While others may have found this task relatively easy, I struggled greatly in almost all aspects of it. I don’t socialize much with others and the interactions I do have aren’t much to talk about. After a bit of thinking, I decided to observe a few strangers just so that I could see how other people interact with each other. After aimlessly wandering around, it was then I found a very peculiar interaction between a group of what I would assume to be friends.

It was a group of three, one female and two males in casual attire. They were sitting in the Perkins Lounge and conversing with each other about video games. The first male seemed to be the drive of the conversation. He was never on his phone, spoke loud and clear, and showed how passionate he was about the topic with his joyous facial expressions and large hand movements. The second male individual however was always on his phone, never looking up. He seemed semi-interested in the topic but had the aura of not caring much. He did respond back to keep the conversation going enough however and on certain topics, he spoke much more. The main peculiar one was the female individual however.

The female individual looked as though she enjoyed the topic very much. A look of joy and passion was shown on her face and gave an atmosphere that she wanted to voice her opinions in the beginning. However, throughout the whole conversation, not once did I hear her voice. Her mouth moved, but no words or sound came out. She was always looking at the two male individuals but never gave any physical indications that she had something to say. Every time she tried to speak, she would stop before she even began. After this happened two to three times, her atmosphere grew more and more dejected and saddened. Fidgeting with her fingers and looking down more, going on her phone more frequently, and losing interest as the conversation grew longer.

The male individuals never picked up on her attempts to join in the conversation. It was though she didn’t exist and it was only the two talking. Despite being in so close proximity to her friends, it felt as though she was just by herself, the group isolated in two separate worlds. By the end of the conversation, they each said goodbye to each other and all of them had commented that they all should hang out together again. I do not know what happened prior to the start of my observation but it did seem like they were friends from their interactions at the end. I feel as though they never meant to isolate her, but it was just an unfortunate event due to lack of awareness between the group. This experience has shown me how anyone can feel isolated from friends even though they are sitting right next to you.