Do you ever eavesdrop?

 Do you ever eavesdrop?

I love to people-watch; it’s my favorite hobby. During the Cross Country season we would occasionally have two practices in a day. One practice would be after school has scheduled and the other would be in the morning. Once I finished whatever run we had that morning (usually an easy run), I entered my routine. When I was finished showering I would walk to the Dunkin Donuts on Green Street, order a large black cold brew coffee, and sit on the second floor of CIF until Uni was unlocked for the day. From my perch I watched the comings and goings of whoever was drawn to study at 6:45 in the morning. I didn’t find any regulars. Most people on the first floor were rather uninteresting, sitting down and immediately opening up their laptops. I wish I had better eyes so that I could see what they were doing. 

To answer the question, “Do I ever eavesdrop?”. No, I never got the opportunity. Noone brought a friend with them that early in the morning, and I wouldn’t have been able to hear them from the second floor anyways.

The fall semester of last year, I took “20th Century Novel” all the way over in Kenney Gym. One of the books I had to read for the class was The Stranger by Albert Camus. Early on in the book the main character, Meursault, sits on his balcony and spends all day people-watching. Meursault and I have a lot in common. As a class, we talked about how strange Meursault was – that he would sit there like an old man on a porch and do nothing. Although, when I sit on my CIF balcony it’s not weird at all. I have my coffee to drink, my phone to scroll on, and one earbud playing music, so it doesn’t look like I’m being rude and staring. I’m not watching any one specific person, I’m watching the crowd. When Meursault watches the people from his balcony, he doesn’t judge them. I’d like to think that I don’t judge people either when I sit on the second floor.

Even though I don’t think my hobby of people-watching is weird, it isn't entirely unproblematic. When I’m driving I have a really bad habit of looking at other drivers, either when I’m stopped at an intersection or, more dangerously, when I’m passing them / when they’re passing me. Sitting at CIF is a very calm environment, but driving to and from school every day is the complete opposite. I hate everyone else on the road. Thinking that every other driver on the road is a complete idiot may be a good defensive driving practice, but it’s not good for my love of other people.

People-watching is at its most enjoyable when you’re relaxed. I wouldn’t advise anyone to procrastinate by sitting on the quad (Although if you want advice on the best ways to procrastinate I could certainly give you some advice). I can’t imagine that retirees live very stressful lives, and that’s probably why they love to people-watch so much. If you ever find yourself in a good position to channel your inner 80 year-old, I would recommend you take the chance to people-watch. You’d probably love it.