Awkwardness

This may seem like a strange subject to talk about, but today I had a really awkward encounter with an 'acquaintance' that really got me thinking about awkward situations.

On the way to Westminster Universities Harrow library, to finish my epic multiculturalism essay, I got caught in a situation that I believe happens to all of us. We all have one of those 'friends' who we have perhaps met once or twice in our lives and recognise one another's faces. Names begin to elude us as we can see the person in the distance, striding straight towards our faces, and a sort of uncomfortable panic hits you. You can see that they can see you as well, and both of you look at something irrelevant like a cloud or a grassy knoll. You don't want to look directly at them for too long or it seems a bit weird, but you don't want to ignore their presence or you seem like a rude bastard. So as you walk past them, you give a nod or an 'alright'. This is when the awkwardness strikes. You don't break stride as you walk past them, and they do exactly the same, but they reply with something similar like 'how you doing.' You continue to walk on but angle your head backwards and subconsciously blurt out, 'fine and you?' By this point you have a space of about ten metres between you, and shouting begins. You stumble a little bit as you consider stopping, but your legs have other ideas and you continue. You can tell the same thing is happening to them, and the conversation reaches a climax of uncomfortableness.

I know for a fact that i'm not the only person that has discovered this awkward exchange, (I don't actually know for FACT, but i'm confident enough to assume) but I really don't have an answer to tackle this major social problem... I feel this happens in London more than any other city in the world, probably because I don't know anybody in Hull or Slough, but it happens to me more in London than in Brighton and I claim to know a pretty similar amount of people in both cities.

Then there are the other awkward situations to consider; Bus, Train, Lift and Pub. All of these can claim an awkward story i'm sure, but I thought I would highlight this social problem today.

Photo Source; Student Exhibition