Would you go to the movies alone?
“Hi. One for the 7 pm showing please.”
“How many??”
“…one…”
“Yes, I am watching a movie alone and I’m ok with that. No, you may not have any of my popcorn.”
Feels somewhat pathetic, no? I would totally go to the movies alone. Would I feel like a loser doing it… probably.
There are certain things that are seen as social activities. Are there valid reasons for one to avoid doing these types of activities alone? No. However, you might be perceived as eccentric for going it alone.
“Will someone be joining you for dinner? Shall I wait to take your order?”
“No… now bring me one of everything on the menu. It’s gonna be a long night. I hope you wore comfortable shoes, buddy.”
It takes a good deal of character and self-assurance to indulge in an activity normally reserved for two or more by yourself. Would you go on vacation by yourself?
Can you imagine walking around Disneyworld all by yourself with your Mickey Mouse ears on? You walk around the Magic Kingdom wide-eyed and amazed and turn to tell someone how exciting it is to be there, and there’s no one there. You pose with Mickey and Goofy and Pluto for a picture and there’s no one to take it. Years later as you recall the vacation, you ask aloud, “Hey remember that great trip to Disneyworld?” and someone responds, “No, you went alone.”
Pathetic. And I would totally do it.
There are benefits to taking the independent route. Your schedule is your own. You can see all the things you want to see without having to balance out the itinerary with things someone else wants to see. You can ride that ride as many times as you want. You can wake up and get started whenever you want.
Many times we opt not to do something simply because we don’t have someone to do it with. The truth is many activities traditionally done in groups are so much better when done alone.
Totally doesn’t suck alone:
Vacation – do all the things you want to do
Dining – no one to eat your fries and pick at your meal
Long drives – less weight for the car to carry. Gas is expensive.
Concert – concert tix and t’s are way expensive.
Karaoke – if you’re going to look stupid, look stupid alone.
Going to the bathroom (typically girls) – Trust me. Taking a dump alone is better. Feel free to get your grunt and push-face on.
Being independent is great but it’s only part of the equation. We grow
from completely dependent babies to independent individuals to
interdependent achievers. Our greatest successes come as a spouse or a
team player. Sometimes it’s just better to have someone
with you.
Sucks alone
Chess, checkers, Twister, spin the bottle, baseball, poker, tennis,
thumb wrestling, arm wrestling, frisbee, double-dutch and pretty much
any kind of game or sport
Getting in a fight – This could go either way. Fighting yourself looks
stupid but you may inadvertently end up starting a Fight Club.
Fighting monsters – always good to have backup when fighting monsters.
If you have to flee, hopefully the other person is slower and the
monster will catch them first.
Dirty Dancing – dancing alone, ok. Dirty dancing alone. Not ok.
Unfortunately there are things in life that just plain suck no matter what.
Sucks either way
Watching a chick flick
Crying
Going to prison
Getting punched in the face
Getting mauled by a bear or basically any event that results in you getting killed
They say before you can have a truly successful relationship, you first
have to figure yourself out. You have to be independent before you can
be interdependent. So I’m going to work on me. And I’m going to start
by going to the movies alone… confident, self-assured, and alone.
Its going to be great, a brand new beginning, an evolution, if you will. Wanna come?
jae1775 