LOST, LOST, LOST...

I'VE LOST MY MARBLES!

 

Living alone, I have found, is not to my liking at all. It's not that I can't find anything to do. I have plenty to do at home to occupy any free time I might have: cook, clean, read, do laundry, sing, dance, watch TV, workout, write blog posts...But I miss having people there, not even to talk to, but just to be there. I miss coming home to find either family or roommates (sometimes they're one and the same) laying in bed reading a book or doing homework. I don't have to talk to her, she doesn't have to talk to me, but it's nice to know there's someone there. And if you do so happen to have something on your mind, you have someone to discuss it with. You can be doing absolutely nothing together except sitting in the same room (or just the same house) and it's soooooo much better than being in the house alone.

 

Now I'm the first to admit that time alone is good if not even necessary for some (like me). And there are merits to living alone (not having to clean up after roommates is a perk), but even just a couple weeks of living alone has me wishing for a roommate. As an introvert, I need quiet time away from the crowds and hussle and bussle of the outside world to recharge on an almost daily basis. If I don't get that time, my emotions go haywire. This little fact means I spend a lot of my free time at home. I don't like to go out and party every night, or even every weekend. Parties I reserve for once every two or three weeks to once a month (lame, I know). That being said, the time I spend recharing, doesn't have to be alone. In fact, I find it helpful to have one or two, even three people home who I can vent about what went wrong that day or discuss a problem I've been dealing with. As much as I sometimes deny it, I am, like all other human beings, a social creature. And, let's be honest here, having roommates makes being social a whole heck of a lot easier for an introvert than living alone. If you live alone, you actually have to leave the house to have any kind of social interaction. And now I sound like a hermit. I don't mind leaving the house; it's just not something I like to do every day. If you're an introvert, you'll understand. If you're an extrovert, you're probably not understanding a word of this post. It's okay, you can just skip the rest and wait for my next post.

 

I decided I wanted to make a list of the pros and cons of living alone (that apply to me at least). Keep in mind that means living in a foreign country as well, where my closest friend is an hour and a half ride into the big(ger) city.

 

Pros of living alone:

 

• don't have to clean up after dirty roommates (if they happen to be dirty)
• not having to deal with neat freak roommates (a few tend to lean in that direction)
• singing and dancing anytime I want without fear of judgement
• I can watch what I want when I want
• no fighting over washer/dryer
• no unwanted guests at all hours of the night
• I can wear whatever I want without having to worry about said unwanted guests
• no alarms going off before 7am

 

Cons of living alone:

 

• no one to vent to (overseas calls are expensive)
• no one to cook for (plus I only have a stove, no oven)
• no pillow talk
• no workout buddy
• no one to be crazy with on a daily basis
• no one to grab and spontaneously go to a movie with
• no one to go on a late night walk with
• no one to play with my hair or scratch my back
• no one to ride with me to church
• no random acts of kindness (like finding my wall covered in hearts on a particularly bad day)
• no one who knows every tiny aspect of what's been going on in my life (like who I have a crush on)

 

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can come up with on the spot. So I'd like to leave with a question to all my readers (introverts and extroverts alike): what do you like or dislike about your living situation (whether it be with roommates or without)?

 

 

A friend is one who knows you

and loves you just the same.

 

-Elbert Hubbard