Please allow me to rant a little: Did you ever have someone invade your personal space? It’s the worst! OMG!!! I was on line to pay in a store. The line was moving, and it wasn’t too crowded- there was enough room for everyone to be comfortable. It wasn’t like we were on a New York City subway train at rush hour- not even close! It was completely unnecessary to breathe down the neck of the person in front of you. Completely! But that guy kept on closing in. Every time I moved away, he moved closer. I don’t even think he was trying to make any moves on me; I think he was just being socially clueless.

The rules of society are generally understood by most people, and they should be taken seriously- right? And one of those rules is respecting other people’s space. It’s an important rule and it comes into play in many ways; one of them is maintaining the proper distance between two people waiting in line! I’m a sociable, friendly person. You might even say that I’m a “people person.” I like to spend time with my friends, I like to meet new people and get to know them- I’m a nice person, really! But stand too close to me and I will lose it! I know I’m using a lot of exclamation points, and I hope that doesn’t set the tone of this blog at “hysterical,”  but I did warn that this is a rant.

I wonder why personal space is so important. Do we feel threatened when someone else gets too close? Maybe an evolutionary survival thing? Is it a sensory thing- like we need a certain amount of space around us in order to feel comfortable? Who knows? Who cares, really, anyway? It doesn’t matter why it’s important, as long as we respect each other’s need for it. And I know it’s not just me because there’s a lot written about personal space, and a whole slew of funny videos on Youtube. This is my favorite!