Living on your own is only occasionally lonely

Despite the fact that I have spent the last month living alone I suppose I don't feel half as lonely as I should. Really, the first week is sort of rough but after that you develop enough of a general dislike for other humans that you really just prefer the cosy cocoon of an empty apartment.  I don't mean to sound like the proverbial old cat lady but I genuinely think that enough time spent alone makes you indifferent to human contact. Perhaps this will change as time goes on but, at the moment, I think I'd fare pretty well on my own.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I would enjoy house arrest. I do still leave the building - It's just that I do so on my own. Nor am I saying that I'd fare well in a lonely post-apocalyptic society. In that case there'd probably be no cable and I'd be absolute crap at rearing my own animals. 

In fact, the only pro of my new found tolerance of solitude is that it forces a certain degree of intellectual reflection. Note, I did not say internal reflection. If anything being on my own has made me even more obtuse to my own shortcomings and even more intolerant of others’ but, being on your own means you don’t have to care!

However, I don’t intend to mislead you by pretending that living on my own has been an entirely positive experience. Being alone also means sacrificing a sense of personal security. Ironically, instead of worrying about the more realistic danger of being robbed, living alone seems to have fueled my, slightly unrealistic, childhood fears. Yes, I am saying exactly what you think I’m saying. Living alone has made me inexplicably terrified of under my bed; in my closet; bathrooms with the lights off; anywhere with the lights off; noises in the night; not having my feet under the cover and keeping my eyes closed for extended periods of time.  Though I should point out that this was not completely unprompted – I blame this almost entirely on the fact that the cable company sees it as their duty to show countless horror movie commercials after 9pm.