“Awkward, uncomfortable, and kind of scary.”

This is how Catherine Grabiac, a sophomore at Carlisle High School, describes walking into a crowded lunch room, a sentiment shared by many.

We all know the stereotypical image of a lone student standing in front of a crowded lunch room, frantically searching for a place to eat. Sitting alone might be embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as awkwardly sitting at a table where you’re not wanted.

If only there was a way to find a table that would be willing to welcome a new student without judgment.

Now, thanks to teenager Natalie Hampton, there is a way to avoid the embarrassment and to easily find new friends and a comfortable place to sit and eat. The 16-year old from Sherman Oaks, California created a new app called “Sit with Us.”  The new app encourages students to allow those without a place to sit to come and eat lunch with them and helps them connect with each other.

During an interview with NPR, Hampton shared that she created the app because at her old school she was “completely ostracized by all of [her] classmates, and so [she] had to eat lunch alone everyday.” The memory of her terrible 7^th grade year has stuck with her all this time and is the driving force behind this new app.  

The free app (which is currently only available to iPhone users) allows students to sign up and immediately find other students at the school. Some students can choose to be an ambassador for the app. These ambassadors are the ones that organize lunches and invite other students to use it.

As soon as you log in to the app, it shows you other students from your school that use the app. As a user of “Sit with Us,” you can message other students and also find available lunch tables.

The great thing about “Sit with Us” is that no one else has to know you’re using it; everything is completely private and over the phone. The normal feelings of embarrassment and awkwardness are totally eliminated.

Carlisle High School brings in hundreds of new students every school year. While for some new students walking into a busy cafeteria isn’t a big deal at all, it is terrifying for many others. The “Sit with Us” app takes away the normal stress that accompanies the first day of school.

“Sit with Us” isn’t just for new students, though. For the app to work correctly, it requires both students who need a place to sit and students who are willing to invite someone to sit with them.

“Even if I didn’t need to sit somewhere, I would still let use the app to invite someone to sit with me,” said CHS senior Morgan Hall.

As the “Sit with Us” app sweeps across the nation, students everywhere are being impacted. The revolutionary app has the potential to end the feelings of loneliness that so many people are faced with during a day of school.