Being left out
On the first day back to school, I sat down to eat lunch with my friends and scanned the cafeteria. I saw familiar faces all settling down in their regular groups. But when I observed them closely, I noticed a new girl timidly standing in the middle of the cafeteria, not knowing where to sit. Thinking, “Someone will invite her to sit with them,” I went back to eating my lunch. When the bell rang, I headed back to class, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.
Throughout my school life and extracurricular activities, I have always hung around with a specific group of students. Every time I participated in a school event, I texted my friends to make sure they are there too, not wanting to look like a loner when I go in. But what if I didn’t have those groups to depend on?
In school, students formed their own cliques based on their passions, personalities, but also physical appearance like the clothes they wear and unsurprisingly their social media status. There are the party animals who bond over their love for going out regardless of the day or occasion. Then, we have the geeks who obsess over superhero movies, plan daily study groups, and constantly have their homework out in front of them. And of course, we can’t forget the jocks who always fill the hallway as they walk down with their speakers blasting and all wearing the same brands — Nike, Adidas or school gear. What happens when somebody doesn’t have the same hobbies, outlooks, or even “enough” Instagram followers?
Cliques don’t just stop in the schooling process. Beyond high school and college, the workplace is defined by groups that travel and do things in packs. Nevertheless, trying to fit into one is not an easy task. People are always leaving others out, not even realizing the impact of their behavior. When girls go out to eat lunch at school and don’t invite the girl who wanted to tag along, she is left with nobody to enjoy her lunch. Girls snicker and quickly walk away when the girl they don’t like comes towards them, thinking she won’t care. Why can’t we just get along? Why can’t everyone sit together or hang out with one another?
The answer is not so simple. Humans are wired to form cliques for comfort, familiarity and support. Who wouldn’t want to have a group that they can always go to and rely on, especially in public places? Yet one overpowering feeling that stops many people from opening up to everyone is judgment. Judgment, in the form of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination, is constantly going around as people believe anyone different from them is weird and wrong. They laugh at the girl who plays badminton as a sport when they play soccer and do track. They laugh at the pictures she posts on Instagram, with only 50 likes.
According to their judgment, there are only two types of people: the ones that “fit into” a group and the ones who are left out.