People tend to think that when you see someone alone anywhere in public that they’re a lonely person. For some people, solitude is not a sign of loneliness, it’s a choice and a way to find peace.
As someone who constantly has music playing in my headphones, I tend to tap out of reality and enter my own world. The same happens when I’m lost in a book or focused on an assignment. I would consider myself an introvert to an extent and find comfort in my own company. Though I enjoy talking to friends and I enjoy hanging out with people, I also need to have some time to myself. It may be because I think a lot and spend most of my time lost in my thoughts, but I truly love being alone. For me, being alone isn’t something to fear, but rather something to cherish.
It’s okay to like to be alone
It took me a long time to accept the fact that I wasn’t a lonely person. I love being with my friends, there is no better feeling than laughing with the people you love, but sometimes my social battery plummets and there is no way to get it back.
Being alone gives me a sense of comfort. Listening to music and reading a good book also gives me comfort because I get to be alone with my thoughts while knowing I have people to talk to, and even if I didn’t, I would still be okay with it, because I know I have myself.
It’s not always easy to be alone
Even though I’ve said previously that I cherish my time alone, I don’t always enjoy it. Sometimes I want to be with friends. But when that’s not an option, I overcome it by going to a coffee shop or being in public just to ease the fact that even though I may be alone, I’m still around other people. Seeing other people alone in a coffee shop eases the fact that I too am alone and it’s normal because no, people were not staring at me and thinking I must have been so lonely to come to a coffee shop by myself.
I like to believe that I’ve learned a lot about myself during my time alone. I’m someone who tends to talk to myself, either thinking aloud or in my head. And I say some pretty funny things when I’m alone. I discovered new hobbies, I read many books, and watched amazing movies. And I got to think about them without anyone disturbing my silence.
So to me, being alone does not make me a lonely person.