The freedom of being alone

So... Today I went shopping alone for the first time... ever. And it was... well... AMAZING!

As much as I love alone time, I've never actually tried spending alone time outside of my house. My alone time is usually with my laptop and Netflix, or with a book.

But today, things finally changed. I woke up this morning and decided that I wanted to spend quality alone time with myself. And since today is grad skip day, then I had no excuse not to do something with myself. I haven't been downtown in forever, so I thought: might as well. I didn't want to invite my friends or anyone to go with me because I thought I'd give shopping alone a try. And good thing I didn't invite anyone because I had the time of my life today.

I woke up at 12 pm and read a little bit before getting up, then ate breakfast/lunch/brunch (I don't know), and casually and calmly walked to the bus stop. If I had made plans to go with someone, I would have been super rushed, because part of making a plan is to meet up at a certain time, and I am terrible at that. I am always waking up late, missing the bus, and am so rushed that I can hardly breathe. But today, there was no schedule, it was a go-with-the-flow kind of day. I felt so relaxed. It was good.

I took the skytrain downtown and the whole way there all I did was listen to my music and just do my own thing. I don't know if I'm the only one out there, but when I'm in the car, on the skytrain, or on any type of transport I don't like to talk; I just like to look out the window and be with my own thoughts. When I'm riding in the car or skytrain, I can think things though better, my thoughts are clearer. I don't know why that is. But anyways, with friends, I always have to talk and make an effort to continue the conversation during our ride to wherever we're going.

When I go shopping with my friends, part of me feels like I'm obligated to buy stuff and actually shop. I mean, it's kind of weird when your friends are buying stuff and you aren't and it's kind of a must when it comes to buying things. But when I was shopping by myself today, I didn't have to buy anything. I didn't have to go to stores that I don't like. I could spend as much time as I wanted in certain stores. I spent, I think, half an hour in the bookstore, and it was awesome. Sometimes, when I go into bookstores with my friends, they're not really in to books and get bored quickly and then we have to leave because they don't really want to be in there. I actually got to look through all the books and pick out the ones I wanted without feeling rushed and having to leave to go to another store.

I think the most beneficial thing about alone time is not having a schedule. I didn't have to meet up with someone at a certain time or leave by a certain time. I didn't have to spend time in stores I don't like and instead I spent more time in stores that I love.

The beauty of alone time is the freedom. Freedom to do whatever the hell you want. After this experience, I'm reluctant to go shopping with my friends ever again... Just kidding. I'll always love shopping with my friends. But now I know that I have the option of shopping by myself and know that I'll love it just as much as shopping with friends.

If you haven't tried shopping by yourself, I encourage you to give shopping alone a try. You never know, maybe you'll find yourself loving it as much I did.