I’ve been staying in a 2-room apartment on my own for the past one and a half year and I’ve been enjoying the freedom of living alone. And I believe that everyone should experience what it is like to live alone because it’s life-changing!
Previously, I was living under one roof with my parents and two brothers. Living with your folks isn’t exactly a bad thing. It does have it perks. My mum does most of the housework by herself and my dad would usually bring food to the table. Living expenses would be much lower when you are staying with your family. There’s less bills to pay and fret about.
However, there are downsides to be staying with your parents when you’re already in your twenties or thirties. Petty arguments, conflicts and loss of personal space are inevitable. As I grew older, I value personal space and freedom even a lot more.
There are times when I wish my parents would not barge into my room to seek for technical help with their mobile phones while I’m in the midst of writing an article or filming a YouTube video. As a daughter, I felt obliged to help them as being dutiful is an important Asian virtue.
Living alone is liberating.
Personal freedom is everything to me. I was able to design a space which reflects my personality and create an environment that suits my lifestyle. Most important of all, I was more productive than ever. I was able to focus on my work and enjoy some silence to myself.
Behind every Asian kitchen is a tiger mum who doesn’t like anyone to invade her space. Now that the entire kitchen belongs to me, I am able to cook whatever dishes I want and eat without being judged or nagged at.
I felt like I was in more control of the way I choose to lead my life. I was drawn to minimalism after being a vegetarian, an eco-warrior and now, a minimalist. With this new living space, I was able to start afresh and toss out or sell any unwanted items and buy only essential items that serve a purpose. This life philosophy of mine is also reflected at my work desk. My colleagues are often puzzled at how empty and bare my desk look.
Nevertheless, there are downsides to living alone.
Living alone means you got to be independent. Besides taking care of yourself, you got to invest some time to ‘take care’ of your house. The cleaning and maintenance can be somewhat time-consuming and mundane. But it trains me to be more discipline in up keeping my environment.
That also means that I have come up with a cleaning routine and stick to it. For instance, I will make it a point to mop the floor twice a week and do the laundry once a week. Thank goodness, my apartment is small and I don’t own many things. My space is never cluttered because I cannot stand mess.
Performing such light housework seems pretty okay. The only dreadful housework to do is the washing toilets. This includes the scrubbing of the sink, floor and toilet bowl. I even had to invest in some cleaning agents and tools to keep the toilet looking spick and span. My mum used to do all these menial housework and now, it’s my turn to maintain the cleanliness of the house.
Enjoying some silence at home is pleasant but when the period of silence prolongs for days, one may start to experience loneliness. After all, we are social beings which are born to interact with each other. It is nice to have someone staying with you to listen to your daily woes over meals.
Freedom outweighs the inconveniences.
All in all, I still enjoy my me-time at home. I’m savouring every moment of it until my BTO HDB flat is ready. Due to the pandemic, the construction period of the flat was extended by nine months. So I’m treasuring my personal freedom right now because after the wedding when the hubby comes, it’s another story altogether.
