The HC BC staff has come up with challenges not only for ourselves, but for all students at BC, making sure that we are on track to be bold, kind, and ambitious people.
Imagine it:  you’ve been abroad for a semester and it’s your first day back in classes. You’re nervous about all the people you’re going to see– who’s going to remember you? Should you say hi to that guy you had a crush on last May? What about the girl from your UGBC committee? Then it happens… you’re walking down the street to your off-campus apartment and a friend of a friend of a friend is the only other person on the side walk. What do you do? Do you take a quick right on Greycliff? Pull out your phone to send a text message, or at least pretend to? Or just walk by like you don’t see her at all?
Another scenario: you’re walking through O’Neill Plaza and the only person between you and the warm elevators bringing you back to Lower Campus is the guy you met at the party last week and may or may not have made out with. Only problem is you haven’t talked since. What do you do? Do you say hi or smile? Do you stop and talk? Do you pretend you’re on the phone? Do you start a quick game of Words with Friends? Â
We’ve all done it- the BC Look-Away. Each of us has been in a situation when it’s just easier to keep walking than to say hello and potentially start a conversation; when we just feel too uncomfortable to say hi out of fear that the other person doesn’t want to talk to us, or simply doesn’t remember us. It’s the nature of the students in the tangled web that is Boston College to be unsure if they’re on the “Hey, what’s up?” level;  or the smile and wave one;  or simply the let-me-just-walk-right-by-you-and-pretend-we’ve-never-met-before (even though I see you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for two hours and we eat lunch with the same people and our friends hang out at the same parties) level. And what’s an easier way to avoid ever having to find out than just keeping your eyes straight ahead and never looking in that person’s direction?
But as bad as the desire is to give someone the BC Look-Away, the feeling you get when someone gives it to you is inevitably much, much worse. And we’ve all been there too. Sure, maybe the guy you met at last night’s party got a text message at the precise moment that you were about to walk by each other, and it’s totally possible that the conversation the girl from your volunteering group last semester is having with her friend is so intriguing that she simply cannot look in your direction to say hello. But let’s be honest, we all know that’s not usually the case. Â
So that’s where the challenge comes in. The next time you’re in a situation that the BC look-away would fit into perfectly, channel that feeling you get when someone else avoids eye contact with you and embrace the “woman for others”-ness that makes BC women special. We all deserve to be acknowledged, and a friendly “Hi, how are you?” is always better than ignoring someone, regardless of how many mixed drinks you had before the last time you saw them and whether or not you’re convinced they’ll remember you. Look that person in the eye, say hello, and continue your day. I guarantee you’ll both feel better for the rest of it.
See you walking through the Quad!Â
Photo Source:
Remy Hassett