I am particularly dissatisfied with the gradual deconstruction
of manners and social etiquette that I see on a day to day basis. I love music.
It is quite literally something that I don’t think I could live without.
Obviously I won’t just die if I can’t listen to music, but my will to live
without music just doesn't exist. However, there is a time and a place for the privilege
of music.
Being a
college student, I rarely get the chance to eat a meal alone. And being a human
being (a social creature) I enjoy good conversation with almost anyone. So when
I go to the dining hall to eat, I expect some table conversation. Since birth,
almost every meal I’ve eaten has been in a social setting and verbal communication
(when mouths are unfilled) is generally involved. I never once came to the
family dinner table at home with my headphones on. Why? Because I can’t hear
anything when I’m listening to music, and my mother would've beat my ass if I was
bold enough to pull a stunt like that. I think that generally, most people can
relate to that.
So why
is it now that I am at college I am surrounded by people listening to their
music at every meal of every day? How can I see a table of 10 people, none of
whom are talking to each other? What is
the point of even sitting with your friends? Sometimes I might be in the dining
hall before my friends get there and I will sit down and eat by myself.
Suddenly someone will come and sit with me, because obviously it would be rude
to ignore me and go sit somewhere else. On the contrary! I think it is actually
ruder of you to sit down across from me without unplugging yourself, without
saying a single word, without recognizing the simplest of social conventions –
conversation. If you can’t muster up the energy/strength/courage/confidence/etiquette
to talk to me because you would rather just listen to your music – don’t sit
with me.
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