I realized halfway through freshman year that my plans almost always depended on what my friends did.

If I wanted to take a break from dorm food and hit up a bud for some Chipotle, it’d be entirely on them. I felt like talking to people I knew was, at some points, more important than the actual activity we were doing. I didn’t want to do things by myself, to be completely honest. If there was a way I could squeeze a friend in an activity, then I would have.

I also had a point. It felt odd to do these things without anyone else to share it with, no matter how trivial it was. People tend to believe doing things by themselves automatically makes whatever they’re doing less enjoyable.

But I firmly believe it’s not. Having fun doesn’t require the presence of other people. And constantly convincing yourself of that can take away from the amount of time you spend having fun by yourself.

Sure, going out with your close buds to Firehaus for half-priced Shark Bowl Tuesdays is always enjoyable, but if you’re someone who needs alone time just as much as social time, then maybe watching that movie by yourself might be good for you.

It could be as simple as treating yourself to a nice dinner — maybe some ice cream afterward if you’re feeling a bit down. You can watch a sad movie by yourself and won’t have to worry if you start bawling for whatever reason. Or if you’re like me, you can spend your free time on the Main Quad, laying down and relaxing simply because you can (it’s especially nice during the summer because almost no one is ever there).

And personally, it was those days I spent by myself that made me appreciate myself more.

Don’t get me wrong here; I love surrounding myself with people. I enjoy getting food with friends, binge-watching Netflix shows with my best buds and studying in groups. And I love going out on weekends.

But weekends are weekends, at least here on campus. For a lot of us, they’re supposed to be fun and social because the entire week was super stressful.

And of course, these things are inherently better with friends. Parties and bar crawls always call for people because it’s a more-the-merrier situation.

But the point here is that there is a time and place for you to enjoy both situations: being with friends when you want to and being by yourself for the exact same reason.

Tyler is a junior in Media. 

[email protected]