Embracing Loneliness During the Holidays

The holiday season is almost here and it’s stressful for anyone to figure out what to do during this time of year. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for the things and people we’re happy for. However, there are others who either don’t have any family to spend time with or aren’t accepted by their families because of their sexual orientation. Growing up, my family and I would eat some great food and watch the yearly Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving game. Over the last several years on Thanksgiving, I would either go to a friend’s house or simply enjoy this day alone. My parents and I have been estranged for over a decade and I’ve experienced physical and verbal abuse in my childhood. Not only that, but also the early parts of my adult years.

When people ask me what I’m doing for Thanksgiving, it always proceeds with them mentioning my family. It sometimes makes me feel uneasy, but I’ve since been more open about it. I’ve always felt the need to spend time with anyone during Thanksgiving in order to be happy. However, I embrace the idea of being alone during any Thanksgiving and even Christmas. I’ve recently read an online poll from Monmouth University in New Jersey, which was done on November 4-8 of 2021, and out of over 800 people they included, seven percent of them said that they plan on celebrating Thanksgiving alone.

I personally like spending the holidays alone, because it’s give me time to focus on myself, relax, and appreciating the smallest things in life. No one should feel guilty of wanting to practice self care on themselves. We all need a break from social media and society every now and then. Focusing on yourself is never selfish, because it allows you to prioritize your mental health. Listen to some music, binge watch Netflix, or do any activity that’s less stressful. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, I log off from social media in order to make myself a priority. For many years, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with holidays in general, because I felt they were too commercialized and guilt trip people to buy gifts for others. It’s also usually a stressful and depressing time for me, but I realized that there are good things that come from celebrating the holidays alone.

One of my favorite actors is Keanu Reeves. He’s a very private person and rarely goes out, but has the time to do generous things for others. His gentle nature is why many people like and respect him. This quote from Keanu speaks volumes and I can relate to this. He’s an introvert, just like me. Being alone with your thoughts is therapeutic and refreshing. With all the current events happening in our world right now, a mental break from reality does us more good than we imagined. Being alone is fine, so don’t beat yourself up if you decline someone’s offer to hang out with them.

I’m not a religious, nor spiritual person, but I pray that everyone is safe and healthy during the holiday season. Alone time is good, so embrace it and never feel bad about missing out on anything huge. I rather spend a wonderful night at home as opposed to going out by myself or with friends. If you ever need someone to talk to, especially during the holidays, I’ll be the one to be friends with you and here to listen. My social media pages are displayed in my bio, so feel free to reach out to me anytime. Also, if you love this story or my previous ones, please send me a one-off tip, which you can find at the end of every story. Your tips help me write better stories. Thanks for your support in advance and have an amazing Thanksgiving.