Say it Louder: TLC for yourself

Opinion editor Emma Crampton shares her thoughts on various topics in her weekly column.

Christi Lazutkin

Opinion editor Emma Crampton shares her thoughts on various topics in her weekly column.

Everybody has a different preference on how to spend their free time. As teenagers, many of us envision a fun time as going out with our friends. This is most definitely not a bad thing, as social interaction is vital to our lives, but there should be a limit as to how much time you spend with other people and not alone.

Having friends and participating in social activities with those friends is a very healthy aspect to someone’s life. However, are we spending enough time with ourselves? I know that the second I get free time I want to spend it with other people. At our age, we are still getting to know ourselves and who we really are. The only way that we can do this properly is if we spend a decent amount of time with ourselves.

We typically tend to overdo or underdo this task. It’s normal to either be going out majority of your free time and not spending any time with yourself at all, or spending too much time alone and just staying in at all times with little to no social interaction. Both of these options are not an ideal situation. It is not particularly easy, but maintaining your time to focus on your own being is a very important part of growing up.

What is done in this time for yourself obviously differs from person to person. For example, when I’m alone I like to read, write, listen to music and go outside while someone else may enjoy cooking, knitting or something completely separate. Everyone has different specific hobbies and interests. Nobody shares your exact likes and dislikes which is why spending time with yourself is so refreshing and meaningful.

Getting to know yourself is a long yet essential process in everyone’s life. When you enough (but not too much) time alone, you learn a lot about who you are and what you enjoy as an individual.