Creatures of Habit

Why are people such territorial creatures of habit?  Everyday I walk in between the same ten parking spaces.  Every Monday and Wednesday at eleven I sit in the same building on the floor in the same chair.  In my classes we have no assigned seating yet I sit in the same seat everyday even if that means sitting next to an obnoxious Air Force kid or the girly pageant regular.  I wasn’t like this before. Last year I would never take the same route to MATC twice in a row. Some days it would be the free way, some days Geneva, some days state street, and some days the random back roads.  Heh... My junior year I was taking a drawing class and we didn’t have assigned seating and my teacher mentioned that we would all probably stay in the same seats anyway.  Being the defiant young spirit I was (and am), I decided to have sat in every seat by the end of the year. It didn’t really matter to me where I sat because I had no friends in that class and I didn’t care to make any.  At the beginning it was easy.  No one was really that attached to their spots yet so they didn’t think much of it when I was occupying the seat they had previously sat in. However, as they semester moved onward people became annoyed when they found me sitting in “their spot.” One particular group of guys who always sat next to each other even got mad. They sat on either side of me harassing me the whole period and for the next two as there were three seats of theirs I had to sit in.  It’s amazing to me how someone can get so attached to a seat in a class.  I can understand their getting angry if I went into their bedroom at home and started hanging my clothes in the closet or if I stored my books, lotion, and pocket knife in their car.  But this was just a seat.  After I got through their seats I continued around the room without much trouble aside from a few annoyed and frustrated.  Finally I had one seat left, occupied by the biggest teacher’s pet ever.  Everyday she sat right next to the teacher and talked with her the whole period.  She would not give up her seat willingly.  The next day I walked in ready to take the heat and I found her already sitting in her usual seat.   She was more than five minutes early.  I needed to sit in that seat.  The next day I left lunch early, and I found her sitting there eating her lunch. Had she no life?!  Then I hatched an idea.  After seminary and before lunch I hurried back into the school building.  I got to my classroom and found the only person there was the teacher, Miss Packer.  Now Packer was laid back and awesome and I knew she would help me.  I placed my backpack on the stool and took out my sketch book and art utensils on the table.  “Hey Packer, no matter what Camille says or does do not let her sit here. It’s mine.”  She laughed and consented.  After lunch I was eager to complete my semester long goal.  I got to class and found a disgruntled Camille sitting with one seat between her and Packer.  Packer flashed me a smile and I triumphantly took my seat. I did it. I had sat in every seat in the entire classroom.  Success! I know it was a stupid goal but I had fun with it... Anyway that's my random post... Yup...