As a 21-year-old, I suffer with the same issue that a lot of people my age (and around that) probably do--the fear of doing things alone.

I've always been able to go to the mall alone, run errands alone, or do anything else that is busy alone, but it's only recently that I've gained courage to attend events alone or even to eat alone. It took me a long time to do these things by myself, but it shouldn't have!

If you're hungry at the mall, go sit in the food court and eat by yourself. You can people watch, or just distract yourself scrolling through the Instagram feed.

If you can't find anyone to go with you to an event, go by yourself! Just recently, I attended a Craft Beer Festival in my hometown to write a story for a local news site. All week (and prior to), I was begging my friends to join me. I didn't want to seem awkward. I didn't want to show up alone. Turns out, no one was able to go to the event and I had to go alone. I even went to Tommy Bahama's for appetizers and beverages alone beforehand. At the event, I eventually ran into some friends, but being there alone wasn't the most horrible thing in the world. It wasn't bad at all, actually. I had the chance to explore what I wanted to explore, rather than following others around. With that, I was able to produce a better story, anyway.

I know that seems like such a minor story, but it can be super hard to show up at events alone when hundreds of people (or even just a few) will be there. But my advice to you is to just do it! What's the worst thing that will happen? I've realized that usually nobody cares or even notices that you have showed up somewhere alone. I know that I, personally, have never judged someone for arriving someone alone, eating somewhere alone, or having a good time alone. Have fun with yourself!

It's honestly pretty freeing to do things solo-style. As one of my more free-spirited friends, Savanna, said (as I was complaining about going to this Beer Fest alone): it "Builds character." And she's totally right. While I still will feel uncomfortable traveling to places solo, it's something I'm seriously going to work on--because it rocks. I challenge you--the next time you want to go grab some Chipotle but have no one to go with, don't starve to death. Go get that burrito bowl!

I think that as a society, most of us are so concerned with what those around us think about us that we don't live our lives to the fullest. We don't things we want to do because we are afraid of what others will say. But, like I said, nobody cares if you're by yourself. It's totally freeing. You can do what you want. You can think. You can "build character." And hey, you can always scroll through your social media feeds if you get 'bored' or feel 'awkward'--but I doubt that's going to happen