That Awkward Moment

The one question I'm asked most often when people find out that I blog about my daughter is ... "What does your daughter say about that?" 

Nothing, really.

Since I started Lovin' the Alien, in March of 2011, I have asked my now seventeen-year-old to write posts. They could be her take on teen trends, musings about a current event, a review of her favorite show or book or app, even a rebuttal to something I had written. But no, her interest level was ... 

NOT.

Over the years, I did manage to sneak some of her thoughts in. Usually, it was a dialogue between us (her part consisting of monosyllables, groans and/or eye rolls). Once, I was able to include a passage from an English paper she'd written. But, as far as contributing to the blog itself, not interested. I don't know; maybe she felt it would be awkward.

Well, I'm reaching out to other teenagers via the wonderful world wide web. 

One thing they all seem to agree on is that, yes, there are times when you feel awkward. Plenty of them. In fact, sharing the whens, wheres, hows and whys (not to mention who withs) of awkwardness fills countless tweets from teens. 

I've collected some for you here. (I've corrected spelling to help those of us who weren't born after 1995.) Typically, these posts begin with "That awkward moment ..." And here's how they end.

That awkward moment when you're playing with your pen and it suddenly flies across the room

That awkward moment when you're talking to your crush and your gum falls out of your mouth

That awkward moment when you need to cough in an exam but you've already coughed like twice so you just sit there suffocating

That awkward moment when you're walking and then you start thinking about how you're walking and you feel like you're walking weird

That awkward moment when you laugh hysterically at something but no one else thinks it was funny

That awkward moment when everyone else is laughing hysterically and you're like"I don't get it"

That awkward moment when you have no friends in a class and the teacher says to pair up

That awkward moment when kids younger than you have a more interesting love life

That awkward moment when you see a 10-year-old with a better phone than you

That awkward moment when your parents try to be funny in front of your friends

That awkward moment when you spell a word so wrong even autocorrect can't figure it out

That awkward moment when your mom's doing the dishes so you put another one in and walk away real fast

That awkward moment when you meet someone and they're wearing more makeup than clothes

That awkward moment when you throw something at your friend and it hits someone else

That awkward moment when the dentist asks you a question while his whole hand is in your mouth

That awkward moment when you're in the car and you look at people in the car next to you and they're already looking at you

That awkward moment when you shout out the answer in class and it's wrong

That awkward moment when you walk out of your room in your pajamas and there's a guest in the house

That awkward moment when the doctor asks you what's the matter and your mother answers for you

That awkward moment when you're talking about someone and they're right behind you

And last but not least

That awkward moment when there's an awkward moment and everyone knows it's an awkward moment and someone finally says "AAWWKKWWAARRDD"

Yes. I can understand why that would be ... well ... awkward.

If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to order a copy of Lovin' the Alien at www.lovinthealien.com.