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Alone -- Writer's Poke #108

For Writers:

It never used to bother me to go to movies alone. "Why do I need to sit next to somebody to watch a movie?" I wondered. Nobody seems to care if you watch TV at home by yourself. Something about our society cares, however, about people that do things in public alone. Who goes to a concert alone? Who can even go to a restaurant alone, especially any restaurant without a drive-thru window, without feeling self-conscious?

When I was 20, I thought nothing about going on vacation alone. I was by myself the first time I visited Bourbon Street, for example. I would drive long distances by myself, but I enjoyed the freedom. I stopped when and where I wanted, and no one complained about how loud my music was, or if I wanted to play Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything for Love" 100 times in a row -- which I've been known to do.

Sometimes I might wonder: what's wrong with me? Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with a society that looks suspiciously at people that are, in essence, completely comfortable with themselves? What is wrong with being your own best friend, anyway?

Are there certain things you feel uncomfortable doing alone in public? Do you know people (or are you one yourself) that must surround yourself with people everywhere you go? Do you know anyone that uses friends like Linus uses his security blanket?

"I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude." -- Henry David Thoreau

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