Peer Pressure

This week at work, the primary grades hosted a pot luck for the intermediate grades. Everyone brought something that was soup, appetizer, or dessert related. I signed up for cheese and a dessert.

Well, on the day of the pot luck, I ordered a school lunch. I am a person that really doesn't eat other people's cooking unless I know you and your sanitary habits. So, when I walk in with my lunch, everyone was asking why I wasn't eating any of the potluck food.

***This flashes me back to National Hispanic Heritage Month (October) and a parent who cooked enchiladas for the staff. I didn't eat any of that either and explained to the other teachers how I don't eat any food made by parents or brought in by the children. A lot of times, you just never know the living situation or the food preparation guidelines families have.

Well, they really just reamed me. They talked about how you don't know who's making your food at restaurants and such. I agree with that statement, but I know that restaurants have some skeleton of guidelines that are required to be followed in order to stay open. Families can cook their food however they want too!***

So, one of the teachers, during our professional development, makes a comment regarding prayer that none of us get sick from the food that was made for the potluck. To appease these folks, I took two homemade cookies back to my classroom and I wrapped them up real nice and threw them in the trash. Peer Pressure is a %itch!

Well, today, I went to school with the decision in my head that I am just not going to eat in the lounge for a while and I got flack for that. They were asking, where are you going?, what are you doing?, you're not staying?

I just made up an excuse about how I had some work to do. I've never encounter peer pressure about eating other people's food before. I don't know quite how to handle it. I mean, I participated and bought $20 worth of food. Who cares that I didn't eat anything?

Peer Pressure!