Social Aspect of Lunch and the Friends We Make Along the Way

I’ve always found lunch extremely relaxing. It is one of the easiest openings in the school day to connect with people. It’s a built-in pause where you can sit down, decompress for a moment, and choose who you want to spend time with. For me, lunch is a relief in the middle of a long day. And I also think it gives people the chance to meet new classmates, sit somewhere different, and form friendships that don’t naturally appear in academic settings.

When I asked a few friends how they saw it, they had their own takes. Anonymous A said they don’t think lunch builds friendships because most students stick with the same group every day without really thinking about it. Anonymous B said lunch isn’t a strong social space because many people are drained by that point and just want to zone out. Anonymous C said lunch feels too quick and too crowded to meaningfully connect with anyone new.

Their points are fair. Lunch can be stressful—where you sit, who you sit with, whether there’s room at a table, or even whether you feel up for talking can all affect how the period goes. It’s full of little choices and tiny social decisions that don’t always feel as simple as people pretend they are. I get why some people don’t experience lunch as relaxing or social at all. However, it can never be that deep. 

But even with all of that nonsense, I still see potential in it. Lunch is flexible. You can stay with your usual group, move between tables, or talk to someone you’re only loosely familiar with. It's one of the few times in the day where you have control over your social environment, even in small ways. And sometimes a small choice like sitting next to someone new, joining a table for a day, asking how someone’s morning went is enough to start a connection.