"The Art of Being Alone" by Savanna D

 

Definition for “Alone” : having no one else present

In such a technology and civilian involved society there’s an assumption that the average person is full of entertainment and thus rarely ever feels unwanted or alone. In a survey conducted by PBS, it was found that around 60% of Americans reported feeling lonely on a daily basis. This statistic applies a very negative connotation in terms of how many civilians nowadays don’t know how to live a happy life unless they are surrounded by other people as constant forms of entertainment. Personally, I believe that being alone can be a very rewarding and relaxing experience, it’s just a matter of if you know what to do with the time you’re given.

Right after junior year had concluded I decided that I was going to spend the summer working on myself and hanging out with the people I love. I began to quickly realize that I had developed a bad habit of relying on other people to bring me happiness in my everyday life. If I wasn’t spending the day with friends or hanging out with my cousins, I often felt very alone. Seeing my reliance on others for entertainment, I worked to find a balance between being around others and being able to have fun when I was by myself. I spent some days out of my week during the summer going shopping by myself or going to run errands that I needed to get done. I feel like what helped the most is reflecting on activities I enjoyed partaking in and just doing it as an individual instead of with other people. This new perspective has helped me grow a lot more as a person, and enjoy life on a much more mentally healthy level. I came to the awareness that if I was able to be my best self when no one was around, when I did hang out with others I would be a more confident person.

The statistic that the age group that feels the most alone is the age group of people “18-22”, the young adult category. This is the age group that us as high school seniors are going to enter in the next few years. We’re all gonna leave the structure of having a high school life and moving onto careers or going off to college. At this point in life it is more important than ever to develop an awareness of our individual self as we’re exposing ourselves to a whole world of new environments surrounded by new people that we may not have close connections with. I can only imagine how lonely it must feel to be in a new city while attending college, far from home, on a campus where there are so many unknowns. It can be essential for a person’s mental health to establish a routine of tasks they enjoy doing alone. In the first few months of being in a new environment you may not know many people, but being able to work on yourself and develop a life without the reliance of others is a great place to start.

Now viewing the word “alone”, it no longer has a negative connotation, but rather an opportunity for personal growth and life advancements. It’s all about perspective and how you choose to tackle a certain situation. With perseverance and a strong drive for self improvement, regardless of what situation you find yourself in in the future, being okay with being alone can set you up for much greater opportunities than many.

Sources:

Yang, John. “Why Americans Are Lonelier and Its Effects on Our Health.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 8 Jan. 2023, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-americans-are-lonelier-and-its-effects-on-our-health#:~:text=You%20know%2C%20some%20surveys%20reveal,from%20a%20public%20health%20perspective.  

Elias, Mark. “49 Loneliness Statistics: How Many People Are Lonely?” Discovery ABA: At-Home & Center-Based ABA Therapy (No Wait List), Discovery ABA, 26 Feb. 2023, www.discoveryaba.com/statistics/loneliness#:~:text=Young%20adults%20between%20the%20ages,death%20by%20up%20to%2050%25 .