Nobody Wants to Be “The Weird One” by Shuxuan Chang

 Nobody Wants to Be “The Weird One”

       “Wait… where are my friends? Are they all absent today? No way, I don’t want to be alone in gym class. That feels so weird. Maybe I should find someone I know to play with.”

        When I walked into the gym alone, I suddenly felt like everyone could notice me, even though they probably didn’t care that much. Sometimes being a teenager feels like everyone is secretly judging each other, even when they are probably thinking about themselves instead. I put my stuff in the girls locker room, went to find the person I was thinking of. I talked with them, and they said we can play together in the gym.

       There are so many times when things happen at the gym, not just at the gym. I think maybe being alone is awkward, but some of my friends don’t think so. Some of my friends actually enjoy being alone, and they don’t think it’s awkward at all.

 That is the way they do their life and they just like it. My other friends are the same as me, thinking being alone is so awkward. I think many people around me feel uncomfortable being alone because we worry other people will think we have no friends. 

         But maybe that’s not the real question. Maybe the real question isn’t why being alone feels awkward for some people. Maybe it’s why teenagers think about being alone so differently.