If you would have told me four years ago that I would spend my senior year of college living alone in a studio apartment, I would have shut you down immediately. “There’s no way,” I would have told you. “I could never live alone. I’d get so lonely!”
Now, ten months into living by myself, I am genuinely loving every minute of it. Without roommates, I no longer need to ask permission to host guests, awkwardly negotiate the weekly purchasing of household items, nor must I passive-aggressively stare at a roommate’s day-old dirty dishes in the sink (granted, I could also just be a neat freak).
Roommate particularities aside, I never realized how much I’d value having full control over my own schedule. Sprinting through a long work-from-home session without distraction has broadened my scope of personal and professional capability, and the growing self-confidence that has come along with it has brought a twinkle to my eye.
However: as they say, every rose has its thorn, and sometimes those thorns prompt me to reconsider the beauty of solo-living. For example, since I eat most meals at home, I eat most meals alone. Yes, I can listen to a podcast or call a friend during this time, but there’s nothing like decompressing over a late-night bowl of pasta with a live-in friend. Living alone also stops me from watching movies or TV shows at home — I dread to admit that I am quite the movie talker, so the lack of a companion to whom I can direct my annoying questions takes away the fun of it all (although my prior roommates would likely beg to differ).
Lastly, while it’s nice to have a daily routine customized to my liking, I do miss the spontaneity of impromptu city outings with a roommate, or long, rich conversations that would carry us through the morning hours. Living with roommates has taught me a number of life lessons, and with a mere 21 years under my belt, I still have a lot to learn.
I am immensely grateful to have had the opportunity and privilege of living by myself so young, and I’m certainly not looking forward to abandoning my peaceful abode. If living alone is an appealing and feasible option for you, I can’t recommend it enough. That said, I’ll be returning to roommate life in a few months, and I’m excited for the change of pace. Sometimes it’s good to lose a bit of control — like the occasional dirty dish in the sink (kidding, maybe!).