Here’s a philosophy of life question for you: I live somewhere unappealing and cannot leave for the next 3-5 months, give or take. Some people are lucky enough to live their lives as a constant adventure; I want to be the same, but I am not so lucky. How does one deal with the reality of curtailed social circles, zero culture, no adventure, and ultimate boredom?

Why are some people living as they should, while many more are not?

From an existentialist point of view, your experience is what you make of it, regardless of circumstances. For a person in the right frame of mind, 3-5 months without external distractions could be a wonderful opportunity. You could: Learn an instrument. Learn a foreign language. Teach yourself programming. Write a book. Study philosophy. Meditate. Come up with a complete plan for the next five years of your life. Build up your strength. Pray and fast, etc.

In short, you could give yourself all the preparation you need to make sure the next phase of your life is a glorious adventure. Conversely, if you’d rather seize the current moment, you could make it your goal to make one good friend, or to ask one beautiful stranger out on a date, or to discover one hidden secret about your unbeloved home.

No matter where you go, you will always take yourself with you. It may be that you are most afraid of spending the time with yourself and discovering who you really are. If you approach this time with imagination and discipline, there will be no excuse for being bored a single minute in the next 3-5 months. I recommend reading Sartre’s *No Exit* for more on this point of view.