A college descriptive writing assignment opened my eyes to an ironic element of my campus: The seating arrangment of students in the cafeteria painted a metaphorical picture of who belonged, and who did not.

It is lunchtime on my university’s campus, and countless people pour in and out of the student center.  As I walk inside, I realize that I am just a face in the crowd, one of many students bustling about the center’s cafeteria.  The intermingled scents of pizza, hamburgers, and French fries drift across the room, making the cafeteria seem like a warm, inviting place.  Many people wait in the winding line at the cash registers, their lunch in one hand, their money or meal cards in the other.

Sunlight streams through the large windows and glass doors, casting its warm glow on anything or anyone near the front entrance of the building.  Some students move from the registers toward the front entrance, where others are already gathered around a few tables near the door.  Once the newcomers reach the front of the building, a few of them drag chairs over to the already crowded tables.  Others do not sit at all, but walk from table to table, talking and laughing.  Whether they choose to sit or stand and walk, these students share a common bond.  They all stand in the sunlight, accepted by whatever group they choose. 

I do not stand or sit in the sunlight because I am not part of any group.  I elbow my way through the crowd and walk towards the video games in the back of the student center.  In the back, there are fewer students and plenty of empty tables.  I drop my backpack beside one of the empty tables and sit down.  Alone.

The sun's rays cannot reach this part of the building, so it is much colder and darker than the front.  I shiver and pull on my jacket.

While I eat the sandwich and fruit I brought from home, I gaze at the other students seated at the back of the cafeteria.  Most of them sit at tables by themselves, as I do. A girl with dark, curly hair holds a copy of the campus newspaper in her left hand and stabs at a salad with her right. She never looks up from the paper, keeping her head down the entire time she is eating.  A chubby girl eats a sandwich with one hand and works math problems with the other.  One skinny boy with long hair eats nothing at all but just sits staring into space.  The rest of the students sitting alone keep their eyes on the food they are eating.  None of them laugh.  None of them smile.  A few have the corners of their mouths turned down.

ATTENTION: THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE ESSAY; IT IS ONLY THE FIRST HALF.

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