My Date Night Experiment

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It’s no secret that I am significantly older than the average college freshman. As a twenty eight year old woman, I have spent many nights eating dinner alone or seeing a movie by myself because none of my friends enjoy horror films. This does not imply that I enjoy eating by myself or watching movies alone. Perhaps it’s because I am a very social extrovert, but I definitely prefer the company of my partner or anyone else that can offer a good conversation over dinner rather than sitting all by myself in silence. For a social butterfly such as myself I expected that this experiment to be challenging, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so anxiety provoking.

For this experiment I started my date night with dinner at Waterstone Pizza in Lynchburg. I arrived at their busiest hour, Friday night at 7:00pm and as usual there was a wait, but when placing my name on the wait list the hostess asked me if I would be more comfortable at the bar. She explained that this option would save me a 45-minute wait and I could eat at the bar. For the sake of this experiment I declined the offer and insisted that I wait for a table. The hostess seemed a little stunned and even a little annoyed that a single person would now be occupying an entire table. Her reaction to my request made me feel as though I needed to apologize for being alone. I immediately felt as thought I was a nuisance, despite the fact that I was a paying customer. After nearly an hour of waiting, the hostess (whom I was sitting right next to) finally announced over the intercom “Burke, party of one!” I’m not sure if it was because I was extremely hungry or that the hostess was rude, but I became even more uncomfortable and even a little agitated at this point. I had waited 15 minu...

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...It was far too stressful and uncomfortable for me to enjoy my meal, which is a sin in my book.

The main thing this experiment taught me was just how much the feeling of being singled out changed my behavior and made me more aware of my manners. I wasn’t any more or less polite than I usually am, but I was definitely more uptight in the restaurant when I felt others were watching me. However in the dark movie theater I was able to kick back and relax when I felt there wasn’t anyone watching me. This experiment also solidified that I am a very social and extroverted person. I was literally uncomfortable not socializing in a crowd of people. This experiment would perhaps be more enjoyable for someone like my introverted partner who loves doing everything alone. As for me, I am glad that I had this experience but I definitely don’t plan on repeating it anytime soon.

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