What did college students do before headphones? Seriously … walking around campus, almost everyone is wearing them. The fear of walking in silence, alone with your thoughts? It’s unsettling right? Might even send chills down your back. It makes us uncomfortable and we tend to avoid it at all costs.
A Break From It All
In college, downtime is often hard to come by. Between classes, clubs and working all while maintaining a decent social life is certainly hard to manage. When we finally do have some time to unwind, we tend to fill it with scrolling and TV consumption. There is little silence in our lives. The thought of sitting in a place with no distractions rarely crosses our mind.
A Place Of Solitude
If you think about it, there is essentially one place we are comfortable with silence, the shower. Honestly, even then some people play music during it. If you are one of those people, we suggest trying to shower without music. From our experience, some of the best ideas or waves of inspiration have come from showering. Could this be because we allow ourselves to be alone with our thoughts?
Alone Time
Maybe you are someone who values their alone time and enjoys sitting in silence. For the rest of us, though maybe it is not your intention (and maybe it is), we tend to neglect making time for ourselves. Pushing it to the back burner to make room for other priorities. Though these priorities are often beneficial for you, spending time alone in a quiet space can also enhance your well-being.
And We’re Starting
Think about it … yes, you’re starting now! To fully process anything or truly have any ideas, you need to take time to think. Discussing it with yourself helps you to work it out. When you lack that bridge of thought, your mind can feel jumbled and often thoughts are left unresolved.
We challenge you to start slow … start in the shower. Designate that time of the day for yourself and your thoughts. No music, no conversation, nothing. Simply you and your thoughts. It could be scary, or it could be exciting. You are making time to build that relationship with yourself. Slowly, you will begin to find comfort in solitude. Allowing yourself to fully think through and process your day will help you to process other events in your life.
Who knows, maybe you will even choose to walk to your next class with no headphones on!
Let us know on X @VALLEYmag how you like to spend your time alone!
1 Comment