A Gen-Z's Guide to Life and Real Estate

Have you ever waived back to a stranger who was actually waiving to somebody behind you? Yeah, awkward… It’s pretty funny, though, once you think about it.

We have all been there, tripping over a crack in the sidewalk in a public space, spilling your coffee on yourself, or saying the wrong/weird thing in a conversation. It is such an odd thing, an emotion that arises due to our fear of our social image being tarnished by a moment so fleeting to anyone looking on, yet it almost hurts.

Embarrassment shapes what we do, how we act, and who we talk to, but why? Why are we so scared of a feeling that doesn’t hurt us? It doesn’t affect us physically; it is all up in our heads, well, maybe some butterflies in the stomach, too. I am no psychologist, but from what I have read and learned throughout life, the purpose of embarrassment in our systems is to let us know that we have potentially done something that will change how we are viewed in society. Some might argue that it is instinctive as we do not want our place in the hierarchy to change due to a mistake; we are a little past that point, though. Why does it happen? Can you control it? I think so…

Growing up as a pretty shy kid, I felt embarrassment as much as anything. I thought that every mistake I made was being watched and being used against the image that I was trying to present. What a waste of energy… Mistakes and embarrassment make us human. Don’t get hung up on the little things, right? We are all going to do things that are a little funny from time to time, but doesn’t that make us more relatable? After all, nobody is perfect. One thing that I learned growing up and becoming more outgoing and in touch with the world is that no one really cares about your mistakes. The only person who will ever mention that you were pulling adamantly on a door that clearly says push is your best friend.

We all have things going on in our lives that will take up our headspace and make us totally forget about the stranger that we saw earlier who thought there was a dip in the sidewalk and stepped weirdly. Why let your emotions for the next couple of minutes be feelings of awkwardness and anxiety instead of laughter and humility. The best way to do this? Go out and do something that you think is embarrassing. Don’t do anything dangerous, but find a place that is filled with people and see how many people actually look at you for more than five seconds. I even bet you that they won’t ask for your name.