Feeling Out of Place?

For Freshman Writing Seminar, I decided that I would do something that would take me out of my element. Something which was both new and a bit of a culture shock. I decided that for lunch, I would sit alone. Normally, I would have lunch with a couple of my friends if they were free and talk about the usual topics (politics, philosophy, religion...yea. right.) or strike up a conversation with a stranger in the lunch line and see where it would go from there. However, I'm completely comfortable eating with strangers or with friends because I'm a naturally social person. I like being able to interact with others so in order to feel out of place, I purposely separated myself from everyone and sat alone. It was one of the tensest 20 minutes of my life. I would have done the full 40 if I hadn't been so rattled. Sitting alone at a table was a very unusual experience. I didn't have anyone to talk to and it felt isolating. I was sitting there eating alone as everyone around me enjoyed the company of others. I wouldn't be surprised if someone pointed me out sitting there, alone, eating two slices of the worst pizza Upper has to offer (wheat crust, are you kidding me?). So as I sat there I felt extremely uncomfortable and paranoid and each move I made was scrutinized by imaginary eyes which only my mind could focus on. It was ridiculous. After 20 minutes I called a quits. Paranoia was the last thing I needed at that point. That night I appreciated the company of my friends at late night. It felt so much better because I could talk, crack jokes and shamelessly flirt with people as opposed to sit alone and feel somewhat sorry for the position I had put myself in. However, the Universe was not through with me yet... (To Be Continued: Strawberry Milk Story)