MISSING SCHOOL CAFETERIA : (FT.COVID-19)
How did school cafeteria influence your life?
It has been 43 days since I wasn’t there. Forty-three days is long enough to miss something; I have missed the moments I enjoyed most: the moments of trivial jokes, whether super cheesy or not; the moments others threw a frowning face towards us for the mess we made; the moment my best pals become Catty Cathys, always talking and talking. The few moments of silence as an upset hardly came, but it was only when we enjoyed a meal or watched movies while sharing single earphones. Certainly, the raging academic discussions emerged from nowhere, but were put out with bursts of laughter. Being crazy or going overboard, whatever we were called, this was the way we were at KMLA cafeteria.
The beginning of these cafeteria meetings goes back to the first day I came back to school from my gap year. I was a timid, relatively old pal, worried about having my lunch alone with no friends at all. There were noisy young student pals everywhere - meaningless noise to me. They even evoked a sense of silence to me and nothingness from my point of view. I wanted to stay in my room, hopelessly doing nothing and confining myself into the virtue of darkness. The boisterous place was annoying enough to put me aside from others. Waiting in line for the school meal, surrounded by a noisy atmosphere, I felt like I was the only person on a deserted island of the sea of students. I thought to myself, "I’m done here." The perpetuity of isolation started to eat me away. Until, anonymously, SHE came close to me and offered to have lunch together. She didn’t lead me, pulling my hand. She didn’t push me hard to go further. Rather, she grabbed my hand and we walked side-by-side to the table of other students. In a flash, she became the beginning of my social life and the center of the cafeteria, the space of relationship and enjoyment. She started calling other reluctant pals around me like raking scattered leaves and helped make the day end up with swarms of pleasant young girls and boys. Since then, the cafeteria has been the central parlor of my school days.
It is always good to have a place to go freely. Sitting around the table with others in the cafeteria soothes me, at least for a while. In this place, and for such a short time, more thoughtful concerns and productive thoughts spring up, boiling down overwhelming worries to the bottom. Seemingly countless school assignments can also be completed in an instant, while conversing and sharing ideas with friends. Having a group presentation, not a presentation alone, makes us feel the joy of learning, and the value of interacting with others. Even the excitement of creating a big flow of team projects thrills us while stepping further and further with our heads joined up.
The beginning of these cafeteria meetings goes back to the first day I came back to school from my gap year. I was a timid, relatively old pal, worried about having my lunch alone with no friends at all. There were noisy young student pals everywhere - meaningless noise to me. They even evoked a sense of silence to me and nothingness from my point of view. I wanted to stay in my room, hopelessly doing nothing and confining myself into the virtue of darkness. The boisterous place was annoying enough to put me aside from others. Waiting in line for the school meal, surrounded by a noisy atmosphere, I felt like I was the only person on a deserted island of the sea of students. I thought to myself, "I’m done here." The perpetuity of isolation started to eat me away. Until, anonymously, SHE came close to me and offered to have lunch together. She didn’t lead me, pulling my hand. She didn’t push me hard to go further. Rather, she grabbed my hand and we walked side-by-side to the table of other students. In a flash, she became the beginning of my social life and the center of the cafeteria, the space of relationship and enjoyment. She started calling other reluctant pals around me like raking scattered leaves and helped make the day end up with swarms of pleasant young girls and boys. Since then, the cafeteria has been the central parlor of my school days.
It is always good to have a place to go freely. Sitting around the table with others in the cafeteria soothes me, at least for a while. In this place, and for such a short time, more thoughtful concerns and productive thoughts spring up, boiling down overwhelming worries to the bottom. Seemingly countless school assignments can also be completed in an instant, while conversing and sharing ideas with friends. Having a group presentation, not a presentation alone, makes us feel the joy of learning, and the value of interacting with others. Even the excitement of creating a big flow of team projects thrills us while stepping further and further with our heads joined up.
There comes more spice to add in this magical place, which makes us never shut our mouths for two purposes: talking and eating. We become delighted to have chicken skewers with rich flavor of red sauce seasoning marinated in it, fish cake skewers that can be dipped in ramen, and sliced pizza that harmonizes meatballs with various vegetables. Some students spend time with their close friends or have club meetings holding simple snacks and cool soda pops one hand, while others have fun conversations, eating crispy cereal and fresh milk served every evening. Entering worried, exiting fulfilled and refreshed. It’s the place that makes it possible for some small things to take up all my heart.
Oh, it has been 44 days since I wasn’t there. Another day to count. I have been counting all the days of being quarantined. My desire to come back to the school cafeteria has been growing since I got into a severe argument with HER, who invited me to her table of other friends, the day before all students were sent back home. I still don’t clearly see what happened between us. Maybe it all happened due to my blindness. Maybe it was because of my selfishness. Or, maybe it is all because of my lack of consideration. But, one thing I can clearly tell is that we both needed to see each other. I got to see her again and we talked to each other face-to-face about how we suffered from endless school homework, never-ending team assignments, and being surrounded by an infinitely competing atmosphere. I should let her know, among all these tasks to do, there is especially one time I can take comfort and smile wholly without any concern about the duties given to me. I should tell her amid such a harsh circle of life, you, and your meeting at the cafeteria, was the beam of light on cloudy days. I got to confess her how I feel grateful for her being at the cafeteria with me, and that’s why I constantly tried to reach back out to her by texting with a few times of no responses, drowning me into deep dreadful depression. I kept texting her, and waited.
Finally I got the response from her, it said, “Let’s meet at the cafeteria. If we can have a talk one-on-one in a sincere mood, we can restore our friendship."
Full of hope and excitement to meet her thrills me, and I now can’t wait to see her and become best friends again without counting another day, being quarantined due to COVID-19.
“It is always useful to know where a friend-and-relation is." by A.A.Milne.
Here, I would add "If you sincerely value it, you will reach it."
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