We all have those days where we feel bleak and empty inside, but what exactly are we feeling? Alone or lonely?

Many people mix up those two words and interchange them. Do they mean the same thing, or have two completely different meanings?

According to Merriam-Webster, lonely is defined as being without company, cut off from others, and producing the feeling of bleakness or desolation. Alone is defined as separated from others, exclusive of anyone or anything, and considered without reference to another.

Being lonely can occur anywhere. At home, at a party, at a concert, in class, or even with your best friend.

The feeling of being lonely is an empty feeling. Your mind wanders off into a dark place, and it is hard to return without some coaxing. Loneliness is inside you, and it doesn't want to leave until the thing you crave comes to light.

I get lonely more often than I should. I'm usually around a wonderful group of friends, making jokes, playing games, and enjoying myself.

Recently, I went to a gathering and felt empty inside. I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. What I wanted wasn't there. I don't know what exactly I wanted, but the monster inside me supposedly did.

I had thoughts that no person should have or want, and a small part of me wanted to make those thoughts true. I was lonely.

With loneliness, you cry inside. You don't let anyone know what you're feeling, and you always have a face on. You find a distraction; hopefully one that yanks you from the deep pit you're in. It's the inner hurt.

Being alone is just that. You're alone. You have alone time. It can, like being lonely, happen anywhere. Unlike being lonely, it only occurs when you are truly alone. When you don't know anyone around you.

Being in the car with no one else but yourself and music, is being alone. You aren't depending on anyone else's choice of music. You can blare that Hamilton soundtrack, or that new Beyonce album without anyone judging you.

Going to the movies by yourself is being alone. You don't have to rely on anyone's opinion on the movie you're seeing. It's the feeling of independence.

With being alone, no one can stop you. You are invincible. You are mentally and physically free from anyone and anything. There is freedom with being alone.