take a step
back and you celebrate all that it is that you
do have. I read a quote sort of along these
lines yesterday, which is going from being worried about what
might happen to being excited about what might happen is
only a mindset shift away. And so I ask you
(03:44):
today to think about this. What traditions do you have
in your life that you are grateful for? And where
is their room to establish some that are new a
fundamental exercise for the holidays. And also, these traditions don't
have to just center around this time of year. You
can have a tradition for something that you do in
February or March or I mean, I could name all
of the months of the year. You're following here. You
(04:05):
get what I'm saying. And now a listener question. Hey, Emily,
I really love your recent posts about traveling alone. This
has been a goal of mine for a few years now,
and I feel like it will unlock so much for me,
but I also have so many fears about it. I
know the answer is to just do it and it
will all work out, but the realist and me often
weighs in a bit too much. One of my biggest
(04:28):
concerns traveling alone as a single woman is my safety.
Did you ever have this thought and what did you
do to get over this hurdle? Appreciate your feedback. Your
journey in life has been inspiring. Okay, safety is actually
very important to me when I'm traveling alone. The number
one tip I will offer anyone is that never share
(04:48):
a location when you are there in real time. So
although I am more than happy to share highlights of
my day and what's going on, it's always going to
be a later. Just to be cautious, I will never
share the name of a hotel that I am staying at,
or an Airbnb or any of specifics until I have
(05:12):
literally checked out of that location. Now does that mean
that maybe if there's a specific wallpaper or specific carpet
that someone won't be able to notice if I share
something from inside the property, no, and I understand that,
but I really do make it a point to be
as considerate and responsible as possible when it comes to
(05:36):
my safety. If I meet anyone while I am traveling alone,
I will not tell them that I am traveling alone.
I actually was at a bar having dinner while I
was in Miami recently, and a man asked me twice
where I was staying, and I didn't answer him. I
told him places I've liked to stay in the past.
(05:57):
And then I live and work alone. Like I spend
a lot of time alone, and so a product of
that is that I have some systems in place so
that my friends and family often know either where I
am or that I'm okay. When I go out for
a run. I have friends that get pinged when I
start and stop my workout. I also share my location
with some of my close friends. And if I'm ever
(06:20):
doing something that makes me feel a little scared or
a little nervous, that's my body telling me something that
maybe I need to do a gut check, and I'll
then send another text being like, Hey, I'm going out
to dinner here right now. Just check my location an
hour or text me in an hour and a half
or insert so many of the tactics that I've exercised
(06:40):
as a single woman to date. Yes, solo travel can
be intimidating, and I totally understand and agree that there
are safety concerns and precautions that you should take. But
I refuse to let that be the thing that stops
me from getting up and getting out and seeing this
amazing planet that we live on. The Other thing is
(07:03):
that I used to travel only being on Wi Fi.
And while that was really relaxing for me being able
to unplug in that way, what I realized is that
from a safety pov it didn't make me feel that
comfortable as I continue to do it. So make sure
you're activating a cell phone plan that allows you the
opportunity to stay connected. And then at the same token,
I will say this, if you're going on a solo trip,
(07:25):
don't sit there on your phone the whole time. So
if you're going out to dinner, going out to lunch,
going to the beach, whatever, bring books, bring journals. Disconnect
to reconnect with yourself in a way that is both
safe and responsible and helps you come back to you.
I hope these tips help if you have any more
questions about solo travel or of course, at any point,
(07:45):
any question at all. I'm always here to answer your
listener questions. Head on over to email me at Hello
at hurdle dot us or DM hurdle over on social
it's at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at Emily a Body,
Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time. M
Hello, Hello Emily. Here you are listening to five Minute
Friday from Hurdle. Happy holidays everyone. I have been really
thinking a lot this week, in particular about traditions. I
have some that I partake in with my family every
year around this time, things like going to Arthur Avenue
(00:38):
to do food shopping in all of the best Italian
shops in the Bronx before Christmas Eve and then eating
at Domini's if you know, you know, going to my
grandmother's for Christmas Eve and we're not doing the twelve
fishes in proper Italian form, but there is a fish
situation happening there, likely muscles for sure. And Christmas Day
(01:03):
hanging out with my mom and going to get Chinese
food and watch movies. And I do it every year
and it brings me so much joy. Last year, my
family got a little bit bigger and my dad remarried,
and it was really interesting because it was almost as
though I took this opportunity with new members of my family,
(01:27):
step siblings, stepmother, to ask myself what traditions do we
want to create, what do we want to do together?
And in reflecting on that, we haven't come up with
anything just yet. It's a work in progress. But it
doesn't need to be something like that to have an
excuse to create a new thing that you do regularly.
