The Art of Human Interactions

Interacting with people can sometimes be incredibly awkward. It’s strange how something so simple can become so hard if you think about it enough.

Have you ever had that super uncomfortable struggle when you’re crossing paths with someone and neither of you know which way the other is going to go, so you both awkwardly bounce from side to side like you’re suddenly doing a defense drill for your third grade basketball team? Or that incredibly uncomfortable moment when you say goodbye to someone and then end up walking the same way?

That’s real awkward.

These moments leave us feeling uncomfortable and somewhat of a failure in the art of humans, but they are easy enough to laugh off.

If you’ve ever practiced the art of people watching on McCarthy Quad or in the campus center great pastime, I highly recommend it by the way), you’ll notice that students avoid one another all the time. It’s like everyone is trapped in his or her own little impenetrable bubble when walking around. People will do anything they can to shy away from human interaction, and it’s become so much easier for us to take this easy way out in our rapidly growing age of technology.

You look up for a moment and you realize you are the only one really looking up. Everyone is either looking at their feet or profusely texting, emailing or talking on the phone while staring into space, not taking in any of the people around them. It’s a miracle people don’t run into each other more often.

But how come we’re so afraid of each other? Why don’t we make eye contact through the thick glass window of our cars with the stranger who lets us into their lane? How come we purposely avoid touching the barista’s hand as he or she carefully hands us back our money?

We are scared of human contact. Letting strangers into the tiniest snippet of our lives terrifies us. It’s like we think the people around us are a different species, plagued with some weird alien phenomenon or strange contagious disease – Ebola or Mono, who really knows?

I’ve noticed I too, fall into this ugly pattern at times — walking briskly so I can avoid eye contact with others even when I really have nowhere to be, or forgetting to really look someone in the eye when they tell me their name.

In high school I was in a group called Peer Support, and the concept of this group goes to correct the basic human instinct to avoid each other. We’re put into random groups with students we don’t know well, sit in a circle and talk about our deepest, darkest secrets. Sure, it sounds like an awful scene from “The Breakfast Club” or some weird ’60s hippie ritual. It’s hard to truly understand until you’re part of it, but my friends from Peer Support amaze me every day.

They are all fearless in the art of human interactions. In Peer Support we’re able to look people in the eye and have a conversation with someone without taking out your phone. If you take a moment and really focus on the people you’re interacting with, the payoff is so much greater.

When you find yourself afraid to interact with that random kid in your math class, or when your hand habitually goes to your pocket, reaching for your phone in a moment of awkward silence with a stranger, I challenge you to perfect and fine tune your art of human interaction.

Yes, looking someone in the eye for too long could get incredibly awkward very quickly, but you may be pleasantly surprised with the people you come across. The simplest interaction with the lady standing behind you in the Starbucks line or a conversation with a friendly professor in the hallway can turn your whole day around.

And if you’re ever scared of human interaction, just remember we’re all made from the same double helixed deoxyribosenucleic acid. At least you know you have something in common.

Pretty sweet.