During my undergraduate studies, a classmate of mine was so shocked when I told her that I had a penchant for going to the movies alone. To me, it was just something I had been doing for as long as I can remember. To her, there was a stigma attached to the act because going to the movies alone was solely reserved for sad lonely women, spinsters.
I’m comfortable doing most things alone. I think it’s so important to teach yourself how to function without the support of another, especially in situations in which having another presence is usually the norm. People often praise those capable of effortlessly navigating different social situations but I think there’s also something so endearing about those individuals who are comfortable with all the silence.
I used to try this little trick during uncomfortable situations: I would allow myself to feel every anxious feeling that arose and worked on finding some comfort within them. Sometimes it would work and I would find little ways to abate those anxious feelings and sometimes, it would not. However, those times it did work, I would feel a sense of victory, like I had solved one of life’s little mysteries.
I’m curious, does the thought of going to the movies alone make you cringe? or do you consider it a brazen act of empowerment?
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