If you’re anything like me you have a constant inner dialogue running all day. It isn’t that bad, as long as you don’t start responding to yourself as if you’re another person. I’m not that weird, right?
As I walk through the halls, I try to act like a neutron. For those of you who aren’t so knowledgeable on the parts of the atoms we learned in 6th grade as I am, a neutron is a neutrally charged ion. I try keeping my eyes toward my target–my next class– and ignore the riff raff of the halls.
I do not say “hi” to many people besides my friends, and the obligatory hellos to my past teachers. But this neutrality isn’t natural. If it were up to me, which it is and isn’t, I’d say “hello” to every single person I have even somewhat met at this school. However, the reason it isn’t up to me is because saying “hello” to people in the halls is also a game of who says it first and if the person decides to reply back.
Here is the guide for over thinkers on how to say “hello” in the halls:You will obviously say “hi “to your friends, so that is a full-proof-I-don’t-have-to-think-about-this-one greeting. So easy. *sigh*
Another easy “hello” is that unexpected “hello” you get from a peer before you even have time to go into over thinking mode. And I think rule #00000001 is that whenever anyone says “hello” to you, you must respond with a “hi” back.
I mean, what kind of monster would ignore a nicety like that in the harsh world that is high school? And yes, people may ignore your “hellos’ but that doesn’t mean you should give up and stop being the friendly and nice person you are. Be the change you want to see in the world, guys. #Gandhi
Then we have the daily greeters. You generally walk the same route everyday so you’ll see the same people. Depending on whom they are in your life, you may choose to greet them or find a way to distract yourself so they think that you don’t see them. However, you’ll usually find after the 2nd week of school that this is harder to do than you’d think. You don’t always have a genuine way to distract yourself.
But then you walk by (literally) the acquaintance territory. These are the people you randomly see in the halls who you know, but barely regularly speak with.
Are you supposed to say “hi” every day when you pass that girl you were partners with for that English project freshman year? Doesn’t it get awkward? Is she even considered an acquaintance anymore? I don’t even remember her last name.
And it all comes down to being nice, if you want to be outgoing and sociable throw a quick “hello” at them. As long as you are around 55% sure they will respond. And if they don’t, no harm done. Remember this, Leah. People will love you one day!
That being said, how do you force yourself in the moment to say “hi” first? I’ll bring up that infamous moment when you walk down a completely empty hallway besides one other person walking towards you. This person may be a closer acquaintance in which case you may automatically notice them and say “hi.” However, other times the person may be a random peer you know but haven’t really had a conversation with.
In these instances both will usually look down and pretend not to see the other as they walk. At some point one will usually look up, act surprised, and say, “oh hey!” Or they may choose not to acknowledge you waiting for you to say “hi” first in which case both parties may feel incredibly rejected.
In this situation I think the main reason we chose to say “hi” later is because once you’ve said “hi” from farther away, you must still continue to walk towards them. What do you do after the exchanged “hellos”? I am not close enough with this person to say anything else besides “hi,” so now I’m stuck walking towards them nodding and smiling like an idiot. Why did I do this to myself? Leah, you’ve really messed up this time!
If you think about it, this common interaction is sad. Either we feel too uncomfortable to just walk and ignore the other person, or too uncomfortable to just say “hi” right as you see the person. Where does this uneasiness stem from?
Think about how nice it feels when people say “hi” to you in the hallway at school. It actually makes your whole day. In the end you shouldn’t talk yourself out of saying “hi” to someone in the halls. Spread the “hellos” and don’t over think it.