Humans are connection seeking creatures, and we love to have company while partaking in activities. There is a stigma associated with being alone; if we are alone, that must mean we are lonely. Loneliness is something many people fear. However, I argue being alone does not equate to being lonely and that it is beneficial to have much needed alone time.
College is a transitional time, and you go from living at home to always surrounded by people. College does not naturally lend itself to alone time. For me, spending time alone is hard since I am a people person. Most of my alone time at college consists of sleeping or going to the gym. I am constantly around people which is not a bad thing in the sense that people need connections to feel emotionally fulfilled, but in return, this has made me very dependent and reliant on others to feel happy. This mentality is hard to avoid when college makes being around friends so accessible, but it is not healthy.
It is necessary to spend some time alone to grow as an individual. Alone time can mean different things to different people. My preferred alone time either consists of working out with my headphones on to block sounds or else sitting somewhere with my laptop and music free writing. Alone time is an individualistic self-accommodating concept which is eclectic in its’ orientation dependent on the person. Constantly interacting with people, even though it is fun, can be exhausting. It is okay to need a break from the constant stimuli and people constantly around. Being alone gives you the opportunity to recharge, self-reflect and think other things without others’ thoughts. It is paramount to development to be able to sit with our thoughts and work through them alone. Spending time alone does not mean loneliness. Instead, it says that we are comfortable with momentary solitude, and ourselves.