I believe that something everyone should start to get comfortable with in early adulthood is doing things alone. It’s really stigmatized, but it shouldn’t be.
It is especially important to learn how to be alone in college.
Your late teens and early 20s are the prime years to start discovering who you are and what you like.
If you don’t know anyone who’s interested in the same things as you, you should still try to do them because you enjoy it. You may even make some friends.
Additionally, your friends’ schedules won’t always line up well with your own, but you shouldn’t let it hold you back from having a good time.
For example, if you want to go out to eat, you should just go, regardless of whether or not anyone can tag along.
If you feel awkward about it, you can always bring a book to read while you wait for your food. That what I’ve done when I’ve eaten by myself.
I think it should be more acceptable to see movies alone, too.
It’s strange that movies are always a group outing or a date night activity, because you can’t be very social at the movies except for when you wait in line.
While it is nice to have someone to talk about the movie with after you see it, I don’t think it’s weird to go alone.
Sometimes, things like poetry readings or open mic nights are the perfect activity to fly solo.
If you want to read a poem or perform a song but you feel a little nervous, knowing that you’ll probably never see most of the people watching you ever again might help you feel less nervous.
I once attended an open mic night and read a poem there, and I probably would have felt a little awkward about it if I had had friends with me.
I know that I can start to feel cooped up easily, and if I’m feeling like I need to get out, sometimes I’ll just take off for a couple hours and grab something to eat, check out a farmer’s market or some cool shops, go thrifting, or something like that.
A few weeks ago, I wanted to go see one of the free Valley Nights movies on campus, but none of my friends were free. I ended up going by myself.
At first, I felt really awkward and set my jacket and purse on an empty chair next to me to make it seem like I was saving a seat for someone, but eventually I got chilly enough to swallow my pride and grab my jacket from the other chair to put it on.
I can’t say that it was easy, but I believe that with a little practice doing things alone, I’ll feel a lot more comfortable.
I think part of the reason that doing things alone is seen as so odd is because humanity, as a whole, fears being alone, and that’s not healthy.
Once you learn how to do things alone, your relationships with others will feel a lot less stifled because you will be less dependent on them to be happy or have a good time.
Even if it feels a little awkward, I’d encourage everyone to set aside a little more time to try doing things alone.
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