It seems that this word ‘alone’ carries a negative connotation—a sad one. You probably felt bad for me when you read this title. Poor girl, friendless and turning to her widely-read articles for solace. Well, you are right about one thing: these articles are definitely widely-read :) Hehe, but for real.
I want to talk about ‘alone’ in the cute way instead of the sad way. Alone in the way that every person will be sometimes, no matter how hard they try, so why not normalize it a little more?
Picture this: sitting on some grass and looking around at the trees and squirrels, and bunnies if you’re lucky. You think of a funny moment from earlier and you laugh. You do a somersault because you’re in a good mood.
This is all acceptable if you’re with someone who is also having a look and a laugh, but really weird if you’re… ALONE! People might pull their kids a little closer and slip you a dollar. And despite the obvious lucrative benefits, really nobody’s trying to draw unwanted attention to themselves in public.
So what is one to do if they desire the old sit & ponder in a park, but all of their friends are busy, or nonexistent, or in the shower? Deprive themselves of vitamin D and stay home to prevent being seen ALONE? (This is applicable for all climates, by the way). The answer is not anymore.
If you are alone, you can do whatever the h*ck you want without having to take into account the preferences and limitations of others. You can turn off your entertaining self and just be your boring self. Except you won’t be bored because you already know her!
You can take your time doing things, whether that means speed-walking or tiny baby steps. You can look at one tree for a really long time, or block them all out entirely. You don’t have to pretend to like anything you don’t actually LIKE! Whatever food you eat will be delicious, whatever music you listen to will be delicious, and whatever activities you do will be delicious because you ‘re the only one urging you to do them.
This task of doing exactly what we want to do seems like a no-brainer, but societal pressures make it intimidating. I challenge you to take yourself out on a date and only do things because you WANT to. Be proud to walk with yourself on your arm, because she’s cute! I promise to keep my money in my pocket if I see you :)
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