As I was sitting alone today, I thought about the literal meaning behind “being alone”. “Alone” is formally defined as “separate, apart, or isolated from others; to the exclusion of all others or all else; unique, unequaled; unexcelled”. But I started to think of it a little differently: being alone is to be connected to yourself. Who’s to say that you’re isolating yourself from others? Maybe you just don’t want to isolate you from yourself anymore.

Girls are famously bad at being alone. Why is it necessary to bring a friend to the bathroom? Is it the constant need to be reassured that your hair looks okay? Are you that eager to hear the latest gossip? I’ll never know… If you need help zipping up your dress, call me. Otherwise, there’s no need to pull me out of a perfectly good conversation just to stand outside of the stall and wait for you! I'm sure some of you are thinking to yourself "but I need someone to talk to" or "I don't want to walk by myself". It's not awkward, I promise. Maybe take your bathroom break as a second to be alone with your own thoughts. Look at it as a breather. If you’re anything like me, I’m sure there’s a whole lot going on up there.

Last year, a stranger interrupted me while I was cramming for finals. As annoyed as I was during his rambling and constant questions about my friends and personal life, he actually taught me a thing or two. He told me that he was a loner in high school and liked to doodle pictures of cartoon characters instead of interact with other humans, but mostly because he really didn’t have anyone to interact with. Considering how much he talked, it occurred to me that he really didn’t have too many people to talk to… which lead me to this conclusion: I was jealous of him. Not because he seemed lonely, but because he seemed to have a clear mind. He was never involved in the drama, never absorbed in the superficial aspects of life, and was never one to forget to stop and smell the roses.

I identify myself as a very independent person in terms of taking care of myself, running errands, etc. I love to work out and shop by myself and I’ve noticed that most girls feel differently. But I, for one, hate being alone. What I mean when I say I hate being alone is that I hate being along for a substantial amount of time. Especially if I feel like I’m missing out on something. That something could be so small that it only involves two people, but it makes me feel lonely. It’s lame, I know, but I can’t help but feel like I’m being excluded. I could spend the entire day by myself, but come nightfall if I haven’t had human interaction, I start to having toxic thoughts. But the up-side to that loneliness is that it motivates me to do more, to be involved, and to create more.

There are very few times, especially in college, when we are actually ever alone. Between roommates, the group of chatty girls in the “no-noise” level of the library, or even in the bathrooms— make time for yourself to be alone. Make plans with yourself as you would with your boyfriend or girlfriend. If you're wondering what kind of things you could do alone and actually enjoy it, here are a few of my favorite options. Go to a museum, shopping, running, sit on the beach or in a hammock, or maybe even try eating lunch by yourself. Find the beauty in being alone rather than the awkwardness of it.