TO THE EDITOR:
After walking around UNC and taking Chapel Hill buses over the past several months, I’ve been amazed at how oblivious people seem to be of the fact that they share this world with others. Each day I watch people get on the bus, sit down next to someone and don’t so much as look at the other person.
I’ll admit to being a beginner rider of public transit, but this incredible lack of any sort of acknowledgment of one’s fellow passengers simply blows me away. I understand that we all have off days where it’s difficult to even lift our heads, but as I walk around campus, the story is much the same. Surely not everyone is having an off day.
It’s not that hard to look someone’s way and flash a simple smile, but I’m beginning to suspect the majority of the student body is equipped with X-ray vision, because they have an amazing ability to look right through people. With eyes glued to phones, ears occupied by earbuds and minds who knows where, they might as well be in a ghost town.
As I stood waiting at the bus stop yesterday, I smiled at three girls who walked up to stand nearby. Not one of them seemed to notice I was even there. Several times I turned in their direction just to nod a simple “good morning” with no success. These girls were pros!
But truly, we’re all on this earth together. We’re all at times happy, sad, struggling, busy, overwhelmed, what have you, but we’re all human. Why not take a little time out of your day to look up from your phone and lock eyes with something with a soul? Nod in their direction and recognize that, yeah, they’re slogging through this mess too. Maybe crack a smile. Step outside of your head every once in a while. It’s pretty nice out here.
Jennifer Horton
Carrboro
