This is a kinda embrassing question to ask so pls don’t judge.
I did have moments where I like… went to the local library alone, or like an all day school trip or something…
But I never really like… explored outside alone… especially far from home…
So like… I feel scared about the idea of like… just going for a walk all by myself…
I realize I’ve always just asked parents to drive me somewhere so I never got a chance to just get in the habit of being by myself.
I don’t have a driver’s license so I don’t really have like a car to “retreat to”, if you know what I mean, like as in sort of “castle”.
How do I even “feel safe” just being outside on my own? For context I’m non-white so it’s… kinda intimidating… especially in the current context of US political atmosphere.
I know what you mean with the parents providing transportation to everywhere! I was in a similar situation when I moved out. I was often too anxious to enter a store on my own because I had never had to do that alone (or really been given the opportunity to do that alone).
What helped me was finding a nice coffee shop near my place. They had delicious matcha lattes and I made a tradition of walking there on weekends. Then I realized that I could stop at a scenic park on the way back home. Then I realized that I liked walking around. Then I realized that there are cats outside and I can pet them! And at some point I also got really into pokemon go. It was a compounding series of small realizations that I could just go out and do things.
Disclaimer: I’m not from the USA and I am white, so that affects my experiences of this.
Side note: I’ve made a map of the locations at which I have encountered cats, making note of how many were there and if they were friendly or not. It gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Seconding the coffee shop recommendation. When I found a place near me that was nice and not overwhelming, I really enjoyed being able to be a regular there. There were days when I was not well and knew that it would help me to get out of the house at least once, and it was nice to have a place like this that could act as an achievable goal.
Even on good days, I find it useful to have somewhere I can go and exist and feel safe in a place that’s not my home. I find I get more work done this way sometimes, so I’ll often take my laptop, my headphones, and just spend an entire day working in a café. My regular place had a few tables that were sort of tucked away in a nook, and had a plug socket nearby, so it was great.