Walking across campus one day Tara Curry, a sophomore biology-physician assistant major, swore she saw her friend close by. Excited, Curry screamed, hoping to get her friend’s attention. Not only did she get the attention of the girl, who ended up not being her friend, but she also got the attention of all the other people walking to class that day.
“It was awkward,” said Curry.
Have you ever done something that made your face turn red? Maybe slipped on a patch of ice in front of someone or ran into a person you really didn’t want to run into? Don’t worry, we all have awkward moments.
Some awkward moments may occur on a more interpersonal level, which is certainly possible since, “Seton Hall is such a small school and everyone knows everyone so the chances of an awkward coincidence happening is pretty high,” said Alex Lucanie, a sophomore Biology major.
Chris Saeboe, a sophomore business major, shared a great example.
“There was this kid in one of my classes who was bothering me,” said Saeboe. “After class in the library I was talking to this girl who I was getting along with very well. I was about to bring up the guy to her to vent about my frustrations. Not two seconds before I spilled the beans that same fellow walks up to the table and I discover he is this girl’s ‘bae’ (before anyone else).”
“That was a close call,” he said.
In any uncomfortable situation, it is important to know how and when to relieve the awkwardness. Changing the subject or excusing yourself are great ways to get out of undesired conversations.
“My advice is to laugh at myself honestly,” said Alex Lipman, a sophomore business major. “So much awkwardness happens in my life. I just make jokes about myself and openly admit that I’m an awkward person instead of acting like it never happened.”
No matter how embarrassing a situation is, there is always some way to get out of it. And even if there isn’t, students are often too occupied with their own agendas to dwell on the mistakes of others for very long. Remember—awkward moments happen to the best of us.
Rachel O’Connor can be reached at rachel.oconnor@student.shu.
