“Holy cow, Jared, is that you?”
You look up and see someone standing before you. You have no idea who he is.
“Jared, remember me?” he asks.
“You look familiar,” you say even though you haven’t the slightest clue.
“I’m Arnie Coleman. We were classmates through second grade. Then my parents decided to homeschool me because they got sick of all the bullying,” he tells you.
You hope that he’s not implying that you were one of the bullies. You motion to him to sit next to you on the park bench.
“You probably don’t recognize me because I was a skinny kid back then. Now, I have this spare tire,” he says, putting his hands on his stomach for effect.
You’re still not sure where all this is going, but part of you feels bad for the guy. He takes a seat beside you, and you ask him, “So, what are you up to these days?”
Arnie seems a bit spaced out, ignoring your question. You turn toward him and he’s looking at his phone. A moment later he snaps out of it and says, “Oh, sorry, I missed that. What did you ask me before?”
“I asked what you’re up to these days,” you say, trying not to sound too annoyed.
“Hold on, my friend just texted me that the Nets are about to make a blockbuster deal for a new point guard,” he says, still looking at his phone. Then he looks up and says, “Oh, not much. I’m a computer programmer, I actually live on Long Island, but I’m visiting my sister and she’s over there in the playground with her kids.” He points and waves to them. “How about you, Jared?”
“Well, I…” as the words leave your mouth, you hear his phone ding, and he immediately swipes a couple of times and lets out a hearty laugh. “Oh, that’s a good one,” he says, showing you a meme that you have seen at least two dozen times.
Just then, his sister walks over, smiles and says hi to you and then says to her brother, “Arnie, the kids are getting cranky. We’re gonna leave in about five minutes.”
Arnie then says, “Jared, would it be okay if we kept in touch? You were one of the few nice guys in the class back then. How about I give you my number and you call me now so it will come up on my phone? This way, I’ll have your number.”
“Oh, I don’t have my phone on me,” you tell him.
Jared looks at you as though you just landed from another planet.
“Are you serious? Who doesn’t take their phone with them these days?”
“I don’t when I come here,” you say. “I like to sit here, look at the trees, enjoy the fresh air, and I don’t want my phone to distract me. It’s called mindfulness.”
“You know something?” Arnie says. “I went to a psychologist once to discuss my weight. My mom sent me because she thought I had some sort of eating disorder. Anyway, the guy said something about mindfulness, but I wasn’t really paying attention!” You’re not sure whether Arnie is trying to be ironic, but part of you feels relieved when his sister and her brood come over to get him.
“Jared, it was great running into you. Would you mind if I called you and you told me more about this mindfulness business?”
When Arnie calls you later that night, what do you tell him about what mindfulness is and how it can help those who have eating disorders?
Essay #2 (250 words):
(a) What do you consider the most important thing you learned about obesity and eating disorders this semester? (b) How will you apply the information that you learned in class to your personal life or career (or both)?