This has been a much previously discussed topic, but as the school year has continued, I’ve been frequently reminded of its importance.

We students become very aware of our relationships with the people around us, and can become very concerned about those relationships and how other people view us. These relationships are important for networking and success in school, but sometimes they become too much of a priority. We often become very worried about what we look like and how others perceive us. This worry on top of the task of trying to curate the best relationships leads to undue stress and anxiety. There is one way to realize this stress and how much we don’t need it in our lives:

Go to a meal in a public place alone.

This for me, is going to the cafeteria by myself. I don’t have coordinate with others’ schedules as to when we can all sit down for a meal together. I don’t have to speed eat to be able to fit my commitments and a social meal in, and I don’t have to wait for friends to be done with theirs’. I can go to eat when I am hungry and it works best for me, and I can take as long as I have or want. This creates a more relaxing experience, the way a wholesome meal should be.

The first time I went to dinner by myself, I was worried I would be looked at funny for sitting alone. I was worried how others would view the empty chairs around me, whether they would see me as odd, or look at me differently. This seems like such a trivial thought, worrying about what you look like when eating, but it is a real thought that goes through many peoples’ minds, whether they are in school or not.

What I have learned from occasionally eating alone is that no one cares. They, like most other college students, are more concerned with their own situations and how they are going to complete their days. This freedom allows for occasional people watching, deep thinking, book reading, Netflix watching, and a perfect pocket of alone time that we all need, but don’t necessarily get enough of, all without having to schedule an extra hour in the day for “me time."

Eating alone helped me to realize how little other people actually notice or care what others around them are doing, and helps me to be less self-conscious about doing normal activities like eating around others, or not around others.

Building relationships and getting to know other people is important, especially in college. But getting to know yourself and what great things you are capable of doing, with or without people around you, is just as important. And it can all start with eating dinner alone.