The Conscious Act of “Unknowing”
How often do you find yourself avoiding eye contact with someone on campus? It might be your old lab partner from freshman year, the girl who sits next to you in psychology, your dorm neighbor, or even an old group project partner from last semester. Is it just me, or as a campus, have we all grown used to ignoring each other?
Elmhurst University is a small campus compared to other schools; regardless of how long you’ve attended EU or how often you’re on campus, you’re bound to know or be familiar with other students, so why do we try so hard to ignore each other?
You may even go so far as to walk in different directions to avoid crossing paths with an old classmate or that one student you met at orientation, with whom you swore you would be friends forever. I think it’s safe to say we have all been guilty at one point of pulling out our phone at the exact time we cross paths with someone we know to avoid interaction.
In doing so, we all make a conscious decision to act “unknowing” towards each other on campus.
But when you stop and really think about why you are making this conscious decision to avoid and ignore someone, there is no definitive answer for why. It’s not because you had an argument with them and are now on bad terms, or they humiliated you in class. There’s just this inclination that we all get to ignore someone we are familiar with.
We all act friendly towards each other while inside the classroom, but as soon as we step out of that threshold, an ignorant facade gets placed over us and we become distant.
Some students, including myself, find themselves going hours or even a whole day without talking to anybody, even though we are surrounded by hundreds of students each day. It’s one of the worst feelings, but we often put ourselves in that position because we are scared or anxious to acknowledge others or to be acknowledged.
Having this realization that I often ignore people around campus makes me question why I can’t just reach out and acknowledge those around me by saying, “Hi, I remember you from our XYZ class. How have you been?” or “”Hey, we always walk to the chapel together at the same time. What class do you have there?”
I’m sure that there could be so many more connections made throughout campus if we got over this fear of acknowledgment. That student that you get along with in class could be your new best friend; we just have to get over our fear of “breaking the ice.”
The next time you feel that urge to glance down at your phone or change your route to class, try pausing for a moment. Consider the missed opportunity for connection or a friendly exchange.
Perhaps the simple gesture of a hello, a smile, or some sort of acknowledgment can brighten your day and someone else’s.
