Although I like to think that I am a fairly independent person it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how terrified I am to do certain things on my own.

On Sunday I flew out to San Diego for work. After a crazy flight I arrived famished and was determined to get Mexican food {I mean my home country is literally a stone-throw away and so this will be the closest I get to authentic Mexican food for a while}!

I settled into my room, freshened up and as I started thinking about biting into some delicious rajas tacos I quickly realized that I would be sitting down at a restaurant all. by. myself. While I have eaten at food courts and cafeterias on my own, I have never gone to a restaurant solo and was surprised by the anxiety attack that started coming on: What would people think? What would I do? Would it be awkward?

I resisted the urge of ordering room service { and let me tell you that it was hard….very few things beat  breakfast/dinner in bed!} and instead faced my anxiety head-on by jumping into a cab and asking the driver to take me to the best Mexican restaurant in town. I arrived at Puesto and as confidently as I could muster I asked for a table for one.

The experience was surprisingly refreshing! I not only realized that I can totally rock solo-eating {!!!} but I also really enjoyed it. My phone was dying so I was unable to use it as a shield and was forced to really just be there. I was able to focus on the food that I was eating and truly enjoy it {the tacos and guacamole were out of this world! – seriously…the best tacos I’ve had outside of Mexico! } I also rediscovered my love of people watching! And no I was not the creep sitting at a dark corner of a restaurant watching others eat… I promise!

Although it was nice to face my anxiety, not miss out on what I truly wanted to do, and rediscover some of my pastimes, I also realized how much I enjoy the community aspect of eating a meal. I really love being able to share food and to be able to express my thoughts on it {I actually was tempted to live-tweet my dinner!}. With my new-found appreciation for dinner time, I have decided that from now on I will limit my phone use while we eat to strictly photo taking; no email, no Instagram, no nothing!

I would love to know, have you ever solo-dinned at a restaurant? How did you find the experience? And if not, what is stopping you from trying?