The lives of college students are hectic, to say the least. Classes, jobs, friends—the ever-increasing list of responsibilities challenges us in every way. It’s important to take care of ourselves, to rest our minds and bodies so that we can put our best foot forward.

Some of the best rest comes from alone time, but too often, it is pushed aside.

Having time for yourself is critical. Whether it is five minutes of meditation or a five hour hike, being alone gives us the time to recuperate mentally, emotionally and physically.

Down time takes different forms. Personally, I like to watch movies or paint. My brother plays video games and listens to music. Some like working out and some like baking. Again, it depends on the person, but the important thing is allowing ourselves time to recharge.

The “American way” is to keep doing. Be as busy as you can because that shows you’re valuable to society and “going somewhere” in life. Taking a minute for yourself can be seen as selfish or as falling behind.

Being busy also seems like bragging rights nowadays. The more you do, the more justified you are to be stressed or unhappy because you don’t have the time to relax. When we get that time, we don’t know what to do with it or how to feel about it. It can be a vicious circle.

The hard thing about alone time is it can be associated with loneliness. Being alone and feeling lonely, while similar sounding, are quite different. On a surface level, being alone is a physical state, and being lonely is mental.

Of course, a person can be alone and lonely at the same time, but our current definition of being alone is often misconstrued so that the words are interchangeable.

The progress of our society, with technology, social media and instant communication, has increased our awareness of loneliness, not only in ourselves but in others, too. If we do happen to get time alone, we still have access to Snapchat stories and Instagram posts, which usually detail all the things the people we know are doing, or, more importantly, the things we aren’t doing.

It puts pressure on us to constantly be engaged with other people. Seeing friends together without you or doing things that you would want to do can bring on a bout of loneliness. The loneliness, or frankly sadness, that we feel when this happens discourages alone time. Being by yourself quickly becomes associated with missing out and lacking social interaction.

While it seems contradictory, having more alone time can help with loneliness. If we learn to be comfortable on our own, it becomes easier to deal with loneliness. And again, alone time is about eliminating the stress of life in order to unwind.

Alone time is not about secluding yourself for hours on end, or leaving a class for some “me time.” It’s about finding the balance in your life that keeps you as healthy and happy as possible.

Maddie Peters can be reached at pete9542@stthomas.edu.