The concept seems simple enough. You go to the commons, or the cafeteria, or the break room at work. You grab your lunch, you sit down, and you eat. Right? Wrong. Lunch may seem like just another meal, but it actually represents the epitome of social status. Where you sit and who you sit with at lunch affect more than just your lunch break. It determines your social status. This may sound like a bad 90’s high school sitcom (i.e. Full House); however the truth in the statement is overwhelming.
Take the first day of school for instance. This is basically when you determine who you are going to be for the following year. You emerge from the lunch line, tray topped with a chicken wrap and a bottle of water in hand. You start out hopeful, but as you scan the room, your eyes quickly fill with desperation. You look everywhere for a friend. No luck. You look for a familiar face. Nothing. Soon the panic begins to set in. Am I going to have to sit by myself? Or even worse, with the band geeks?
You weigh the options. Looking around, you realize there aren’t many. You could sit with the theater kids, but you wouldn’t have much to talk about. You question the jocks, but you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of guy talk. After all, you want to eat lunch, not lose your appetite. Maybe your friend Jenny. Except you haven’t talked to her since 5th grade, so unless she still collects Bratz Dolls, that would be a pretty dull conversation.
Listen to yourself, you sound ridiculous, you think. But deep down, you know that where you sit does matter. Not only do you want to sit with your friends to have an enjoyable lunch period, there are also underlying factors which make your choice of table so important.
Take gossip for instance. If you don’t sit with Ashley and Rebecca, how are you going to find out what girl Mike is talking to? That’s right; you don’t. Your lunch table also often determines your weekend plans. The two may not seem related, but consider this. You and your girls are discussing last week’s gossip girl over Caesar salads. Chase, an upperclassman, walks up to your table to tell Ashley about the party he is having that night. He glances around the table and extends an invitation to all members present. Had you sat with the artsy kids that day, you would have ended up sitting home playing solitaire on your computer that night.
Where you sit at lunch also provides group association. While you may be very aware that you are friends with Michelle, everyone else in the cafeteria may not be. That is until you eat lunch together. Or people may not realize that your older brother is a senior and you’re friendly with all of his teammates until you share a sandwich with them.
You’re about to walk out of the lunch room and into the bathroom to eat your lunch alone, when you spot Rebecca walking in. Relief washes over you and the weight of the pressure, and your lunch tray, seems to have been lifted. Rebecca waves and begins to walk over, pulling out a chair.
Phew, that was a close one.
Take the first day of school for instance. This is basically when you determine who you are going to be for the following year. You emerge from the lunch line, tray topped with a chicken wrap and a bottle of water in hand. You start out hopeful, but as you scan the room, your eyes quickly fill with desperation. You look everywhere for a friend. No luck. You look for a familiar face. Nothing. Soon the panic begins to set in. Am I going to have to sit by myself? Or even worse, with the band geeks?
You weigh the options. Looking around, you realize there aren’t many. You could sit with the theater kids, but you wouldn’t have much to talk about. You question the jocks, but you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of guy talk. After all, you want to eat lunch, not lose your appetite. Maybe your friend Jenny. Except you haven’t talked to her since 5th grade, so unless she still collects Bratz Dolls, that would be a pretty dull conversation.
Listen to yourself, you sound ridiculous, you think. But deep down, you know that where you sit does matter. Not only do you want to sit with your friends to have an enjoyable lunch period, there are also underlying factors which make your choice of table so important.
Take gossip for instance. If you don’t sit with Ashley and Rebecca, how are you going to find out what girl Mike is talking to? That’s right; you don’t. Your lunch table also often determines your weekend plans. The two may not seem related, but consider this. You and your girls are discussing last week’s gossip girl over Caesar salads. Chase, an upperclassman, walks up to your table to tell Ashley about the party he is having that night. He glances around the table and extends an invitation to all members present. Had you sat with the artsy kids that day, you would have ended up sitting home playing solitaire on your computer that night.
Where you sit at lunch also provides group association. While you may be very aware that you are friends with Michelle, everyone else in the cafeteria may not be. That is until you eat lunch together. Or people may not realize that your older brother is a senior and you’re friendly with all of his teammates until you share a sandwich with them.
You’re about to walk out of the lunch room and into the bathroom to eat your lunch alone, when you spot Rebecca walking in. Relief washes over you and the weight of the pressure, and your lunch tray, seems to have been lifted. Rebecca waves and begins to walk over, pulling out a chair.
Phew, that was a close one.
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