My back is turned, but I sense her eyes burning a hole through my back. I turn around and there she is; my sister, ardently staring at me from across the room. What is it about staring that bothers me so much? Is it her eyes or the fact that she won’t look away? It annoys me for reasons I can’t explain; it’s a strange feeling. I’m annoyed that I can’t hear what she’s thinking or if she's secretly judging me for something I am unaware of. I feel like I did something wrong or that there’s something that I can’t see within her judging eyes.

I’m walking in a store and see a young toddler walking and a baby in a mothers arms. Both of their eyes are locked on me. I automatically get uncomfortable, but I know that they’re most likely curious. It makes me wonder how much a young child can judge a person when they stare, because their facial expressions tell you otherwise. Many people often smile if they catch eye contact, but from personal experiences, childrens faces rarely show emotion when they stare. It’s almost as if they don’t think that the other person can see them.

I’m sitting in school and watching as my classmate stares at my friend who is walking across the room. But I didn’t realize I was staring too. People associate staring with judgmental or stalkish behavior, but there could be many other reasons. Most of the time, I don’t realize I’m staring because I zone out and my eyes rest on whatever I see. I stare at things when they’re entertaining, like a movie; or when I’m jealous of something, like people with eyes as blue as the ocean. People often stare for long periods of time when something is different than “normal.'' For example, my sister and I are twins so I’ve had to deal with people staring because we look the same, or they're trying to look for differences.

Since I was young, I’ve learned that staring can make people uncomfortable and irritated so I taught myself to look away in one of those instances. As my irritation has progressed throughout the years, I’ve tried to take a different approach to stare back at a person until they look away, because I thought it would make them feel annoyed too. Eye contact is awkward, but eyes tell a story as well. Normally, if I stare at someone who is staring at me, they look away which makes me feel like I have power. This gives me confidence that I am in control of what other people see.