maggie nelson says “loneliness is solitude with a problem” and wrote about how if one does one’s solitude right, the prize is an ability to love without losing yourself entirely. this has really helped me reframe how i see the past few years of feeling lonely and my discomfort with being single - these days i’ve been sorta leaning into my “solitude” and just really working on coming back to myself and my identity, and trying to see myself as whole even while on my own + appreciating the platonic love i already have in my life