Solo Eating

One aspect of life I have never been comfortable about is eating out by myself. Getting a take-out meal from your favorite nearby soul-comforting restaurant does not count; I'm explicitly talking about going to a restaurant and sitting down to eat by yourself. (It is certainly better than a lonely sad Banquet microwave frozen meal where it takes 5-6 of them to fill your stomach to a sufficient level) I'm not sure if it is just in my own mind but I previous thought that there was a stigma about eating out for one; that is, a loner with no friends. Other patrons would just stare and empathize for solo eaters, I thought. Eating and drinking at the bar alone didn't seem much soothing either.

Of course, technology has made it less troublesome by allowing solo eaters to be with their mobile devices throughout the meal. Before cell phones, people actual had to sit there without distractions; though, some solo-ers have been known to bring a book. Now, they can just be engross (or act occupied) in their phone. It's just simpler and more convenient to go eat alone though; no planning is required and usually there is little to no wait to get a table.

I have been lucky to have friends and family to have meals with when I wanted to go to a restaurant majority of the time. It's been pretty recently where I started being comfortable with eating at restaurants by myself; I must say, I thoroughly cherish my time alone without using my phone. I think it allows others to be more open to conversation too.