Op-Ed: Single Millennials Are the Cast of Home Alone 5

By Jessica Wise

To all the “single friends,” don’t worry. This one is all about you.

While our dear friends, parents, and coworkers are on an extended honeymoon (or divorce inquiry) with their significant others during this lengthy pandemic, some of us remain either haplessly or luckily single and solo in our homes. However you may feel about being volun-told for the cast of Home Alone 5, chances are you’ve been asked the same questions on Zoom calls with work or family members: 

“Are you okay there by yourself?”

While this question is well-intended and rooted in genuine concern, it’s a double-edged sword. If your answer is yes, then you’re seen as a cynical hermit who can survive just fine without face-to-face interaction, which friends and family may take personally. If your answer is no, then it’s an overflow of sympathy and unsolicited advice that in no way replaces your desire for human contact or just going to the coffee shop. In fact, it twists the knife.

As a single person who lives alone, I can’t tell you how tickled I get at the looks that come with my personal answer to this question: “I’m thriving.”

While I recognize this isn’t the case for everyone, it really is true for me. Before quarantine, my day began at 6am and ended at midnight. My three jobs were starting to get hectic, and I was on my way to a burnout-driven depression.

I needed a break.

Now that I’m confined to my home, I’m sleeping more, exercising six days a week, becoming more intentional about communicating with friends and family, stepping up my skin and hair care, getting the chores done that I “never had time for,” and I’m getting comfortable in my own spirit.

That’s not to negate the feelings others may have, like missing their friends or battling mental illness that’s been agitated by this isolation. It’s important to be honest with yourself if you’re having a tough time. But this is also the time to really see what you can do and what you need out of life.

This isn’t about to be another list of ways to “be productive,” but it is a challenge to be yourself.

This is your space, your domain. You can make as much of it as you want. Transform your home into a gym, a meditation room, an art studio, a dance floor, an office, a spa, or even a pillow fort. We might as well be like Kevin at Christmas and make the most of it while we can. This way, when it’s time for us all to meet again, or for you to meet that special someone post-quarantine, you can say you thrived while home alone.