It was a far too beautiful evening to be cooped up inside of a library. But there we were, dedicating our best years to the whims of our professors. I was attempting to read a textbook on oceanography, you were just a few tables away from me surrounded by papers and open books. Earlier, you were sending snaps of yourself shrugging with captions I can only imagine resembled "study grind lol" and "#gettindateducation", then you suddenly got up and left. But you didn't return empty handed.

I don't know if you planned this from the beginning or if it was simply an impulsive on-sight decision at the cafeteria, but the cardboard boat of cheese fries you had before you seemed to dissolve any stress you were carrying before. This was clearly the best decision you made all week. But what happened next I will never forget.

You had the pre-food jitters. You scanned the boat with your fingers like a toy claw hovers over candy or stuffed animals. Once you circled in on your first victim, you went for the pinch, brought the cheese-smothered spud up to your mouth a little too enthusiastically and suddenly lost control of the nerves in your hand. Time went slow for both of us like it does for Spiderman when someone tries to punch him. The cheese fry leapt from your clutches as if by its own free will and sank slowly to the floor of the library.

You stared at it for a while. It lay there in a puddle of its own cheese, pathetic, unmoving. You glanced at the full boat and considered for a moment to dive right back in but something pulled at your conscience. You picked up the fallen fry, inspected it lazily as if you hadn't already committed to trying to eat it again, blew on it for good luck, and down the hatch it went.

It's a funny thing to watch someone in a public place who doesn't think they're being watched. They're the free, raw, uninhibited version of themselves. It felt all too personal.

I nervously tried to go back to my book about oceans but even the vast, wild unknown of these waters paled in comparison to the event I just witnessed. It became clear that you were more than just a hungry college student, you were a symbol of freedom. You were a role model for everyone who has ever lived life on terms other than their own.

We are constantly surrounded by life lessons though not many of us take the time to look at them. Every day we tend to behave according to how others might perceive our actions, leaving our reputation and self-esteem at stake. This is no way to live, says the CFG (Cheese Fry Girl). Let others be damned, says the CFG.

Cheese Fry Girl, if you're reading this then you know the impact of your unrelenting commitment to the five-second rule. So you ate something that might have had a little dirt and hair on it, so what? The world is filled with people who hide nasty habits from others. Everyone underestimates how little the average person cares about how others appear. Opinions are made in an instant and they don't mean anything when carried by those who are simply passersby in your life.

Stop being Minnesota nice and eat the last appetizer. Don't pass on something you want just because you think it won't hold up to others' standards. Don't be embarrassed when you fall down the stairs, laugh and call yourself a dumbass. If you want to be happy and confident, live like you're the only person in the room. Live like the Cheese Fry Girl.