I have recently made the decision of moving into an apartment by myself. Of course, I had family and friends who did not think I would be okay with being alone. I grew up in a home with five siblings. The majority of my life I shared a room with my sisters. I have almost never been by myself, and the decision of moving out was not an easy one. But I must say that this has been one of the best decisions I have made for myself.

It did not surprise me that I am comfortable with being alone. I have never been the type of person that needs to be surrounded by others. I do not care for parties. I have never been to a club. I am deeply uncomfortable with large social gatherings. Being by myself allows me to have plenty of me time. I am able to do a lot of thinking about what I want to do with my life and the steps I need to accomplish to get there. This is the time to reconnect with myself, a time where I can talk to myself, debating all the questions and answers that are bouncing in my head. I have plenty of time to reflect on who I am.

This is the time for me to let go of my past. I have lost a lot in the past few years. I lost love, a pregnancy, and my health. Instead of facing those losses, I have shoved them to the back of my mind and tried to ignore them. It’s time for me to be happy. It is time for me to love myself. It is time for me to get back to a healthier state. I am 20 years old, and if I can’t be happy with myself, then how can I expect myself to be happy with others? I am taking this time to enjoy myself and complete myself so that I can finally move on.

On a more lighthearted note there are many conveniences with living by yourself. I happen to enjoy having complete privacy. I am able to read and write in silence, which was something I rarely got to do before. I don’t have to worry about unwanted late night parties. There is no having to clean up after others besides my cat. If I want to take long showers, I can take long showers. There are no awkward small talks. If I want to spend my days off in my pajamas watching Netflix, then I can without judgement.

It is simply nice being by myself. I actually enjoy going to the grocery store by myself or taking solo trips to Books-A-Million. But I would like to point out that it is healthy to have some social interactions. Most of my time is spent at work, and I do hang out with friends and invite people over. I understand some people's fear being alone, but I feel like it is important for people to understand that being alone is not the same thing as being lonely. In fact, it is so empowering to be comfortable with your own company.