Many of you, including myself, read Casey Robbins' awesome article entitled "The Freedom I Found In Being Alone". After reading what she has to say about being on her own, I was inspired to try "being alone" in my own life. Over the course of the past few years I have found that spending time on my own doesn't really happen anymore. While I love the people I am spending my time with, I realize that there is value in being comfortable with yourself without those many loving people around. So, for the past two weeks I have made an intentional effort to spend time by myself doing things that I would normally do with others, or wouldn't normally do at all.

Here are the rules:

- I couldn't take another person along.

- I had to do something that I had never done by myself.

- I had to spend at least 30 minutes doing each activity no matter how much I hated it or how uncomfortable I was.

So here we go...

1. I went to the movies.

I had never been to a movie by myself before this moment in my life. It has always seemed like it would be strange to walk up to the counter and say "ticket for one please!"

2. I went to a sit down dinner, without a date.

When I am going to have to eat dinner I alone, I either go through a drive-through or I stay home. I would have NEVER gone to a sit-down place and requested a table for one. If I thought movies alone would be awkward, dinner alone would be a thousand times worse.

3. I read a book at the park.

The park is commonly reserved for family outings or play dates with my dog and others. But not this time! This time is a was a date for me and my book.

4. I went to the Wildlife Refuge and took a hike.

Usually going to the refuge involves someone who knows where they are going (usually my boyfriend). But not today! Today I hit the trails on my own and attempted to not get lost.

5. I attempted to bake a cake.

Anyone who knows me knows that my baking experiences only take place when I am with my best friend, Katie, the master chef in our group. So to try and make something that didn't come out of a box on my own was daunting.

6. I went to a spin class.

Technically, I wasn't alone... but I didn't know anyone in the class and it was super early in the morning and it was something I had never tried but always wanted to!

7. I took a day trip.

I couldn't go far due to lack of funds and time, but I did make it to Oklahoma City!

8. I watched the sunrise.

I am NOT a morning person, most of my friends aren't morning people, my boyfriend isn't a morning person. It's been a long time since I've seen a sunrise and I don't know that I've ever seen one intentionally or alone. Usually I was on a bus headed to a track meet... So I did it intentionally AND alone for the first time!