6 ways living alone can better you

Ah living alone! Every Nigerian youth  looks forward to one day moving out of their parent’s house into a space they can call their own (Oh the freedom! Oh the liberty! Oh the independence!) and for good reason too because living alone though challenging can be an incredibly bettering experience. We are Viva Naija and here are 6 ways living alone can better you

1) Better relationships with friends and family:

The phrase “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” comes to mind here this is because when you live alone you’ll often find yourself reflecting on the important things in your life and you’ll come to appreciate the effort your parents put into making their house a home for you. All this can lead to a better appreciation of your family and friends.

2) You learn more about yourself:

When you live alone, you come to startling realizations of self. Some of which will be pleasant (Ooh look I can fix the sink all by myself) and others unpleasant (Why do I keep forgetting to pay the electricity bills?!!!) This is actually awesome because a better view of self can lead to  great progress as an individual. Strengths get stronger while weaknesses get worked on and overcome. Given time, a better person emerges. Brilliant!

3) You learn to enjoy being alone:

No more parents around, no more siblings, visitors that show up are those you actually want around, living alone means you’ll be spending more time with yourself and a better appreciation of your own company will result.

4) You get better at managing money:

Ah yes! Money! Now that you’re alone, now the house bills are YOUR responsibility. Now you are the one who needs to make sure the electricity, gas, and WiFi bills are sorted. Your parents wont be doing this for you no more and as a result you’ll be forced to be more prudent with your spending so that all necessary bills get paid and provisions provided. At first it’s no fun accounting for every penny but over time, it’ll second nature and you’ll be a much happier person for it

5) You become more willing to take up challenges

Being alone means you’ll be responsible for handling every challenge that occurs. Broken light bulb? It’s up to you! Leaking gas cylinder? Up to you mate! No food prepared for dinner after a long day at work? Food isn’t going to prepare itself my friend. Get to it! As daunting as this might seem, the more you rise up and respond to these challenges, the better and much stronger person you become. This could never have happened at home with the  parents taking care of things as best as they could but it will happen living alone and it will be glorious. Painful but glorious

6) You get better at making decisions:

With no one around to tell you what to do, it is now all on you to decide how you go about things. Do you stay up late till 2am even though you have work the next day and a presentation to do in the morning? Or do you spend that money on that outfit even though you have bills to pay? Do you replace that missing hard drive or do you make do till the next paycheck comes? Decisions, decisions, decisions and only you to make them. Being alone you will have to make these decisions, you will make mistakes, learn, get better and make better decisions and you’ll find yourself a much much better person

So that’s our list. Did we miss any out? What other ways can living alone better you? Tell us about it in the comments below. We are Viva Naija and we love you