(01:52):
It doesn't need to be some massive, big event. Although
how special it is for us to be to grow
our family, I digress. I think about rituals and traditions
when it comes to myself. What are things that I
want to be a part of my every year, of
(02:14):
maybe even part of my every week or every day.
A few years back, I started this tradition marrymaking with
my friends, and what it is is me inviting girlfriends
over to literally deck the halls, to decorate my tree,
to eat pizza, sip cocktails and just have a nice time.
(02:35):
And now it's a tradition that I look forward to
every single year. Last year, I deliberately threw a holiday party.
I know this is funny because I am a single
person LLC. But I threw a holiday party for myself
and I got dressed up and was very intentional with
it and took myself to dinner. And this year I
was very intentional with doing the same thing. Any day,
(02:58):
any week any more is an opportunity for you to
do inventory and say maybe I want to make this
new tradition for myself. I understand that it can be challenging,
especially around this time of year when things are maybe
different than how they used to be. There are people
that are in and out of your life. Family is
always looking different. And what if instead of harping on
(03:22):
the things that you are without, you take a step
back and you celebrate all that it is that you
do have. I read a quote sort of along these
lines yesterday, which is going from being worried about what
might happen to being excited about what might happen is
only a mindset shift away. And so I ask you
(03:44):
today to think about this. What traditions do you have
in your life that you are grateful for? And where
is their room to establish some that are new a
fundamental exercise for the holidays. And also, these traditions don't
have to just center around this time of year. You
can have a tradition for something that you do in
February or March or I mean, I could name all
of the months of the year. You're following here. You
(04:05):
get what I'm saying. And now a listener question. Hey, Emily,
I really love your recent posts about traveling alone. This
has been a goal of mine for a few years now,
and I feel like it will unlock so much for me,
but I also have so many fears about it. I
know the answer is to just do it and it
will all work out, but the realist and me often
weighs in a bit too much. One of my biggest
(04:28):
concerns traveling alone as a single woman is my safety.
Did you ever have this thought and what did you
do to get over this hurdle? Appreciate your feedback. Your
journey in life has been inspiring. Okay, safety is actually
very important to me when I'm traveling alone. The number
one tip I will offer anyone is that never share
(04:48):
a location when you are there in real time. So
although I am more than happy to share highlights of
my day and what's going on, it's always going to
be a later. Just to be cautious, I will never
share the name of a hotel that I am staying at,
or an Airbnb or any of specifics until I have
(05:12):
literally checked out of that location. Now does that mean
that maybe if there's a specific wallpaper or specific carpet
that someone won't be able to notice if I share
something from inside the property, no, and I understand that,
but I really do make it a point to be
as considerate and responsible as possible when it comes to
(05:36):
my safety. If I meet anyone while I am traveling alone,
I will not tell them that I am traveling alone.
I actually was at a bar having dinner while I
was in Miami recently, and a man asked me twice
where I was staying, and I didn't answer him. I
told him places I've liked to stay in the past.
(05:57):
And then I live and work alone. Like I spend
a lot of time alone, and so a product of
that is that I have some systems in place so
that my friends and family often know either where I
am or that I'm okay. When I go out for
a run. I have friends that get pinged when I
start and stop my workout. I also share my location
with some of my close friends. And if I'm ever
(06:20):
doing something that makes me feel a little scared or
a little nervous, that's my body telling me something that
maybe I need to do a gut check, and I'll
then send another text being like, Hey, I'm going out
to dinner here right now. Just check my location an
hour or text me in an hour and a half
or insert so many of the tactics that I've exercised
(06:40):
as a single woman to date. Yes, solo travel can
be intimidating, and I totally understand and agree that there
are safety concerns and precautions that you should take. But
I refuse to let that be the thing that stops
me from getting up and getting out and seeing this
amazing planet that we live on. The Other thing is
(07:03):
that I used to travel only being on Wi Fi.
And while that was really relaxing for me being able
to unplug in that way, what I realized is that
from a safety pov it didn't make me feel that
comfortable as I continue to do it. So make sure
you're activating a cell phone plan that allows you the
opportunity to stay connected. And then at the same token,
I will say this, if you're going on a solo trip,
(07:25):
don't sit there on your phone the whole time. So
if you're going out to dinner, going out to lunch,
going to the beach, whatever, bring books, bring journals. Disconnect
to reconnect with yourself in a way that is both
safe and responsible and helps you come back to you.
I hope these tips help if you have any more
questions about solo travel or of course, at any point,
(07:45):
any question at all. I'm always here to answer your
listener questions. Head on over to email me at Hello
at hurdle dot us or DM hurdle over on social
it's at Hurdle Podcast. I'm over at Emily a Body,
Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys next time. M
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