This week was a great mix of work and play. Despite working my arse off all week, I managed to spice up my social life by dropping by Barcode for a friend’s bye-bye party before grooving to the music at Room 18 till the wee hours of the morning.

Sure, waking up on Saturday sucks, especially if you find that you’ve managed to sleep the entire day away and be awfully late for a date of a potential man-of-your-dreams/soulmate. But hey, these things happen, and maybe it wasn’t meant to be anyway.

However, the best part of the week… well, let me share with you.

It’s the day when your body is too exhausted after a week’s worth of work and screaming at the assistant, and you prime yourself to visit a sick colleague who has been hit by an unexpected disease and is slightly paralized at home. After which, you expect that every single one of those who have said they’ll be going backs out for various reasons and you’re left with the decision — even without the group, do you still go, or back out and wait for next time?

People are followers. We’ve always have been. When people go out and party, we go with them. It’s understandable — who wants to party alone?

Life is all about finding a companion.

My friends stare at me in disbelief when they discover that at times, I eat alone, watch movies alone, and travel alone. Despite people thinking that am Ms. Taipei Socialite, it can often times be surprising how many things I do being alone.

So what? Shall I wait for a companion to accompany me in going on with my life? What if I can’t find a suitable companion? What if everybody’s busy that day? Do I find myself buying a bento box from 7-Eleven and miserably eating at home and watching Grey’s Anatomy just because I can’t find somebody else to eat with? If I want to watch a movie, shall I wait till I gather a big enough group to see it with me before I go?

Life is too short, and too troublesome to find a companion on every activity am into.

The last time I went to India, I had no friends to accompany me. Not everybody wants to go to India. So when that happens, shall I give up my dream of traveling? No sirree!

Sometimes, to fully live life to the fullest, one has to be content in doing things on his/her own. Either by choice or by circumstance, opportunities are to be taken and if you don’t grab that chance when offered to you, you may miss out from a wonderful experience.

Take Friday for example — despite nobody to go along with me, I still went.

No way I was going to disappoint my sick colleague just because there’s no huge group to accompany me. If they can’t make it, their loss. However, not going would’ve been my loss, and I refuse to miss out just because I don’t have the courage to walk my own beat.

And am glad I did.

I had the most lovely time.

My colleague despite not being able to move half her body is recovering at a miraculous rate. She was happy to see me, and I was happy to see that her spirit is strong, and her attitude positive. Her mother was kind enough to feed me (she must have understood all the crazy hours we have at work), and we talked till almost midnight, after which I worried for her health and left to carry on my evening while she rested.

Sometimes, it’s great to be with people. I had a grand time at Barcode and Room 18 hanging out with tons and tons of acquaintances.

However, the best part of my week was when I made the decision to go alone, to see my sick friend. When you aren’t afraid to be alone, it’s amazing what you can accomplish.

So next time you have to make a choice on whether to do something, and unfortunately, there’s no one to go with you, just do it. Don’t miss out because you’re afraid of going there alone. Just do it.

Who knows? You may be missing the chance of a lifetime.