Awkward Is The New Sexy: 5 Secret Ways Being Awkward Makes You Awesome

It’s probably an affliction that has been bothering you for years. It’s ruined potential friendships, made miscommunication unavoidable and threatened to render you single for the rest of your life.

Yeah, you’re awkward.

It may not have served you well in middle or high school, and even now you find yourself wondering why you can’t seem to get it together.

Despite this, there are some times when being awkward can be a beneficial thing. Well, you know, once you get past the fact that you mispronounced your own name.

1. The term “awkward” is relative.

You might not have believed this growing up, but by the time you reach your 20s, “awkward” has a much different connotation than it did when you were rejected as a prom date (maybe more than once).

You might be awkward to one person, and interesting, quirky or humorous to another. The best part? All of these things are better than “boring,” which is the word that describes most people who use the word “awkward” negatively.

Being a little different from everyone else is eventually going to help you in adulthood, rather than label you like it did when you were younger.

2. Awkward people have more fun.

It is a well-known fact that my dancing skills slightly resemble what many would imagine as Queen Bey on crack, and that’s being kind.

However, I have more fun dancing than almost anything in the world and I don’t really care what people have to say about it. Along with being an “awkward” person comes a sense of independence and the skill of not really caring what other people think about you.

You’ve interrupted inappropriately, stepped on toes (both literally and figuratively) and mentioned cheese a lot in conversation. You’ve had fun doing it, and whether it bothers someone or not, it doesn’t really affect you nearly as much.

3. You’re sympathetic.

If you’re awkward, you know what it’s like when something publicly embarrassing happens and how it can make you feel like you can never leave the house again without a paper bag over your head.

So when you see your friend emerge from the bathroom with her skirt still tucked into the band of her underwear or your guy friend’s sideburns are starting to look like side chops, you can understand their plight.

In fact, it’s probably already happened to you before. It can make you a better friend because you know the best way to make them aware of an uncomfortable or embarrassing situation, as they’ve already alerted you to some of yours.

4. Your friends are real friends.

With that being said, not only are you a better friend, but you tend to attract better friends, as well. People love you for you rather than just as a way to climb a social ladder.

They’ve seen you at your worst (because when you are awkward that tends to happen more often than not) and have decided that they still want to be friends with you. They recognize the fact that you are genuine, even painfully so, and still have a great time with you, even though it puts their coolness level on the line.

5. You have some great stories.

Being awkward is a challenge every day, and no matter how hard you try, the word “suave” seems to allude you. You also find out that it makes for much more interesting tales and experiences than someone who knows his or her way around a cocktail party.

Weird things just seem to happen to weird people, and you’ve honed your skills as a storyteller because you're never embarrassed to tell the crazy tales you've experienced.

Even though you might not be too cool under pressure, you can capture an audience describing your outing on Friday when you accidently ripped your friend’s favorite dress at the ass.

Oops.

Photo Courtesy: Nickelodeon/Spongebob Squarepants