I Went to A Concert By Myself and Loved It

I'd be ashamed to call myself a blogger but it's as the title says: two weeks ago, I went to a music gig by myself and survived, in fact – I loved it.

Some of you know that I listen and love Korean hip-hop (≠ K-pop but hey) and I was so down to party like a responsible adult when Zico was doing his European tour. Several things though - Matt isn't into it, and my friends are probably at that point, broke from buying BTS tickets so you know what? I went and nabbed myself a solo ticket.

Enjoying your own company

I'm usually quite nervous about spending time alone, and sometimes it doesn't help that we're told to surround ourself with copious amount of 'positive energy and people' and a ride-or-die girl gang, an idea that perpetuates that being alone is somehow shameful.

This year I set out to do more things that I actually enjoy, and sometimes that means going out of your comfort zone. I'll have to admit, I was worried that I wouldn't enjoy it because I was alone and the fear of being self-conscious (lol that went out the door pretty quickly) but I think that's quite normal if you're not used to going out and doing things alone, right?

As an only child, I think it was pretty difficult for me growing up because I didn't have anyone to talk to / play with and would always wish for a sibling during my birthdays, until my 10th birthday where I started wishing for a Tamagotchi for myself, ha.

You'd think I would have settled into a good mould of enjoying my own company but it's something I'm still working on, being comfortable walking on the streets and feeling good about it.

Cultivating a sense of confidence

I was, am still not a confident person and it makes life really quite terrible. It didn't help that my adolescent years were plagued by skin problems and moving to a different country, and still today I struggle with my skin (that literally makes it more than 10 years) – not the greatest confidence boost shall we say.

On the flip side, it makes me very unhappy, constantly worried about outward appearances and wondering what other people think of me. It was getting to a point that affected people around me and that isn't how I'd like to continue living life...

It's probably far-fetched to correlate going to a concert and self-confidence but I would consider that a step forwards in our otherwise hypernormalised society where everyone is successful and young and impossibly attractive.

Starting my new job at a young company surrounded by smart, driven and incredibly capable individuals have left me reeling in self-doubt lately and was something I touched on in an Instagram post - am I doing enough? Why aren't I making the big bucks yet?! How on earth do I make myself useful?

I don't have an instant cure to these lingering and unhelpful thoughts but making a start by doing things I enjoy and something I'm good at sounds like the right thing to do?

There is no right or wrong

Would it have been better that I had friends with me at the show? Probably. But I can honestly say that I loved going to a gig by myself and put those self-conscious thoughts to sleep just for 2 hours and enjoy what was happening right in front of me.

I don't think there's a prescribed list of what you should do to feel more comfortable - I certainly don't - but I feel like we all know intuitively what we are capable of doing to start making that step, be it treating yourself a coffee date and going shopping, playing video games for hours straight (guilty - I played for 5 hours once gulp)...

I'm putting a conscious effort to spend my time enjoying the present moment, alone or together because time machines don't exist yet and I'm certainly better off spending time being content than in constant worry.

What about you? What are your favourite alone time activities?