That Awkward Moment When ...

By Francine Fluetsch on April 20, 2014

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We’ve all experienced those awkward moments during class and while they suck in the moment, they always make for some great stories. Here are some awkward moments, and some solutions for how to deal with them.

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Someone next to you has bad breath: Why is it that whenever you sit next to someone with bad breath, they always want to talk to you? You try and listen, but you can hardly focus on what they are saying because you are trying as hard as you can not to pull a face in accordance to their stanky breath.

The solution? Offer them some gum. Now, you have to be discrete about this; don’t make it obvious that their breath smells. In order to do this, take out some gum/mints, and take one for yourself. Then, because you are so polite, offer one to your smelly friend. Pray that they take a piece. Here are some ways to tell someone they have bad breath, and how to check if you yourself have it!

You have to fart: Okay, admit it: you know this situation has happened to you where you really just have to let one loose but can’t since you are stuck in class. This is a horrible predicament to be in, especially if the class is over an hour and there is no escape.

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The solution? If you can almost guarantee that it will be silent, then by all means, let it go (the song from Frozen is now in your head). The downside is it probably going to smell, but if your class is big enough, no one will be able to actually pinpoint it on you. If, however, you don’t think it’s going to take the silent route, then I’d say abort the classroom situation and get outside ASAP. Holding in farts is bad for you, so try not to do it too often, but also don’t kill your poor classmates in the process of releasing your flatulence.

Your stomach makes weird noises: So you’re late to class and didn’t have time to eat. In a moment where the room is completely silent, your stomach decides that it wants to become a dying whale. Even though this happens to everyone, it can still be pretty embarrassing.

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The solution? Ian Dominguez, a second year student at Palomar College, said he deals with this situation by joking about it. “If people around me took notice, I’ll just laugh and say something like ‘my stomach is mad at me.’”

Joking about situations yourself is always a great way to make them less embarrassing.

You have to sneeze but don’t have a tissue: Especially when I’m sick, this is one of the worst situations. One time I sneezed into my hand, and some stuff came out (TMI, sorry). I literally sat with my hand covering my nose for like two minutes, trying to think of what I could do.

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The solution? If you don’t have tissues, binder paper will probably be your best substitute, at least to get the stuff off of you. Always make sure to keep some hand sanitizer with you, and hope that no one saw your booger fiasco.

Someone near you has B.O.: Having this situation happen makes it very hard to concentrate in class. The smell just keeps wafting towards you, and you have to try not to gag. What’s even worse is if they are  your friend, because then there is no escape.

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The solution? If you can switch seats, do it! You can also wear a lot of perfume/cologne to the class so it will mask out the stinky smell. Or, if you’re brave enough, here are some tips on how to tell someone they smell bad.

You are falling asleep:Don’t you just hate those moments where you are trying desperately to stay awake, but your eyes just aren’t cooperating? I’ve never actually fallen asleep in class but I’ve seen it happen to others who then started snoring. It was pretty funny, but I felt really bad for the professors who noticed.

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The solution? Coffee! If you can’t get your hands on any at the moment that the sleepiness hits, try pinching your leg every few minutes. You don’t want to be known as the kid who snores in class. Here are some more ways to help you stay awake.

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You didn’t do the reading: I’m sure you are all wonderful students and finish every page of reading assigned to you, but in the rare case you don’t, what should you do? It’s so embarrassing to be called out by the professor for not doing something.

The solution? Try and quickly scan what you are going over so you can get the gist of it and hope that you won’t get called on. If you do, and you really don’t know, sometimes it is actually better to fess up that you didn’t do the reading, instead of trying to make something up on the spot, but that varies depending on the teacher.

You can’t stop laughing: I fall victim to this all the time. Something funny will happen in class and everyone will laugh, but I always think it is still funny long after everyone else has stopped.

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If this has happened to you, you know how horrible the feeling is, especially if your professor starts talking about a serious subject, and you are just over in some corner, chuckling to yourself like a crazy person.

The solution? Try your hardest to think of something sad. It doesn’t always work, but it’s something. You can also pull out your phone and pretend that you are laughing at something on there, so the people around you don’t think you’re crazy. Make sure your teacher doesn’t see you though!

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