This semester is my first time living alone. I had the dorm roommate situation my first year of college and for the past two years, I lived in a house with 4 other roommates. I got so used to this way of living. There was always someone there to spend time with and talk to. Working on homework was not so unbearable because I knew at the end of the night, I would go to the living room and just hang out with my roommates and relax. There are challenges to living with 4 other people but for the most part, it was a blast! I have so many good memories of movie nights and going to get ice cream at late hours of the night. It is an experience I will always hold dear.
Living alone has been a totally different experience for me. I have never spent so much time by myself before. That is certainly heightened by the fact that all of my classes are online this semester, so I don’t have much human interaction each day. I have had to make a conscious effort to make plans with friends. Before, all I had to do was walk up the stairs for company. It’s also a lot harder to stay in touch with my old roommates. We got so used to living together and knowing everything going on in each other’s lives that now it feels sort of strange to have to reach out.
Honestly, it has been hard for me to get used to the loneliness. I used to think I leaned toward being an introvert, but now I’m not so sure. The lack of company has made me realize how much I enjoy having other people around.
One of the benefits of living alone is that it is easier to focus on school. That’s important for me this semester because I have a huge workload. The transition to online school last spring was not an easy one because all I wanted to do was neglect my school work and hang out with my roommates. Luckily, I had a small courseload back then and made it through fine. I’m not sure I would be doing so well this semester in the same situation.
Overall, I think this will be a good growing experience for me. I think that solitude can be a good thing, and hopefully, it will lead me to learn more about myself. I have already had some growth this semester just becoming accustomed to my new living situation. I also think that this is a great test run for life after college when living alone will likely be a common occurrence in my life. Though it has been a difficult transition, I am excited to see what this experience will give me.