Walking Around Naked Not the Best Part of Living Alone... Who Knew?

I have spent my entire life living with other people. I was born the youngest of 5, so always had my older siblings in addition to parents. When I went away for college, my first "roommate" was my grandma while I hunted for a job and alternative living situation.

The first house I moved into was with 3 other girls. I lived in that house with 4 occupants for a year and a half, then was in an apartment with 1 roommate (who had a boyfriend over regularly, so was more like 2 roommates), then in a house with 2 roommates, and two more places with a single roommate each. This made up the first 24 years of my life.

I have always had at least one roommate - most of the time I had more than one. I never wanted to buy anything too nice, because it would just be used and abused by my roommates, no matter how careful they were. Not to mention that, when we would separate ways, some of the items I had purchased or owned would inextricably be lost to the roommate for one reason or other (sometimes by accident, sometimes they would steal things, and other times they believed so fervently they owned the items that I just gave in rather than fight it out). In addition to the woes of losing property, I've even had roommates wreak havoc with my finances and, if you'll believe it, credit report. Those stories, however, are best kept close to home.

It wasn't until recently that I was finally able to financially afford to live by myself without a roommate. I cannot even begin to express how fantastic this living situation is. Living by myself, I have never kept my home space cleaner than I do now. I guess before, I could always find an excuse. Sometimes the mess wasn't mine, sometimes the excuse was that such-and-such person/roommate took XX days to take care of their mess, so I have some time. It's not to say my apartment is always immaculate, but I do clean more frequently and keep things in order more of the time. A lot of this has to do with the fact that I know that any mess in existence is purely mine. When I clean the bathroom, it's only my own nastiness, not anyone else's.

I always thought that the best part about living alone would be the ability to walk around naked whenever I pleased (which I totally take advantage of), but I have come to realize that the best part is the ability to be alone. I also have the ability to not be alone and have friends or family over. It is all at my own discretion, and it is marvelous.

After so many years living with consideration for everyone else sharing my living space, I am digging the opportunity to take only myself into consideration (my cat excepting) when in the comfort of my own home.