The Unspoken Rules of Being a Line-Stander (And Why I’m Now an Expert)
How a Grown Adult Became a Line-Standing Guru (It’s a Long Story)
Let’s be honest, nobody enjoys standing in line. We do it for concert tickets, the newest iPhone, or (in my case, unfortunately) the last spicy chicken sandwich at the music festival. It was a sweltering summer day, my stomach was rumbling louder than the bass drum solo echoing from the main stage, and I had foolishly found myself at the back of a line that seemed to stretch longer than the entire festival grounds.
But you know what they say: when life gives you lemons, analyze the social dynamics of a seemingly endless queue and become an accidental expert on the unspoken rules of line-standing. Okay, maybe they don’t say that, but that’s precisely what happened to me.
Rule #1: The Bathroom Break Buddy System
After what felt like an eternity (and several text messages to my friends who were smartly picnicking outside the concert grounds), I finally befriended the people around me. There was Sarah, a college student with a contagious laugh, and John, a seasoned festival-goer who had a suspicious number of snacks stashed in his backpack.
We bonded over our shared misery, the sweltering heat, and the agonizingly slow pace of the line. And it was then that I learned the cardinal rule of line-standing: the Bathroom Break Buddy System. When nature calls (and trust me, it will), you need a trusted ally to hold your spot and fend off any potential line-cutters.
