The girl who always thought you were best friends
We all know those girls – you hung out once or twice and ran in the same circle of friends but she always thought you were the best of friends. Chances are you’ll run in to her grabbing a cup of coffee and the conversation will be painfully awkward as she overshares every detail of her college life since you last saw her at graduation. Listen politely and just use family obligations as an excuse to get out of any potential hangout.
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A former teacher
Whether you’re picking up your younger sibling from school or out shopping with your parents, any run-in with a former teacher is going to be awkward! They will always see you as a youthful and somewhat idiotic student and the lower your grade was in their class, the worse this experience is going to be. If your teacher hated you, expect some snide remarks and if they loved you, be prepared for some public hugging. Either way, it just serves as a reminder that you’ll never change to some people.
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The parents of children you babysit
As soon as you bump into your neighbors or family friends that you babysit for, you are instantly going to regret accepting their friend request of Facebook. You’ll both try to have a nice conversation about how nice it is to be home for break and to see your family, all while you’re both pretending that those drunken photos from a frat house basement don’t exist.
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A frenemy
No matter how much time has passed, you’ll always remember that one girl who always edged you out for the highest grade in the class or went to prom with the guy you’d had a crush on. And odds are, you’ll probably see her out somewhere this holiday season. Despite your hot and cold relationship, it’s guaranteed she’ll be so excited to brag about how amazing her college life has been the past few years! Chances are she’ll have snagged an amazing internship, be spoiled by her gorgeous boyfriend and will be wearing all the amazing clothes she picked up during her semester abroad. We know it sounds terrible but smile and remind yourself that she’s clearly stuck in the past. And then treat yourself to a venti Peppermint Mocha after it’s all over.
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Your ex
It’s the most dreaded experience of all college students: running into your hometown ex. Whether you’re over it and moved on or not, nothing is going to make this encounter better. If fate is very unkind to you, you’ll be caught in your sweats and he’ll look even better than he did in high school. Our best advice is fake it til you make it! Gush about how much you love school and how you hope he’s doing well. While all those feelings come rushing back, just remember that you broke up for a reason. So be cool and confident, and he’ll be the one left babbling.