Living alone for the first time can be scary. Throughout college we almost always have roommate. Between living in a dorm, living an apartment or living in the sorority/fraternity house, we are almost guaranteed to have a roommate. However, when you live alone you find out there are so many great things (and not so great things about it).

Pros:

1. All of the food is yours.

There’s no questioning or labeling anymore for the food. When you look in the fridge everything is up for grabs. And there’s no one to question you when you decide to buy brat burgers or weird fruit from the market.

2. The music is anything you want it to be.

When I’m in the kitchen making dinner or washing dishes I like to play music over my speaker to distract me. Living alone means that I don’t have to worry about anyone else’s opinion and can jam out to whatever. There’s also no weird looks when my playlist goes from “Tootsee Roll” to “Hey Jude” to Coldplay.

3. Clothes? OPTIONAL!

Do I even need to explain this one?

4. You are a strong independent person who don’t need anyone.

I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. This means I can spend my time outside of work reading, watching Netflix, running or going to the movies (yes, you can go alone!). I have already been to Pitch Perfect 2 and Jurassic World alone this summer and it’s fine because it’s not like you notice the people around you anyways.

5. Your bedtime is whenever.

No one is there to make fun of you for going to bed early! I started running in the mornings and I don’t drink caffeine so I have no problem going to bed at 10:30pm so I can be well-rested the next morning!

Cons:

1. Safety is always a big concern.

The first couple nights I had to sleep with my bedroom door closed because I kept hearing noises and would get freaked out. I also have to be more cautious about leaving things unlocked or letting someone know when I go on a run in case something happens.

2. It can be lonely.

Not only do I live alone but I am also over an hour drive to anyone that I know. This means lots of FaceTiming people to stay in touch or having friends over occasionally on weekends. However, it’s still not the same as just knocking on your roommate’s door to see if she wants to watch a movie with you or if you need someone to talk to.

3. It can also be boring.

With no one else there to drag you to do things there are some days that I will go almost an entire evening without talking to anyone. There’s no one else to entertain you so sometimes it’s hard not to just veg on the couch and watch an entire season of Friends.

4. There’s no one else to blame things on.

When your living room gets messy or the dishes pile up, there’s no one to blame but yourself. It forces you to take responsibility for everything in your house and occasionally you’ll have to give up a Saturday in order to deep clean everything.

Living alone can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It’s a love/hate relationship but it’s definitely taught me a lot about myself so far and also given me time to try new things.