Awkward

              Our lives are made up of moments, moments that shape who we are as individuals. Some moments, make us proud, some make us sad, some make us stupid, but some make us awkward. We are all awkward, we cant help it. We inedibly end up in situations that automatically make us want bury our heads in the sand. We do things that make our family and friends put their palms to their foreheads aka  to face palm. At the end of the day we cant help but laugh at all the situations that was were unfortunately put in. But I believe, that the most awkward situations make the best stories.

            The elevator, a type of vertical transportation system that people use to go up and down to get to different floors of a building. We use elevators everyday, you would think that we would get used to them, being in an inclosed space with people we didn’t know, having our personal bubbles popped, and breathing in all types of germs that we didn’t even know existed. Oh yeah, its a joy. The elevator sets us up for awkward situations. Awkward greetings, awkward glances, and of course awkward smells.

            My life is nothing but a huge awkward situation, I believe that I’m alive to humor others, to make people laugh with my dumb, irrational, decisions. It’s fine, it makes me happy knowing that my life is comic relief to those around me.

            I look at the clock, darn it, its time to go, its time to start the day. I take a deep breathe, tie the last knot in my shoe, slowly stand up, knowing that if i get up to fast ill get the spins on account of how early it is. My mind is awake, if only the rest of my body felt the same way. 9:48, time has never been on my side, it has never given me the benefit of the doubt. Ever

            I grab for my headphones, attach them to my iPhone, for i can never walk to class in complete silence, ever. It’s a “Midnight City by M83” kind of a morning, and so I put it on repeat. My sunglasses are on the kitchen table and i put them on, in anticipation of meeting the sun as soon I step out of the south tower of the Grandmarc. Keys... oh lord, where the heck are my keys? Run into my room, darn it. Check the bathroom, darn it. I stop, think, oh yeah! Some how my keys always end up almost eaten by the leather couch. I grab them, and move toward the door at a solid pace. I am determined to make it to that elevator, i am determined to make it to class on time.

            I open the door rush out, letting it slam behind me. Check the time on my phone, 9:50, i have to hurry. i press the button, and wait. finally after what seems to be an eternity, the elevator *dings* and the two doors glide open. I look ahead, and there are four other students, all faced the same way. Each is staring at their phones, checking their emails, responding to texts messages. No one wants to look around, no one wants to feel awkward, so they just stare at their screens, hoping, praying that no one tries to talk to them. i walk in just before the doors slide shut, and turn around to face the doors. I just like everyone else, glance down at my phone. I am in the middle of the elevator floor. I seem to be in a better mood than everyone in the state of Texas, i have a smile on my face, where these folk have “don't talk to me” or “F*** off” written across their forehead. The floor drops, *dings* and the doors open. Two guys dressed in polos, kaki shorts, sperrys, (the works) and a girl, wearing spandex and a double XL t-shirt supporting her sorority. They look at me, nod, and proceed to get into the elevator. I move back, but with caution knowing that there are two people behind me. They turn and face the doors, and immediately stare at their phones. At this point we are all counting down the seconds until we reach the first floor, waiting for that very moment where we feel like our personal bubble is not being intruded by some stranger. *Ding* the doors slowly open and one by one, everyone rushes out of the elevator.

            Finally, we can have our sanity back. Those 30 seconds seemed to be the longest 30 seconds of my entire life. I wonder what would happen if we didn’t have a phone to look down to, emails to check, text messages to reply too while being in an elevator. Would we actually have to create conversation with people that we didn’t know. It could be the new way to meet people, kind of like Eharmony or Christianmingle.com, just kidding. We might despise elevators, but like I said before, they are often the focal point of our greatest stories.