If this past year has taught me anything, it’s that being alone is actually a beautiful thing.
When I arrived at college I thought the transition from high school would be easy. I went to boarding school for high school, not too different, right? In high school, I was so used to always being with my friends every second. The campus was tiny, no one was ever more than five minutes away. I had assumed college would be the same, but I quickly learned that putting myself out there was a lot harder than I remembered. We are all different, some of us are extreme introverts or extroverts while some of us fluctuate between both. I had been putting an unrealistic pressure on myself to make tons of friends and to always be doing something. In reality, that is not what brings me joy or makes me comfortable.
There tends to be lots of stigma around being alone. Sometimes people will make it out to be a bad thing. I believe that it is truly up to one’s personal preferences. For me, I love going on walks, watching a movie of my choice, blasting music in my room, the list goes on. I love to do those things with friends but I really enjoy them when I am on my own. I find comfort in picking to do things I enjoy without any worry about what somebody else thinks.Â
With the current state of our world, most people have probably spent more time alone this year than they ever have before. Ask yourself, what have you learned from this experience? Personally, I have become so much more comfortable with spending time with my own thoughts. I have unlearned that preferring to be alone is bad. As someone who can be easily influenced by others, I have been able to grow more as an individual to develop my own personal interests and opinions. Often times we can change aspects of ourselves depending on who we are with, but when you are with yourself it is more than easy to just be you.Â
I love alone time;Â I cherish it. What makes you happy is completely up to you, no one else!