Being solitary is being alone well - Alice Koller

Depending on who you are as a person, it may come as a shock or a downright bore to you that last Friday I went to the 'Sculptures by the Sea' exhibition in Bondi Beach... by myself.

It was a spur of the moment decision I made the night before, just before going to bed. Most of my friends were either at work or uni (I was skipping it myself in order to go).

I asked my boyfriend, but had previous plans with his family. I asked my mum, but she had a headache.

I've been wanting to go for years. I don't particular remember what kept stopping me, but this year I wasn't going to let being alone be one of them.

I can't recall the last time I had so much fun by myself (no pun intended). After months, maybe even years of spending my days surrounded by other people, it was nice to be alone with my own thoughts, to get to know myself again.

I was scared I'd end up counting the hours, like you do when you're stuck somewhere you don't want to be. But before I knew it a whole day had passed, I practically left home at 10 and didn't look at my watch till 4.

For anyone whose ever surrounded themselves with other people just to get away from themselves, it was a relief to find that I actually liked my own company.

I think everyone needs to have days like these every once in a while. To reconfigure yourself in the universe, just to check you're where you thought you are.

Of course, you won't always like what you find. Which is why some people don't like being alone. Because they're too scared to meet the person they've become.

But in a way that's a good thing too. It could be a wake up call for change, a personal intervention.

I'll admit, I'm a different person around different people. It's not about being fake, it's about being human. Heck, I have to change my accent just so my mum can understand me. It's just that different parts of me get along with different types of people.

But who are you when you're with no one but yourself? That's you in your entirety.

Love, Noeline
xox

I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind - Albert Einstein

It is good to be solitary, for solitude is difficult; that something is difficult must be a reason the more for us to do it - Rainer Maria Rilke

Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement - Alice Koller