Me, Myself and I

Tonight I went to see a movie -- alone.  I have been going to movies alone for the past 16 years or so.  I would much rather go with other people but were I to wait for them, I might never go.  You see, I have this terrible habit of not ever planning to go to a movie.  It's almost always a last-minute idea and it's usually a mid-week late show.  It's no wonder I can't ever find anyone to go with!  So I go alone.

As I said, I started going to movies by myself about 16 years ago because, for many years, I lived abroad and it was rather difficult to find someone who wanted to see an English movie with me.  Eventually I had to choose between never seeing a movie in a theatre or never seeing one with anyone.  I'm not one to sit at home so going alone to the movies was simply the lesser evil.  I've never understood the social stigma attached to going to the movies by yourself so it was never awkward or humiliating for me.

In face, there was also a time when I used to go to dance clubs alone.  It's even harder to find people who like the same music as me and who like to dance so, again, I would just go it alone.  I've explained my love of dance and my need to dance before, so suffice to say that dancing alone at a club was a far lesser evil than not dancing at all.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure I could pull off hitting a club solo now, but one of these days I just might try.

So, for all the time that I've spent writing about my wonderful friends, there are times when they have other plans, leaving me to my own devices.  What I've been reminded of is that I'm not going to let their absence stop me from doing what I want to do.  Yes, the fun-o-meter never quite maxes out when I am by myself, but it sure revs a lot higher that it would were I to sit at home on the couch all evening.  And when I think about it, if I am a strong enough person to throw caution to the wind and go out alone, then I should be able to rely on that same strength for so many more things in life.  I'll have to try to remember that.