July 02, 2014

Five for Five - Pros and Cons of Living Alone

The parents are away on holiday and the brother is off for an Ultimate tournament. That leaves me all alone at home. In this new segment I look at five benefits and five detriments of living alone. I will give the following disclaimer: "I am not talking about living on your own, which would imply paying bills, earning money, and all that jazz. I am simply talking about this wonderful coincidence where I have my family home all to myself." With that disclaimer out of the way, let's get on to it! 
"The true test of independence is seeing if you can survive on your own for a week." 

Pro - You Get to Walk Around Naked 

Did you forget your towel? Don't worry, just zip across to the linen cupboard and get one! There's no one around to see you. I know you were thinking about this one, so let's get it out of the way nice and early. 

Con - You Have to do All the Chores  

Mum's not around to do your laundry for you, or wash the dishes, or vacuum the floors. You better get up to doing all of those things though, unless you want to live in a dump. 

Pro - You Don't Ever Need to Use Headphones  

Want to watch a youtube video while the news is on? Go for it! I personally love listening to podcasts while I sleep, and it's hard to get comfortable in bed when you have to have something in your ears. Without anyone else to disturb I could have my laptop playing the podcasts all night if I wanted. 

Con - You Have to Make Your Own Meals  

If you can't cook, then this will resonate with your hungry stomach. Instant noodles for a whole week is not the best thing in the world. 

Pro - You Decide What You Eat 

If you can cook, then you have all the freedom in the world. Imagine all of those resources in the pantry just begging to be tampered with! If you don't want to cook, you can go out and have all the pizza and fish and chips you want. It may not be healthy, but at least there aren't any judgemental eyes watching you. 

Pro - Your Life is Suddenly a Musical  

Nobody likes to let it go when there's people watching, especially if it's your brother who totally disagrees with your singing prowess. However, now you can sing to the birds and call on the roaches because nobody's going to rain on your parade. 

Con - You Have to Drive Yourself Everywhere  

Now many of you will say this is actually a Pro, but think about it for a moment. If you don't have the adequate license, you're stuck at home! If you're not confident in your driving skills you're limited to a five mile radius around your house! It's not fun being stuck in one place. 

Pro - You Have Control of the TV 

The family prefers watching My Kitchen Rules, MasterChef, and other reality TV shows. This always clashes with the comedy programs on other channels. I'm talking about HIMYM, The Simpsons, Parks and Recreation, and the like. No need to worry about missing out now!  

Con - It Can Get Lonely  

If you're used to having a family around you all the time then you'll definitely feel it when they're gone. It doesn't have to be an emotional blow, but you'll find that it can get a little boring without someone to annoy every other minute. 

Pro - You Get Everything to Yourself  

If you live in a family of four, and you're the only one living in the house at the moment, then that means you potentially get to use three persons worth of resources for your own desires. Three times the food? Go for it! Three times the hot showers? Go for it! Three times the bandwidth? Go for it! You have everything to yourself now. 

Now just because I have mentioned all of these things does not mean that I am doing them at the moment. You should always be a good steward with any resources you are given. Do not plunder all the food and expect your parents to stock up when they get back. Do not go drive your brother's car around and leave the tank for him to fill up. Always make sure you ration the good stuff, and take care of the bad stuff too. 

What about you? Do you have a few things you love to do when you're alone? Are there some pros you think should have been cons? Let me know in the comments! 

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