This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Winthrop chapter.

The 20s, along with the late teens, are an extremely exciting stage in the grand scheme that is growing up.

This is the time to travel, learn a new language, and truly begin the task of exploring the innumerable wonders that make up the world around you.

It’s all to easy to fly through these years, embarking on these eye-opening adventures, trying new things, only to realize that by the end of it, you’ve failed to explore the most important thing of all – yourself.

While I’m sure we’ve all heard this at least once or twice, this task can seem rather daunting to say the least. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when faced with the idea of exploring our inner selves – Where do you start? How long will this take? What if you do it wrong?

All of these worries are completely valid, and even more, completely normal. However, the only way to overcome this apprehension is to simply dive on in. There are tons of ways to gradually ease into the habit of spending time alone with yourself, but what better way is there to do this than to actually live alone?

If the idea of spending time alone was enough to intimidate you, then I’m sure the thought of living alone has sent you running for the hills – but before you push this unthinkable burden to the back of your mind, let me explain why living alone (at least for a little while) can be the best decision you’ll ever make.

1. You have to entertain yourself

Living alone means spending a good chunk of your time, that’s right – alone. This is the perfect time figure out what activities you enjoy, what you don’t enjoy, and which ones you’d like to focus the majority of your attention on.

2. You have to make your own decisions

It’s all too easy to rely on those around you to not only influence, but in some cases actually make your decision for you. Living alone forces you to make your decisions (ex: Cookout or Chick-Fil-A for dinner) based on your desires alone

3. You have the chance to become your own best friend

Now, I’m not saying that having other best friends is a bad thing, because it’s not. However, you’re an awesome person with awesome interests so why not take the time to embrace that for all it’s worth?

BONUS

Living alone means pants are ALWAYS optional, because no pants are the best pants

Collegiettes, taking the plunge and diving into self-exploration is one of the hardest decisions you may ever make but always remember: just because you’re living alone doesn’t mean you have to feel lonely.

3 Reasons Everyone Should Try Living Alone