Many of the stories in this issue of ROVA delve into how awkward or uncomfortable experiences can be navigated, and how they can ultimately make us better road‑trippers, better people, and better at life in general.

Full-timer Madalyn Meyers reveals her travel mistakes, from mangled bikes to visiting a lake with no water; travel journalist Mary Cate Long urges us to ditch the planning and get comfortable with being unprepared; introvert Patrick Coleman gives tips on how to avoid social awkwardness and find space for yourself while on the road; and motorcyclist Alex Tzelnic admits that, on his first cross-country adventure, he was anything but an easy rider.

Athlete Annette Snedaker brings us along on her personal challenge—an alpine-swimming quest; Erin McGrady’s photo essay explores how a literal journey helped her mental-health journey; and Sylvia Karcz shares the frustrations of having to change course, over and over again, in the Rocky Mountains.

What these stories have in common is the ultimate understanding that, if you come out of it unscathed, discomfort can be a catalyst for great things.