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School Lunch Barrier

The Barrier to School Lunch
Simon Brinkley

When I was in the 10th grade I was well known to be a clown. But there were a few times when I had a real good reason for the things I said or did. Once I did something which was just a joke at first, but then turned out to be a statement. I got up from the table in the lunch room where a few popular kids sat, and went on a line of 3 people to get food. On my way back to the table I sneaked little bites of a chicken leg as I shuffled my feet side to side and hid the tray behind my back. After everyone laughed I noticed others got up to get food as well - it was the people who refused to get some before!

It started as a joke but turned into a statement. I had a goal which was to entertain the cafeteria, and suddenly I found my self breaking a barrier: eating school lunch and being cool. It wasn’t my original goal but it made me realize that others don’t feel comfortable eating school lunch because of things like the “barrier”. So if others would find a way to eat school lunch and be cool there would be less anxiety about school lunch.

Before that day people who ate the school lunch would be looked down upon by the other kids, who would buy a candy bar, or a soda or whatever they like from the vending machine. After that moment others ate school food as if the “barrier” was broken. Some people even made a business out of it by selling some school lunch tickets; the tickets were made to help keep track on how many students actually eat lunch. Not many jokes were made after that time, but of course there were still some kids that would rather buy junk food than take the free lunch. My guess is PRIDE.