There is real value in spending time with others. There is a certain joy and feeling of fulfillment when with friends. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in all the partying. Or all the lounging around with friends on the weekends. In college especially you can get lured into putting off homework for the sake of goofing off with roommates, whether it’s getting drunk on a weekday or putting on a movie you’ve seen several times already. No matter how repetitive the activity is or how useless, it’s great for the sake of bonding with others.

However there is also some serious value in spending time alone. In fact, there are people who prefer spending almost no time with other people, and are known as introverts. While I would never say that anyone should be entirely introverted, there is importance in spending time alone.

In order to learn more about yourself, you must spend time alone with yourself. Too often people try to find themselves in sources outside from their self, looking for therapists, psychologists, friends or some sort of “self-help” book for knowledge. They know why I’m dissatisfied. They know why I’m unsuccessful. They know all about my troubles. However the truth is that no one can teach you more about yourself than you. Spending time with friends can teach you a lot about what other people want or expect from you. When you are all alone, it becomes what you want from you. What can you do to give yourself a feeling of fulfillment? How can you receive that certain joy?

Make time for yourself where there is nothing but you and an activity. It could be anything from listening to music to reading a book to working out at the WREC, as long as it is something that you are truly passionate about. You will start to identify with whatever you’re doing. You will not only gain knowledge about the activity, but you will gain knowledge about yourself and your personality. You can almost think about it as going on a date with yourself. You will learn what you like and dislike, what seems exciting and what seems dull.

By gaining so much knowledge about yourself, you will in fact gain knowledge about other people as well. Other people will have different hobbies from you, but they will have just as much passion and just as much depth with their hobbies as you are with your own hobbies. When you recognize and can relate to someone like this you will have a much greater amount of respect for this person. “To each their own.”

In short, the real value from spending time alone is rooted in the idea of self-discovery. Social, by its definition, is synonymous with normal. Discover what separates you, and makes you abnormal.

Jeff Guzman can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.