9 Reasons Why Living On Your Own For A Part Of Your 20s Is One Of The Smartest Decisions You Could Ever Make

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1. You develop a sense of independence.

Being independent in your 20s is everything. Learning to handle your own sh*t, learning how to do things on your own, learning how to be your own self-advocate—this is HUGE. When you live by yourself, you’re forced to make your own meals, clean your own place, and fix your own issues. You’ll gain a new sense of who you are, what you like, and how much you can actually do without help. It’s motivating, encouraging, and makes you feel stronger than you ever imagined. And since your 20s is the biggest time of growth, it’s even more crucial that you’re growing #SOLO.

2. You create a routine.

When you live on your own, it’s only natural that you develop a routine. You have your meal time, social time, workout time, chill time, whatever-the-hell-you-want time. Being on your own, you make your own choices about what you want to do and when. It’s liberating, but it also gives you much-needed structure. (AKA you’ll become a productive human. Yay!)

3. No roomie drama!

This is soooo overlooked. Living with people can be an amazing experience, but let’s be real, it can suck too. When you’re on your own, you don’t have to worry about pettiness, people stealing your food, annoying sexscapades you can hear through the walls, the list goes on.

4. You actually become more social.

Living alone means if you want friends, you have to go get them. That means actively texting people to come over for dinner and drinks, or putting yourself out there to get invited to go out somewhere. Living solo is great because you get your much-needed re-energizing time. But when it comes to social time, you actually become more outgoing because you need to reach out in order to see something than the four walls of your bedroom. 😛

5. You become self-aware.

You figure out what you need. Alone time. Sleep. Party time when your friends come over, etc. You find out what’s important to you when you’re alone and it helps you focus on bringing those things intentionally into your life.

6. You learn what you care about and what matters.

Living solo means that you have time for you. That can mean all the Netflix lazy Sundays in the world, or it can mean taking up a project that you’ve been dying to finish for months. When you’re living solo, you figure out what’s important to you and you spend your time accordingly. It’s a more purposeful, selfish-in-a-good-way kind of living.

7. You get confident.

Who put together that table and chair set? Who fixed that broken light? Who decorated the kitchen with matching place settings? Oh yeah, that was you. All you. When you’re on your own and doing things on your own, you get empowered. You get confident. You feel good. And that’s a nice way to live.

8. You have something of your own.

Your place is your place. You pay for it, you decorated it, you made it your own. And that’s cool. That’s yours. That’s a place you can bring people to, it’s something you can show off. The simple fact of ownership is overlooked, but having something that’s solely yours is really awesome.

9. You actually start adulting.

When you’re on your own, you’re forced to adult. You’re forced to get your life together, clean up the dirty dishes, put on clothes and be a productive human. That mess in the living room? Yeah, you can’t blame it on anyone but yourself. So your butt is kicked into adulting gear. Welcome to the real world! (Btw, it’s not that bad.) Thought Catalog Logo Mark

Marisa is a writer, poet, & editor. She is the author of Somewhere On A Highway, a poetry collection on self-discovery, growth, love, loss and the challenges of becoming.

Keep up with Marisa on Instagram, Twitter, Amazon and marisadonnelly.com

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