There is this certain stigma against spending time alone. "Why didn't you go out this weekend?" "You went to dinner alone?" "Have you found 'the one' yet"? It's this societal pressure that I especially see being a girl in my twenties in college. It's this pressure for us--all of us--to be in relationships, to find our one true love, and to find that person that makes our halves whole. Well, I have a counterargument to present to all of the Hollywood movies and sappy pop songs, and that is that being alone can actually be pretty incredible, and the time we have to be alone is a time that should be cherished and treated with as much excitement and enjoyment as the time we have with people.

So, I am challenging myself to take this time and use it. And though I know it's not as easy for those of you in relationships or with families to find alone time, I believe that even the smallest sliver of time for you to think things through and meditate is very important.

And to help you all better understand, here is a list of why alone time has become a part of my daily routine and hopefully will encourage each of you to find time to meditate and think by yourself:

1. Alone time helps you gather your thoughts.

I don't know about you, but I have a million thoughts going through my head every day. So many that it's sometimes hard to fall asleep. Spending time with your mind and heart and soul gives you time to figure out what you want and what you think before allowing others to weigh in. Don't get me wrong--you need to always get a second opinion on things and using the support system around you is key; however, how will you ever truly be satisfied with a decision if you don't even know what you want?

2. You learn to see things you wouldn't normally see.

Whenever I am spending time with my loved ones, they become the center of attention in conversation--as they should. However, there also needs to be you time where you watch movies alone, eat dinner alone, and go driving alone so you can simply have your senses renewed and re-opened. I love just looking out at a scenic mountain sunset with nothing but my eyes--no camera lens, no cell phone, no one beside me--just me and my senses. I absorb more--more sounds and sights and smells and feelings.

3. You come back totally energized.

Whenever I get back from a long date with myself, I always feel better about the problems I may have had. I feel a lifted spirit ready to conquer the next few days without worry or stress, and I have a clear mind.

4. You learn how to be alone so you can be with someone, but not of someone.

At this point in my life with the knowledge I have gathered, I have drawn the conclusion that if you make someone or something your entire world, your world starts to crumble underneath you. Every time that person makes a mistake or does something humanly, you take on that burden. Your foundation waivers. It's not wrong for people to do wrong, but it is wrong for you to be affected by it so much that you can't even stand on your own two feet when it does happen. If you become grounded in life or in love or in grace rather than in a person or thin, you will stand tall when adversity comes your way.

Besides, you don't need someone to complete you--you are already complete.

5. You will begin to see the world as it should be seen.

You won't see the world through the tiny screen of a late night binge watching of OITNB, or through checking your phone every five seconds to see if he texted, and not through empty nights staring through the bottom of a bottle of Jack. You will see meaning and truth and life as the blindingly bright sun fades into a cage of colored clouds as another day draws to a close. You will begin to see the world as an open book or an unwritten journal entry, instead of another task waiting for you to check off on your checklist that had now slid halfway down the refrigerator door.

You will no longer see alone time as lonely, but rather as time that you have the opportunity to spend with yourself making more capital-T truths come alive.

And when your friends ask you to hang out on some Friday night and you just feel a mess of uncertainties, you can turn to them and say, "Hey, I love you and spending time with you is so important to me, but right now I need to take care of myself. And right now I would rather be alone."