At the age I'm at today, not many people who are 19 years old seem to believe that it's okay to be by themselves sometimes. Between the parties, the events, the academic work, there's always somewhere else we need to be and a lot more people we need to be with. At times, we even purposely avoid any and all chances to have time to ourselves because, well, we just don't want to be alone with our thoughts, our bodies, and our souls. Although it is scary, I'm here to tell you, it's okay to be alone.
Let me begin by first expressing how difficult it is to have some alone time in this day in age. In the old days, people wouldn't have to worry about turning off their cell phones, computers, or any other electronic devices that distract us from the daily way of life today. We are completely and utterly stuck under the trance that these devices have over us. We're missing out on the world around us. We're missing out on reality. We're missing out on ourselves. It's okay to be disconnected from this crazy world every now and then.
Whether you're 17 years old or 75 years old, you most likely have a Facebook account where you can connect with new friends, old friends, co-workers, long-distant relatives, relatives that live a street over from you, and so on, and so forth. Facebook, along with many other social media networking sites, has created a special bond to the outside world that many wouldn't have connected to otherwise. Old friends from high school lose track of each other and find each other on Facebook 40 years later. New friends from high school find each other after the first day of school. Although Facebook and other sites make lovely connections like these happen all over the world, it is still where most of the time in days go--to a virtual place where people come to meet and try to understand each other computer screen to computer screen. Even if we're not physically with our friends and family, we are still with them virtually--which can be a blessing and a curse.
You can't say you blame us for not wanting to be alone, right? Growing up in a time where new technology was emerging, the economy was booming, and our families were growing more and more, Generation Y and the Millennials were never taught how to be alone. We never had a chance to truly understand what it meant to give themselves the gift of "loneliness", but that's not to say that can't be changed.
To be alone is a scary thought much less a scary thing to do. We're so conditioned to have another person around that we find anxiety in being by ourselves, which is perfectly normal. As humans, we crave another's affection, touch, conversation, and love. But as we get older, it is our duty to ourselves and to the future generations to teach ourselves and condition ourselves into having (and enjoying) alone time. Whether you decide to read a book, listen to music, journal, pray, draw, write, meditate, or anything else that you may sit with during that time with yourself, you're learning more about yourself and how to grow yourself--mind, body, and spirit.
