- The Fremeny
You thought that graduation finally freed you from her subtle jabs and back-handed compliments, or that being on a completely separate campus from her would finally end her weird competitiveness with you. Wrong. Odds are that when you run into this girl she will be sooo excited to passive-aggressively tell you how much better her college experience has been then yours. Oh you’re in a sorority? She just so happens to be in her school’s top house. Oh you have a boyfriend? She just can’t chose between the dozens of guys falling at her feet. And that internship? She probably turned it down to do something maddening awesome—like being Beyoncé’s assistant or something. But don’t let this interaction bring you down. No matter how great she makes herself sound, remind yourself that her petty actions prove she’s still stuck in high school. The best thing you can do is don’t let her see you sweat, kill her with kindness and you’ll win once and for all.
- That Girl Who Always Thought You Were Friends
So you may be lying when you said you haven’t seen any of her emails, but it’s going to be a lot harder to lie to her face about it. Yes, this conversation will have a lot of cringe worthy moments as she overshares about her awful college boy horror stories or some other super personal information. To save face, hear her out and be kind when turning down any oppertunities to continue the friendship that never was.
- Your Once Close Friend Who You’ve Grown Apart From
Like all breakups, ending a friendship can be very difficult, especially if you two used to be super close. But as you grow older, it can be hard to keep in touch if both people don’t put the effort in. If you were the one who dropped off the face of the earth, this encounter might be awkward, mainly because she might still hold some resent toward you for ‘dumping’ her. If it was the other way around and she suddenly got so wrapped up in her new friends that she stopped calling you back, it can hurt to see her again. Either way, the best thing to do is grin and bear it and be friendly, because you never know if there is a chance your relationship could rekindle.
- An Old Teacher
The lower the grade you had, the worse this encounter is. No one can make you feel like a child more than your old teacher. Whatever feelings of adulthood you previously had leave during this conversation. If he/she had some weird vendetta against you, except some snarky remarks, and if she loved you, expect some embarrassing public hugging. While you may have a new identity at school there will always be people back at home that remind you how we were growing up, for better and for worse.
- Your Former D.A.R.E. Officer
It might make you feel guilty that in his eyes you’re still this innocent sixth grader who vowed to never go near a sip of alcohol. But as long as he’s not seeing you out at night downing some drinks, you can probably keep this image going.
Finally, the horror of all horrors…
- Your Ex
No matter how over it you thought you were, the first encounter with the hometown ex will be completely awful. Odds are he’s already seen you and it’s too late to either cross the street, dissolve into the grocery store aisle, or find your friend for backup at a crowded party. In this moment you will feel every bit of the dreaded “Freshman 15”, that huge pimple on your face, and even the wrinkles in your clothes. Also it always seems that the high school ex gets better looking in college, which just adds insult to injury. But take a deep breath and say hello, tell him how much you love you’re school and how great your doing. Fake it ’til you make it if you have to. Just remind yourself that he’s probably your ex for a reason, nostalgias might make you only remember all those good memories you’ve had with him but try and remember the bad ones. Remind yourself why you’re better off, and how great it is that you have nothing holding you back at school. The best thing you can do is act confident and happy, and he’ll be the one left feeling remorse.