I have an unusual habit whenever I am really concentrating on something. When I am deep in thought, my eyes get very wide and it looks like I’m staring at something. Sometimes it looks like I’m staring at the floor, sometimes it looks like I’m staring at the wall, but the worst is when it looks like I’m staring at a person.

I was not fully aware of this habit until I started teaching high school. One day I was deep in thought and one of my students asked, “Mrs. Owen, are you okay?”

It jarred me out of whatever I was thinking about, and I immediately looked at the student, smiled, and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

Then the entire class erupted in laughter because apparently they had all noticed the unusual expression on my face. After that moment, I became aware of my unusual habit. I don’t realize I’m doing it in the moment because I’m focused on something else, but I do realize I was doing it as soon as something breaks my concentration.

The class that first brought this habit to my attention got such a kick out of it that they gave me a certificate at the end of year for “Best Crazy Eyed Focus Face: In honor of an intense wide-eyed look of concentration.” That certificate still hangs on my board to this day.

It’s a habit that I can’t seem to break, but I’m okay with that. Whenever someone catches me doing it, it always garners a laugh and an interesting topic for conversation. So if you ever see me staring at something, or at you with an intense look on my face, just know that I am really concentrating on something inside my head.