As established in one of my previous articles, I'm an introvert. So I guess living alone is my dream come true. I was fortunate enough to get an apartment with no roommates after I studied abroad, and I've learned the benefits of living alone. I think it's an experience everyone should have before they settle down. Let me tell you why.

1. Wearing as little clothing as you want, whenever you want.

Whatever floats your boat. You have no roommates to worry about, and therefore, you have no clothes to worry about.

2. Having all of your own food and alcohol.

And not having to worry about someone else taking it. Because you're the only person who lives there. You took it.

3. Everything is exactly how you want it.

And no one can tell you to change it. All your belongings are there in the exact place you want them, and that's awesome.

4. You don't have to clean unless you want to.

Well, except if your parents are visiting. You might want to clean for that.

5. You can have anyone over at any time of day.

You don't have to clear it with anyone. Or make sure certain roommates aren't there when they get there.

6. No one can bug you about anything.

You're in your own world, and you can decide if and with whom you want to communicate or not when you're there.

7. You learn to love yourself even more than you already did.

Living alone doesn't get lonely because you enjoy being with yourself. You learn to love the things about yourself that you didn't before.

8. You learn how to cope better.

You don't rely on roommates when things go wrong. You learn to rely on yourself and face your problems. You get to be choosy about who you rely on in those situations other than yourself.

9. You have much-needed conversations with yourself.

Maybe conversations that you'll never have with someone else, pep talks, thinking out loud. You can't do that if you live with other people because you'll sound crazy.

10. You'll learn what you want from a potential live-in partner.

You'll see what makes you upset with roommates and what's upsetting to roommates. After living alone, you'll be much better at living with other people.

You may hate it. You may get lonely. But at least you'll learn that on your own. Life lessons are best learned by yourself.