It is perfectly OKAY to eat lunch alone! I know, scary thought! I remember my freshmen year, I was always scrambling to call and text my best friends trying to decide who was available to eat lunch with my that day. I must admit, it could be intimidating walking into a large café, dozens of students rushing around to find the best food options for the day while you are just trying to find two open seats out of every table in the room. It can be extremely loud, everyone talking amongst themselves and laughing about the latest weekend adventures. No one wants to look like the odd-one-out sitting alone for lunch.
However, it is not nearly as bad as it seems. As time goes on, you may even start to love eating alone after class. It can be peaceful, or maybe you will finally get that 20 minutes of mental relaxation and cheese pizza before you head to pre-calc. People at Carolina are friendly! Sometimes the best place to make a new friend is when bonding over the cookies at Lenoir at the desert bar. But most importantly, just remember that it is okay to eat by yourself every once in a while. Jump outside your comfort zone, you never know what positives you might experience from it!
Amber Weber
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ’17
Psychology B.S.
Medical Anthropology Minor, Neurosciences Minor