“Sometimes all you need to make sense of things is to just be alone. I truly was alone, as no one understood me.”

There is a difference between choosing to be alone so we can think and being alone because no one understands us. They may look the same from the outside, but they do not feel the same. One gives us space. The other carries the pain of having no one with whom to share an important part of life.

Being alone can still make some things clearer. Without agreement or comfort from others, a vision has to stand on its own. Other people’s opinions lose some of their power because they can no longer take the place of our own belief.

This does not make loneliness good or understanding unimportant. It means that loneliness can exist beside strength. A person can feel the pain of walking alone and still find the courage to keep walking.