Since attending this fine collegiate establishment we hold dear to our hearts as, Hofstra University, I have learned much more about the odd things in life. One major being the fact of scared pedestrians.
Scared Pedestrian (n, adj) - A person that one may encounter while walking past, usually met with a stare at the ground, a cell phone "fake" text, or a complete avoidance altogether.
I don't see myself as overly intimidating, but for some reason, a lot of people that I pass by on my way to class are just awkward as hell. I look up from my own subdued version of a scared pedestrian (texting) to see where I am going. But to also check out the people walking around me. I make a quick eye contact at the girl walking towards me, and she puts her head down as soon as our eyes meet. Another time I saw a kid from afar notice that he would be passing me shortly, and put his head down, or to text in advance.
Kids have just continuously become awkward. When you walk by somebody, take a chance to make an observation if they are looking up or to the ground.
To me, this is strange. People our age have to hide from the "real" world around them because they are too comfortable with the artificial world they have surrounded themselves with via social media. To me I feel like that is the reason people are afraid of others in a real-life setting. They rely so much on instant messaging and abbreviations during texting that our generation is loosing the art of conversation. But this may be for another blog post….
For the 2nd part of my post, I would like to address the need and existence of Flood Pants.
Flood Pant (n) - Pants that fall around the ankle. Often called high-waters/ high waters as well. This refers to the fact that you can wear them when there is a flood, or "high waters."
For Example, "Wow, those flood pants are so cute, but your ankles must get cold during the winter…"
or "Dude, look at that guys insanely short jeans!"
"Flood pants bro…flood pants.."
Many times I have been hanging with the bros during a nice day at the mall, and see a women casually walking with shortened jeans. I don't understand why people feel the need to wear such short pants…They're not capris, they're not shorts, they're jeans! So jeans are meant to touch your shoes, not lay above them. I will never understand why some people dress the way they do, but I guess it makes them happy.
Aside from being ugly, flood pants actually have some benefits. One being, your pants won't get wet when there is a flood. As long as you have some time of shoe on your foot, your clothing is guaranteed to be dry upon impact.
Sometimes, if you can catch it, an encounter with a scared pedestrian wearing flood pants may come about. I know I've had my run-ins...
-Erm
THIS MORNING I NOTICED WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SCARED PEDESTRIAN. AND MANY PEOPLE DO ACT AWKWARD, AND PRETEND TO NOT LOOK AT YOU AFTER STARING AT YOU FOR TWO SECONDS REALIZING THEY DO KNOW KNOW YOU. THIS MORNING HOWEVER, THERE WAS ONLY ONE MALE AND THE REST WERE FEMALES THAT WERE SCARED OF ME AND MY FRIENDS. HOWEVER WHAT WAS INTERESTING TO SEE IS THAT ALL THE MALES BUT THE ONE THAT I KNEW WAS SMILING AT US. THE MALE THAT I KNEW GAVE ME TWO WEIRD GLANCES, THEN STARTED RUNNING. THE FEMALES HOWEVER KEPT GIVING QUICK GLANCES, BUT AS SOON AS THEY NOTICED THAT MY FRIENDS AND I WERE STARING AT THEM, THEY IMMEDIATELY TURNED THEIR HEADS. WE DECIDED TO LOOK AT PEOPLE WHO WERE DRIVING.
ReplyDeleteMISHAP SOCIAL THIS MORNING WAS MICHELLE (ME). I ACCIDENTALLY LOGGED IN AND COMMENTED. SORRY GUYS
ReplyDeleteMy strange encounters, courtesy of the Hof have both been unique and weird. Men and women are different, as men are more engaging. As a woman, men would stare or smile and more willing to engage in a conversation than women to other women. If wearing sunglasses, women will stare you down then continue to walk away. Women with other women are just awkward and I try to avoid awkward eye contact if at all possible. I am guilty of "fake texting" or looking at my phone. It works quite well.
ReplyDelete-T
Humans really annoy me at times. I hate it when they look at the ground as I walk by or fiddle with their phone. One of the weirdest things i've noticed in my life is two different colored sock color wearing "Assholes". I respect a good, Hi, or Good Morning as I walk by one and greet, but this hardly happens anymore. Long live the social functioning homosapiens, it's all about the life of the mind.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have any experiences recently with flood pants but I remember when I was on vacation there were a lot of males wearing the flood pants. I think it is okay if you are on a beach, but wearing them in public, like on the street is just plan awkward. Flood pants should never be an option, only if there is a flood.
ReplyDeleteWhen I work in the restaurant, I have encountered many situations when me and other person make eye contact. When this usually happens it is awkward because I usually have a lot of things in my hand and the other person is usually caught off guard, and doesn't know what to do.
Today when I was at the fountain on campus, a lady made eye contact with me and a group of people, she just wake away like she was sacred but there was nothing to be scared about. But then I saw her try to come back, but she when she saw us still there she just waled away again.
Gerald Fusco
I have noticed the same things. I think the general story is that people are afraid of making encounters with people they don't know just by walking. Especially if they are judgemental and take a glance and see that they do not want to make eye contact with that person. I think that this is silly. When I see people and walk by I usually just give a quick smile. People feel insecure when others are watching them, especially when they are alone and do not have a buddy by their side, so they immediately whip out their phone. People should be willing to be more social with strangers that are just walking by. For instance, it's kind of like when you're on line at a store and you can make conversation with the people around you. This would make the world such a better place! I think the bigger picture is that we should all get along more and be willing to associate ourselves with other people. YAY! =]
ReplyDeleteAs for flood pants, I saw this fabulous guy wearing white ones yesterday with a blazer and converse. He looked fresh. I think they are also great because you NEVER know when there will be a flood! They are stylish if you ask me, I am going to be looking out for them in the summer.
JULISS.