How to deal with being alone.

TO TALK ABOUT BEING ALONE WE FIRST NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING ALONE AND FEELING LONELY. BEING HAPPY BEING ALONE COMES FROM A PERIOD OF LONELINESS THAT TRANSFORMS INTO UTTER DEDICATION TO CRAFT AND ACCEPTANCE OF SELF. BEING ABLE TO GO TO A RESTAURANT ALONE, BEING ABLE TO GO TO A MUSEUM ALONE, BEING ABLE TO GO TO A PARTY ALONE IS CRUCIAL FOR AN ARTIST. YOU NEED TO PREPARE FOR COMPLETE LONELINESS AS AN ARTIST BECAUSE NOONE WILL EVER TRULY UNDERSTAND YOU, AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT MARINA ABRAMOVIC SAYS. I BELIEVE IN THAT TO A CERTAIN EXTENT…YOU CAN STILL BE FRIENDLY WITH PEOPLE AND HAVE A CLOSE CIRCLE BUT YOU CAN’T BE EVERYONE’S FRIEND. THE MASSES ARE AFRAID OF WHAT THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND SO NATURALLY THEY WILL BE AFRAID OF YOU, YOUR INDEPENDENCE, YOUR RESILIANCE, YOUR EGO, YOUR TALENT. YOU’RE JUST TOO PRECIOUS TO BE NICE TO EVERYONE. I DON’T FEEL LONELY ANYMORE BECAUSE I ENJOY MY OWN COMPANY MORE THAN ANYONE ELSES. I TRULY AND UTTERLY LOVE MYSELF.

-NKEM