You take a step back from a party in a crowded room to a bathroom and imagine an empty field with long grass, flowing with a quiet breeze. In the moment, you feel bliss in contrast to the loud noises in the background. This moment, right here in the bathroom, with its cold, hard floor is a feeling that could not compare to the gustling roar in the other room. Even with a room full of people on the other side, you feel a longing to be by yourself. And even though you are alone, you do not feel so lonely. Then there you ask yourself as you’re looking through the mirror: “What does it mean to be lonely vs. alone?”

There are different kinds of serenity when you are with people and by yourself. One could not match with the other, as they are two completely opposite things. Of course, this depends on the person, but during a time of being at your lowest, would you prefer to distance yourself from others and be alone, or get closer to others and restore yourself with them? Making comparisons with these two subjects, the dictionary definition of “alone” is a word that means the physical state of being by yourself. Being alone is the sincere way that you could sit in a quiet bedroom feeling complete and grateful. Now, being lonely is the expression for the state of feeling having no one to talk to and longing for completeness. Being lonely is the way that you could be in school and observe a big friend group, wishing for people that would keep you company or make you feel loved as them.

In relation to the time of war, many people are lost and killed with many families and friends grieving over their loved ones. Connecting this to a bigger subject will help show its importance, as those who have lost family during war are subject to grief and even depression. Taking it to the perspective of a soldier who has lost close friends during war, they could feel both alone and lonely. And rather than comparing this feeling to a light breeze, a gust of wind could soon blow you away, off into the distance with nothing and no one to hold on to.