The last Ramadhan and Eid holiday, I got to spend a lot of time with my family. I was very excited about it. I packed lots of my stuff for this long holiday helped by my parents who came to pick me up home. It felt so great, now I can't believe it's a week left before finally going back to work. It wasn't a fancy one. It was just about staying at home, playing around with my sister, catching up with relatives, movies, cafes and a little shopping. I actually had no idea of how I would spend this holiday in the first place considering things are not certain nowadays with the whole pandemic situation. As I've been with my family a lot, every day for 24 hours, I realized that it's draining my energy. I started to feel kind of suffocating. I need some time to be alone with my own. I felt like I wanted to teleport and escape from people. The introvert soul of mine was fiercely calling. It begged to be fed.
The thought of having a solitary moment wandering in a shopping mall popped in my head. I suggested that I could get myself some stuff or grab some good food though I doubted I would bare the tense of eating alone in public. I just thought those were great ideas.The next morning, I had a shower, put a little make up on and picked up the best outfit for that day. It just felt so great knowing you deliberately made time and effort to take care of yourself. I was off by taking public transportation since I didn't want myself busy driving. I bounced from one ride to another by myself feeling so independent and proud of myself.
I decided to hit the biggest shopping center in my hometown. There were some food I've been craving so much. I was so thrilled to have fun all by myself. It was already the time to pray dzuhur so I decided to go the prayer room before strolling around the mall.The first thing I did was trying to get myself a boba drink. I gathered up all my courage to go to the place alone assuming things were gonna be quiet perplexing as I've never been there before. But I was okay with it though. We're all first timers, aren't we? It was as awkward and confusing as I thought it would be and I ended up ordering a drink without boba in it. I was a bit upset. I had no idea. I sipped my drink in the midst of crowd at the food hall trying not to give a damn of what people would think about me. I felt so cool and liberated. Anyway, the drink was unexpectedly pretty good. It boosted my mood. It was the one with Ovamaltine. I didn't stay there for long because the food hall was so full of people and It got me dizzy.
There was a Korean street snack cafe I was curious to taste. I really wanted to try the food at place and not take them away, having some quality time with my own self and maybe a little contemplating. Off course I wasn't quiet serious about that. I was very freaked out of the idea that people would judge me eating alone in public but I couldn't resist going there, so screw it! Let's just hit the cafe first and manage other things later on.
I arrived at the cafe. Thankfully It seemed to be quiet and not loaded with humans. I loosened up and ordered Itaewon mozzy chick and Busan odeng. I'm a big fan of Korean cuisine. I love its combination of veggies and meats, sour and spicy flavors and red looks. It always looks appetizing. Tasty and healthy. My most favourite is kimchi. It's always nice to have it with any kind of dishes. I asked my food to be wrapped that I could take it anywhere. I went upstairs to see if I could find a spot to enjoy the food alone. I observed and luckily there were only teenage girls who I strongly believe are K-pop freaks. I sat on a long sofa with some small tables suitable for one person. I thought it's purposely set for people who want to eat alone like me. I took a seat as soon as I noticed it.
I opened up my food and tried not to get bothered by what those people would assume about me and they actually wouldn't care at all. I started with the chicken. It was crispy on the outside but delicate on the inside. It crushed perfectly inside your mouth with its rich flavours topped by the mozza. I continued with the Busan odeng that was my first time having it. It was so tender and the soup was really good too. They blended impeccably. I effortfully focused my thoughts on enjoying my solo dining, ignoring the fear of being judged while watching some Youtube videos. Gradually, I got more chill on cherishing my time with myself. Proud, independent, and liberated were what I felt about myself. I was also very grateful for the good food. I had a good meal. I loved my solo dining experience.
These whole things have developed my relationship with myself. I learned something new about myself that I like to eat alone in public. It's peaceful and sort of therapeutic. On top of that, you can do whatever you want. I love spending time alone with myself so much and having a solo dining is one of the best ways to do it. I plan to have more solo dining in the future. The idea of you can only eat in restaurants with your friends is ridiculous and dull. You can obviously have yourself to eat in your favorite dining places. In any case, you could do pretty much everything and have some fun by yourself. Who says you can't go to a concert alone? Who says that you can only go to a Gym with a bunch of people or you will only have a great vacation when you're surrounded with people. That's such a crap. Remember, you always have yourself.
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