HUNTER: My Life Observing Some Small Curiosities and Quirks of Society

Where to start? Let’s begin with a casual approach and a witty observation pertaining to both you and me; why, it’s simply such coincidence that you and I happen to meet through this piece of paper, don’t you think? The next step is obviously a formal introduction, followed by a polite phrase to show that I’m friendly and nice in a superficial way, at the very least. My name is Michelle, and I’m an awkward freshman at BU who’s still trying to find her niche in this large society. Nice to meet you! I would smile, ask for your name, and attempt to think of something clever to say that would trigger some sort of flowing conversation. “Oh, I know someone with the same name as you! I’m talking about a friend from when I was living in my home country, Spain. Yes, I’m Spanish! Bet you didn’t see that coming, huh? Nobody does, actually, not with an American-sounding name like mine. See, that’s because–”

But that exchange of life stories (when did we get so good at summarizing those, anyway?) isn’t exactly how it works when the method by which I communicate to you is through you reading my written words. There’s a time gap that prevents you from directly communicating with me, and because of it I’ll never know your name, or anything else for that matter. You already know more about me than I ever will about you. Then again, you can’t immediately reject me and walk away (you could stop reading, but how would I know? Ignorance is bliss, after all), so I have nothing to lose presenting myself to you.

I’m quite aware that all this time I’ve just been stating the obvious. I’m obviously writing this, you’re obviously reading it, and these two things obviously aren’t happening at the same time. No matter who you are, you’ve probably taken part in conversations like the one I began this column with countless times. So why am I pointing this out? The answer is simple. These little things are something we all have in common. I think about these obvious things because, if I didn’t, you’d simply take them all for granted and not dedicate a single thought to them, opting instead to do more ‘important’ things. But why not take a break every now and then, and let your mind wonder about the little quirks of our occasionally nonsensical society? It’s the truth: we can be quite amusing sometimes.

I’m no expert in analyzing society, however. I’ll leave that to the professionals in that field who are already doing a spectacular job of unraveling the mysteries of these modern times. Once a week, I’d simply like to act as a naïve child who bluntly points out how strange adults can be with their odd behaviors. Sure, it’ll make you think a little, but at least for a couple of minutes your poor brain won’t stress out over the greater and often overwhelming aspects of life.

Well, time’s up. For now, merge back into society, and, if you dare, try to be more conscious of any strange things we all do. Be a kid again, and wonder about even the most obvious behaviors. You might be surprised with what you find.