It's the first week back to college, school, or wherever, you realize that you've made zero plans for lunch, and everyone and their mother is in class, or already ate. You're on your own, no one to accompany you. You get to where your going and at first glance you already tell you're going to be waiting awhile for your meal. The lines are long and they only have one register open, so many people eating, but none to sit with you. You must have done something awfully bad in a past life to deserve this. But before you decide to skip lunch entirely, take what I have to say into consideration.

Homo sapiens, like most animals roaming this planet, are extremely social creatures. Especially, the subspecies known as "college students". Being that we're all a little uncomfortable with drastic life changes, it makes perfect sense that we cling together like a herd. Not to mention that for our entire lives we lived with just our family, and now we wake up to strangers just as awkward and uncomfortable as us. No one likes to be alone, not all the time at least. Sometimes however, it's good to spend time with yourself and just take the world in.

I'm not saying you have to sit down and discover yourself. Just take the time to shut up and reflect on things. There is so many things you can do instead of engaging in a conversation. Personally, I like to have a cup of coffee in the morning and plan out my day. Then when lunch time rolls around and I have no friends to call upon I'll re-plan my day, cause nothing ever goes exactly to plan. It's never the same routine, I don't go to lunch thinking "hell yeah, time to plan out what's left of my day!". It's just what's going on in my mind; if it's a busy day, I'll plan it out, a Friday, Friday night shenanigans, did something really stupid, I'll try to think of a way to fix it. Pop in some headphones for white noise and lunch turns into a study session. You can use the time to think about life decisions, set goals, and give up on old dreams. Calculate the risks and rewards, the pros and cons of your life. For all these things you need to set time aside to think about them, you can't just go off a last whim. But in the end what you think about is really up to you.

While spending lunch alone is a great time for self-reflection it's not the only place to do so. You can do it almost anywhere, except for your room. A lot of people eat, study, and basically do everything in there room, which is fine there is nothing wrong with that. But going out on your own, literally all by yourself, is kind of what college is all about. It really lets you grow as a person. Just the little trivial tasks you do by yourself makes you a better functioning person. It lets you be an active observer of the world as opposed to someone swept away by the crowd. Focus less on traveling with the herd, slow down and take in the scenery. Or speed up cause it's your life and the more you hustle the happier you'll be. Everyone is different. Being alone is the time granted to you, by yourself, for yourself. It's a time for lazy thought, and critical thinking, take advantage of it, and you won't regret it.