Could/ can you live alone?

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I've never really truly lived on my own, and I'm not sure if I would want to beyond a short period. At my time at university, I stayed in halls for one year where a lot of the noise upset me, and the rest shared a house with four others. I preferred the latter as none of us were the rowdy type. I have on the odd occasion been on my own for a couple of days through arrangements, and they weren't the best of experiences, but not the worst either. I like to try and bounce off people's personalities to try and keep me going even when its just short term.

Still, my independence and personal space is something I highly value and always make sure of it.

Living alone would be preferable for me but living with others, I can deal with as well.

I live at College effectively all year, where I have my own room and facilities, and if I feel like it, I can shut myself away for a couple of days (provided there is enough food and water in my room to last me through that time). In terms of John Donne's analogy from Meditation XVII, I tend to think of myself as being a tidal island, like St Michael's Mount in Cornwall: I can be 'part' of society and the rest of the people (albeit in a very detached way) for a while, but every now and then I have to be an island again. I like this arrangement a lot. I used to live with my family and still spend some time with them, but I sometimes feel bad for having to leave them alone when I feel a need for some time alone.