Socializing is a big part of the college experience. However, this can be intimidating for the awkward girl, who is usually clumsy and feels uncomfortable in most social settings. This is the type of girl who laughs when she doesn’t know what to say, puts way too much thought into making eye contact and has the ability to trip over virtually everything. She also probably idolizes Jennifer Lawrence — the queen of social awkwardness.
For the awkward girl, college is one big obstacle of dodging uncomfortable moments. As an awkward girl myself, I know that the struggle is real. In order to help you get through college without any unnecessary anxiety, I have created the complete survival guide with the solution to every awkward moment you may encounter.
Eating in publicWhen eating in public, there are no safe choices. Whether you order spaghetti or a salad, it’s bound to be a disaster.
How to handle this: As beautiful as that Chipotle burrito is, it won’t look so pretty when you’re covered in it. The best way to go about eating in public is to go slow and make use of your utensils. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a handful of napkins nearby. Being cautious should help you to stay clean while eating, but do a mirror check for any green globs of food that failed to make it to your stomach and decided to get stuck in your teeth.
Events that require dancingIf you label yourself as awkward, then chances are your dancing skills are as great as Taylor Swift’s while dancing to Florida Georgia Line’s hit song “Cruise.” A major component of being awkward is the inability to dance — we just weren’t blessed with those genes.
How to handle this: When presented with a situation that requires you to dance, rely on the advice of Taylor Swift and “Shake it off.” As she says in her latest hit song, “And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate…” So don’t worry about those around you. Go ahead and let loose… just maybe not in the middle of the dance floor.
Small talkOut of all the struggles that come with being awkward, this one may just be the biggest. There is nothing worse than bumping into an old high school acquaintance or your TA on campus and attempting to make small talk. In the majority of cases, these attempts turn into really uncomfortable conversations in which your mouth does this thing where it just won’t stop moving until you have completely embarrassed yourself.
How to handle this: First, don’t try to avoid the person, because if he or she sees you and you slip up by making eye contact, it just makes things even more uncomfortable. In these unavoidable situations, the best choice to make is to politely greet them, spend a minute or so catching up and then say your goodbyes. Get out of there before you run out of things to talk about or give your mouth an opportunity to do that rambling again.
Taking picturesNo matter how hard you try, pictures just never seem to work in your favor. In most cases, you end up looking like Angelina Jolie in Ellen DeGeneres’ famous Oscar selfie, which pictures Jolie with her hand covering her face. Whether it’s looking the wrong way, having hair in your face or having your eyes are closed, there is always something wrong.
How to handle this: The best advice for taking pictures is to always smile. Even though you may envision that funny face as cute in your head, it usually doesn’t come out so cute in the picture. Save those faces for Snapchat, and in all other situations, just smile because you’re beautiful!
Arriving late to classWhether it’s due to missing your bus, oversleeping or getting stuck in a long line at the dining hall, we all have those days when we’re running a bit behind. Walking in late to class can be a stressful situation for an awkward girl because there is so much to worry about. What if the teacher notices or you have to navigate past those annoying fold out desks in large auditoriums?
How to handle this: The best way to go about tardiness is to find a seat that is the least disruptive to navigate to. Don’t be that person who arrives late and insists on sitting in the middle of the room. Enter with the attitude that you’re not late but that everybody else is simply early. Play it off like you were somewhere important… because we all know Starbucks is important!
Bumping into your crushAwkward moments are bound to happen to everyone during their time in college. However, you definitely don’t want to share one of these moments with the guy you’ve been crushing on. Managing to hold a conversation with a friend or classmate is one thing, but when it’s with an attractive human being who you just so happen to have a crush on, everything changes — your nerves are high and your heart is beating much faster than it should.
How to handle this: If you find yourself in this situation, the best thing to do is be yourself. Being an awkward girl is who you are, so embrace it. If you try to be someone you’re not, then things won’t go far. The good news for you is what you may view as being awkward may come off as cute to your crush. There is also a good chance he is just as nervous as you are. So get yourself together and muster up the courage to talk to him.
Above all, the most important thing to do, collegiettes™, is embrace who you are — awkward and all. You just keep on doing you and the world will follow. From one awkward girl to another, good luck out there. And if you liked this helpful guide, check out this article for the complete list of awkward moments that every student at UF can relate to: You Know You’re an Awkward Gator When…