Steem4nigeria Accelerator Contest Week 108 : The choice of companionship or solitude; which suits you best?
Image by Alan Jiang on Unsplash
The average young person dreams of spending life with someone special. For those who grew up watching the Princesses series, it's common to hope to find your prince or princess charming one day. These desires are valid.
However, in life, there are solid decisions we have to make for our financial stability and success.
In this post, I'd discuss:
✔️ The biggest benefits and effects of living alone compared to living with someone.
✔️ Whether living with someone can improve our emotional well-being, or limit personal growth?
✔️ The best stage in life one should live alone, and when is it better to share your space with someone.
✔️ What I’d choose between peace and companionship.
There is a growing trend. Some people believe in growing old alone. No marriage. No situationship. Just freee-dom. Others believe in doing life with other people. Whichever one works for you, here are some thoughts to consider.
| Aspect | Living with people | Living alone |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | You get to split the bills or have someone handle everything, depending on your age, financial status and abilities. | You'll handle expenses alone, except you have support from your parents, partner or workplace. |
| Emotion | Your only source of companionship would be via online. | You’d have a close person you can share your innermost thoughts with. You trust this person to proffer solutions and words of encouragement when you need it the most. |
| Independence | No one cooks for you. So, you'd develop self-reliance, and know how to organise your life and activities. | Someone helps you fix some day-to-day life tasks. |
The answer is yes. However, it depends on the context. Having good people around you regulates your emotions positively. Talking and doing activities with them will keep you happy and lively.
On the other hand, it makes you dependent. Ever wonder why young people do not grow independent when they keep cohabiting with their parents or guardians? That's because it sometimes limits their personal growth.
Living with someone is good. But the limitation is when the partner or family member is toxic. That can ruin your emotional wellbeing and limit personal growth even further.
Life is in stages. There's a time to cohabit with people. For instance, from 0-18. There's a time to discover yourself. That's mostly in your early 20s. People within this age group live on campus or rent a space. From 25, they consider having romantic relationships and cohabiting.
That's because as we grow older, we need people who can watch over us and make valuable contributions when we make decisions.
For me, there is nothing wrong with any of these choices. You can choose to live with someone or alone. However, I'd suggest leaving your comfort zone if you desire to grow as a young person. You can consider companionship when you are ready.
Actually, there's no one-size-fit-all template for life. Both companionship and solitude have their benefits and disadvantages. Some of the survival skills I have now were cultivated when I lived alone. It boils down to choosing what works for us.
Have a great week!
Inviting @jasminemary, @etoro and @chiomi to the next contest.
Published 13 October 2025