Anyone who is familiar with Twitter has probably seen the hash tag "That awkward moment when..." some event occurs that the user thinks is awkward. The truth is, most of these moments aren't really that awkward. People mention things they do that are embarrassing or stupid, but rarely are they situations that would make somebody feel really uncomfortable. The word "awkward" has become so overused that we don't even understand what it really means anymore. The dictionary defines "awkward" as an adjective to describe somebody that "lacks skill, social graces, or manners; clumsy."
It is true that we all have moments when we feel truly awkward. For example, when I am around the boy that I am attracted to, I feel like a tactless nincompoop. Maybe it's because I actually am, but I think it's because the idea of "awkward" has been so ingrained in my head as the word's usage became more widespread. We all are a lot better at handling social situations than we let ourselves believe.
A few days ago, some good friends of mine challenged me to eliminate "awkward" from my vocabulary for a day, mostly because it's a trait I convince myself that I possess. However, it's a good idea for all of us to stop using "awkward" so much and expanding our lexicons a little bit.
I'm just saying a thesaurus can be a beautiful thing.
I think a bigger problem with the word "awkward" is that everyone seems to think it is such a BAD thing. I do agree it is silly when "That awkward moment when..."s aren't actually awkward. But the posts help people see that being awkward is okay since everyone is awkward; it is just part of life! People just need to embrace their awkwardness and go with it. If everyone learned to laugh at all the awkward/uncomfortable/clumsy/unskilled/embarrassing/inopportune/(*insert thesaurus entry for awkward*) moments life would be so much more enjoyable, and we'd all have great abs. :)
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