Every year it is the same: You walk into class on the first day of school, but all you can think about is where am I going to sit at lunch? Are any of my friends going to be there, will I fit in, will I have to sit alone? You start texting your friends frantically to find out what lunch they have. You set up plans to meet at a landmark in the school so you won’t feel alone when you walk in.

All of this trouble just because you are terrified of rejection and scared of being alone. What is it in our heads that makes us afraid of meeting new people? There are lots of scarier things in this world than who we sit with at lunch. When you think about it, we are only going to know these people for a few short years, so what makes us so afraid of trying something new? Why can’t any of us take the first step to break the clichés and break down the stereotypes?

The moment of truth comes, you walk into the lunchroom and over to the meeting place, but your friends aren’t there. Your anxiety rises and you start to become nervous. What are you going to do if they don’t show up? Where can I sit where I will fit in? Who won’t reject me? You begin to scan the lunchroom looking for the one table where you will feel the least awkward. Then, you spot your friends and the segregated clichés of Arrowhead continue for another year.