Being 'Alone!'

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Hey all! It’s been slightly longer than a week but I’m currently in Bruges! What a beautiful city! We’ve been to a brewery, torture museum, LOTS of bars and LOTS of restaurants! Today is a trip to Ghent just down the road!

So today’s installation is about being ‘lonely.’ I use the inverted commas for a reason as I know, deep down, that I will never be alone in life. I have plenty of friends and family around me all the time.

I think my eyes have been opened to it quite a lot being away- I am here with my brother Ollie and his girlfriend Abbie. I said to them yesterday, I feel like I’m the only single person in Bruges!

I’ve lived by myself for over 2 years now and I absolutely love my little flat! I am so proud of what I’ve achieved by buying my own place, furnishing it, decorating it and generally maintaining it (I’ve even hung photos and built furniture!!)

However, if you’ve ever lived alone, you’ll know how hard it is sometimes to get home night after night and only have your own company.

Something that has become apparent to me more recently is my addiction to my phone and social media. I think this comes from spending so much time alone that I feel the need to speak to people over the phone. Sometimes I can go a whole day without a text or a call and that, I find really hard.

On the flip side of this, these times that I spend alone, I can do whatever I want to do… at the moment that will probably consist of reading my book all bloody day or watching some sort of rubbish on tv! But I’ve started to realise I need to embrace this “me time” and stop seeing it so negatively.

The rest of this year, for me, is to learn to enjoy my own company… learn to love myself… learn to not need my phone. But mainly… learn to stay off bloody dating sites and not be tempted.

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