Everyone has been there. You’re walking to class and on your right is a couple making out against the lockers. On your left is a couple hugging as though they will never see each other again. In front of you is a couple awkwardly trying to find a way to walk and hug at the same time. Public displays of affection are not an uncommon sight in the hallways and maybe it’s just me, but seeing those couples makes me feel like my breakfast is coming back up.
The touching and kissing in the hallways is nothing but unnecessary. I understand the occasional hand-holding but why the making out? What about South’s hallways is in any way romantic? Is it the dingy lockers with chewed gum on the sides? Or maybe the harsh fluorescent lighting that makes everyone’s skin a weird yellowish color?
Beyond the making out, there is nothing more annoying than the random touching. The awkward lower back hold that some boyfriends apparently like to do is so uncomfortable to be around. And a boy holding his girlfriend’s belt loops does not make me think, “Wow, they must really like each other!” It is grotesque.
I get that couples may really like each other, but what is the point of showing it in the hallways? Is it about proving that you’re in a relationship with someone? Because if that’s the case, anyone who has a Facebook can see that. Often couples who feel the need to show their love in public are lacking true affection. They do their best to try to compensate by letting everyone know they like each other. Students who feel the need to display their affection for the entire Shawnee Mission South student body in every passing period do not amuse me. It is no different than if they were to go out on the court during a pep assembly and make out for five minutes. Either way, everyone can see, and everyone feels uncomfortable. I promise that restraining from partaking in PDA between the hours of 7:40 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. will not kill you.
Aside from the fact that it makes everyone around the PDA want to vomit, it has to be uncomfortable for the couple too. There is no way that making out five feet away from a teacher and then walking into class isn’t awkward.
Obviously I have made my stance on PDA clear. I am positive that everyone who doesn’t try to show their love in public would agree with me too. Just please couples, have some respect for yourselves, and the rest of us who didn’t ask to watch you make out. The bottom line is no one thinks it’s cute. Odds are I’m already in a bad mood from just having to be at school in the first place, and nothing makes my day worse than seeing tons of couples embracing against the lockers during a passing period. Please, please, please, just wait until you are at the very least out of the building for everyone’s sake.