Some people opt for starvation rather than solitary dining

full prompt: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

hey guys, here is my first draft for the common application essay. a few issues i'd like comments on are:
1) is eating alone and the social stigma surrounding it really an entrenched belief in society?
2) is my topic of choice too shallow/superficial? i have asked some friends and that seems to be the general critique i get.

here's my essay. all comments are welcome. thanks!

The idea of eating alone is often met with intense revulsion to the extent that some opt for starvation rather than solitary dining; dinner parties today have become popularity contests and the lone diner is the social leper - to be avoided at all costs.

I was initially oblivious to this entrenched belief until a conversation with a classmate in 2010. It was way past lunchtime and the most recent meal break my class had was hours ago. Since I had brought a snack from home, I lounged in class during lunch and was thus aware of my classmate who skipped his meal despite obvious signs of hunger. "Why are you skipping lunch," I inquired. The reply was a surprising revelation: because there's no one eating now and I don't want to eat alone. As someone who had always prioritized my health, that reply set me thinking about the validity of the belief that only dining with company was acceptable by today's societal standards. For sure, that sort of self-induced fasting was neither pleasant nor palatable which was why it puzzled me that people would go to such great lengths to construct an image of themselves which they were not. All this in the name of adhering to a belief.

Gradually I began to find myself eating alone more and more often both during recess and lunch breaks as my way of challenging this belief. In the process I'd be aware of the ___ (argh i can't find the word for it) stares I attracted in the crowded canteen but they didn't bother me. I mean, eating alone creates space and time for introspection and simply for yourself which you can hardly expect to get in a group dinner often characterized by banal or awkward conversations. On occasions, friends would ask me why was I eating alone and I would reply "just because.". Although that reply usually brought out the "are-you-sure-you-want-to-do-this" look on their faces, it concisely sums up my entire case against the toxic belief that eating alone was a social stigma: there's is nothing wrong with it and you don't need a reason to do it; you do it simply if you like it.

I do admit I have niggling doubts sometimes. What if my self-imposed social isolation spirals out of control? What if my friends interpret my action as a veiled attack on the value of their company? After all, there was a considerable degree of risk associated with my way of challenging that belief. Nonetheless, I draw solace and vindication from the emergence of movements such as the Eenmaal Restaurant movement in Amsterdam which offers "tables for one". The challenge against this belief is admittedly in its nascent stage but I am glad to be able to bring something to the table.

460 words

R, whoever told you that this topic is shallow and superficial is dead wrong. You have chosen a topic that most people speak about in hushed tones. Shedding light on it will of course earn the skepticism and negative reactions from your friends. It is obvious that you thought outside the box this time and it paid off for you big time. The essay is well developed. It poses the belief or idea that you challenged in great detail and also chronicles the enlightened results that emerged from your challenging the belief.

As for your other question, I believe that there is a stigma attached to the belief that eating alone is a bad thing. It is a stigma that is entrenched in the psyche of people who have undergone bullying and negative social interactions in their lives. It is the method by which society has chosen to shun certain people in a social setting and it has become a part of the human psyche already. Those are the reasons why people who eat alone are stared at and questioned. It is never acceptable in modern society to eat alone because of the way the group mentality has been promoted in all activities that we do. So your essay is, in my opinion, very timely and poses a very deep and analytical discussion of what society wishes us to consider a non-issue.

@vangiespen thank you for your comments! i'll fix up the missing words and post up the new draft soon!