Hi interneters!
I'm currently at GHP, or Governor's Honors Program, a relatively exclusive, government funded (aka free!) summer camp for Georgia's finest students.
I'm at nerd camp, and it's heaven.
But in a setting where seven hundred strangers eagerly enter a foreign setting together with the intention of meeting new friends, distinct social patterns inevitably occur.
Humans group. We cluster ourselves into protective enclaves of friends, and it's hard (for everyone!) to open up and let a new member into the pack. We're designed this way by nature, and there's nothing wrong with it. It's just noticeable and worth commenting on (in my frequently flawed opinion).
From a purely scientific point of view, here is a general timeline of the social activity of Homo sapiens adolescents. :)
Source
Entry into new settings with strangers.
Days 1-3: openness and active attempts at meeting new people are made. Many names are forgotten (as are faces).
Days 4-6: social circles begin formation. Names continue to be forgotten, but faces stick. Finally.
Days 7-20: social circles grow and remain distinct. Outsiders feel sad.
Days 20-28: attempts at merging social groups are made. Surprise/regret is expressed at not having merged groups earlier.
End four-week-long social experience.
Now that I've typed that all out, I kind of forgot what point I was trying to make in the first place.
Please don't judge me for pretending for the moment that humans are species of like endangered bird or something. It's fun. Try it sometime.
Well. With school starting soon, maybe you'll be able to notice these patterns more clearly within the first few weeks. We humans are weird things. Take some of the wackiest, most exceptional, unique people, and they all behave on some primal level like everyone else.
We all do.
Welp. Please please enjoy what remains of the summer!
Enjoy loveliness and remember to muse!
