Part of finding joy is figuring out the activities that sustain you and bring you joy when you're alone. Something that I struggle with frequently is the concept of being alone and how I deal with that on a daily basis. I've never been a girl who likes her alone time, I am a true extrovert! I get all of my comfort and energy being surrounded by other people, even when we aren't directly interacting. Simply knowing that another person is sharing my surroundings and able to hear me when I ponder things out loud, or who would hear if someone broke into our house (#anxiety), is something that can completely bring me peace.
When I was young, starting as early as I can remember in first or second grade, I was a reader. And when I say that I was a reader, I was a voracious reader. I would read until my parents came and turned off the light, I would read underneath my desk during the school day, I would read in the car, I would bring books with me wherever I went. I was obsessed with all of the stories that I could immerse myself in, and my favorite time of the year was when the Scholastic Book Fair would come to the library. I can still define books today that have changed my life! (More on that later).
The importance of finding a solo activity that you enjoy is something that cannot be stressed enough. For my day job, I do a lot of traveling 3-4 months of the year. Being away from home, and away from roommates and friends, can be tough on anyone, but I've always found it especially difficult. My goal this year was to enjoy the travel. To enjoy having time to myself where I could read, ignore everything around me, and just appreciate being in a restaurant or a hotel lobby...
...and it worked.
I sat and read, and ate and drank. It was a bit of a journey to get over the hump of awkwardness in being alone at restaurants, but now that's the least of my concerns. Although more places could take reservations for one person and that would be nice!
I travel mainly in PA, DE, and MD so if you have any food or drink suggestions, let me know!
xo,
Jesse
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