When Hugs Become Awkward

Awkward hugs; we’ve all experienced them at one point or another. These hugs may be unwanted, misplaced, or even stiff yet; they may end up bringing people closer than one might have thought.

I, for one, have had my fair share of awkwardness and have noticed that many of my awkward hug experiences tend to occur at school. Why you may ask? Well, I have thought long and hard about this and have come to three plausible reasons why school is the root cause of awkward hugs.

For one, there is this thing students’ carry on their backs as they go from class to class. I believe it is commonly referred to as a backpack. As students walk down the halls, they spot their friends and walk toward each other. Now, none of this is awkward until…they go in for the hug itself. The two friends, usually a girl and a girl or a boy and a girl, open their arms wide, approach each other until they reach their intended distance, and finally wrap their hands around the other’s…backpack? The backpack causes for uncertainty because huggers are no longer hugging the person, but their backpack. The hug is no longer an intimate sign of appreciation or thanks, but becomes a symbol to students everywhere of what to avoid. When the hug is over, I have noticed that the two people do one of two things. They either look shyly away from each other, hoping to erase the moment from their memories or they look straight into each other’s eyes and burst out laughing. This second action is a healthy sign for the participants because they have demonstrated to others that awkward moments can lighten the atmosphere and be forgotten with a good-hearted laugh and a genuine smile.

The second type of uncomfortable hug is the uneven hug. This occurs when people are different heights, one being extremely tall and the other being exceptionally short. When the two huggers approach each another, the awkwardness begins. For the time being, the tall person will be the guy and the short person will be the girl. If the roles are reversed, the situation may become more awkward for obvious reasons. Now, the tall person debates if he should bend down to hug the other. If he chooses to bend down too late, their arms might become twisted and oddly intertwined. However, if he chooses to stand at normal height, he may find himself patting the person’s head or hugging her with one arm to avoid making the height different more noticeable. The shorter person finds this situation awkward because she cannot reach the shoulders of the other. So, she becomes stuck hugging his waist and may start to feel crushed and a tad big claustrophobic. If, for some reason, the male has chosen to disregard the shower beforehand, the girl may become disgusted and may choose to avoid him at future encounters at school.  While this situation does not occur very often, when it does, the only thing to do is hope that the huggers smell clean and that the decision to bend down has been made in advance. With such measures, the moment should hopefully be awkward-free, allowing others to be optimistic about height differences and hugs.

The third and final awkward hug is the all-too-detested hug from behind. This occurs when a friend (let’s call him Bob) approaches another friend (let’s call her Sally) from behind. As Bob sees Sally, he realizes that her back is facing him and he will be unable to hug her from the normal position because she is surrounded by a group of her friends. Bob’s conclusion: it is necessary for me to give Sally a hug, so I might as well do it from behind. If Bob’s conclusion sounds like something you would do, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE refrain from acting upon it! Hugs from behind are awkward for both parties involved. If Bob decides to act on his impulse, Sally will feel uncomfortable because, for one, she did not even see the hug coming. How would you feel if all of a sudden you see two arms grabbing you from behind? Weird? Embarrassed?  If you answered yes to both, then good for you because that is exactly how Sally feels. Sally also feels odd in this situation because she doesn’t know if she should turn around and face Bob in order to return the hug. If she doesn’t turn around, she will be hugging him like she is tied to a pole, but if she does turn around, what will he do with his hands? If Sally rotates, Bob will have to disengage in the hug, only to re-engage two seconds later. This causes the timing of the hug to be off, making the two participants unsure of when to stop their hugging. While the back-hug is occurring, Bob may finally realize that his decision to hug Sally was not one of his finest moments. But it will be too late; he has already engaged in the hug. Bob must continue his back hug with Sally and they must face the awkwardness together.

While the first two hugs can be performed correctly if the participants fully understand the situation, the hug from behind can and will never be executed properly because it is just too awkward. Therefore, in order to avoid the most awkward hug of all hugs, please refrain from participating in this type of embrace, it just might save your reputation.

For my next blog, I will discuss handshakes.

If you want to see more awkward hugs visit:http://theoatmeal.com/comics/hugs

or you can email me at: nicole.lipka