On Your Own Time

There comes a time or point in everyone's life where one realizes what it means to be an individual. Some don't understand the concept now, but there does come a point where they will come to terms with what it means to be independent. People like to confused words for different meanings sometimes and a strong word that is often misinterpreted is what it means to be “alone”.

In my personal life I have gone in and out of periods where I have caught myself spending more of my time alone than with others. Whether it were family, friends, or even being in the physical presence of strangers I’ve seen and learned what it meant to be in solitary. Everyone experiences these points in their life at different times. A lot of people have always had friends, people to turn to, or better yet, to follow or depend on. But it is not until you’ve taken time to yourself and spent time alone to get to know who you are until you’ve come to terms with what it is to be an individual, for you. Personally, I believe it is a lot more difficult to grow as an individual when constantly surrounding myself with others. I am not necessarily implying people who constantly surround themselves with others cannot be individuals, but if they’ve never stepped back to be alone and get to know themselves, it may be more challenging to accomplish self growth and knowing one’s self.

Spending time alone is not supposed to be a bad thing, although it is often categorized with the idea of having no one. It is better to think of as choosing to be alone rather than being stuck in solitude. What a lot of people don’t understand is that doing things by yourself is beneficial in many ways such as developing as an individual, achieving initiative, practicing self-governing, and becoming independent. As said before, I have always been a very outgoing and extroverted person, however I’ve lived in and out of spending periods of time by myself. I’ve always seen being alone as a form of getting to know myself better. There was a time last year where I struggled with a life rot where I didn’t know who I was, what I wanted, and what really motivated me. With that sense of not entirely knowing what to answer those questions with, I lived a very anxious life. Although I continued to attend social events where I was constantly surrounded by people, I felt alone. I stopped writing, took a prolonged break from photography, was not inspired, didn’t go and do the things I wanted to do, but listened to what others wanted. At this point I wasn't physically alone, but there was a gap where my personally needs should have been. So I took a step back and threw myself into much-needed isolation. Although isolation may be an exaggeration, I decided I should prioritize spending time with myself. In a matter of weeks I had discovered more about myself than I had all my life. It may sound dramatized, but it’s true.

You are your own person and every person has so much to discover about the world and themselves. It is your job, as an individual to go out and live your life, whether it is walking alongside others or alone. While it’s great to do what everyone else is doing, it is important to follow yourself in whatever direction you choose to go. So go ahead. Go for a walk, bus to the gym, sit in the library, see that movie you've been excited about for the last few months, read that book, make dinner, whatever you may be doing, go ahead and do it yourself on your own time.