MCLobbies is the quickest and easiest way to start your own minecraft server with nearly full customization. It's quicker and far easier than port fowarding, using a server host, using minecraft realms etc.

You can do pretty much anything with your lobby. You can play any minecraft world you'd like (adventure maps, survival worlds, etc.) with up to 3 friends (or 7 with MCLobbies Premium). You can install plugins on your lobby too! You can also add texture packs to your lobby that will be automatically applied to anybody that joins your lobby.

If you don't have people to play with, that's not a problem either. You can set your lobby privacy to "public" and allow anybody to join your lobby. As the lobby owner, you'll be opped on your lobby and have access to all commands. You can kick and ban players in your lobby, stop your lobby, adjust lobby settings, op other players, control all plugins that you've enabled and much more.