Picture yourself in one of your larger lectures; you know, the 200-400 person one. Are you always early to that class? Or are there some days when, whether it be your fault or not, you just happen to make it there in the nick of time? If you’re in denial, or just a big fat liar, you’ll say you’re always in class with 20 minutes to spare, in the front row and ready to learn. If you’re an honest person, you’ll have said you can relate with option two every now and again. Going off the assumption that we’re all honest, we’ve all experienced that awkward “where am I going to sit” situation.

Personally, I am a slow walker; and when my professor lets me out late everyday, leaving me only 10 minutes to get to my next class across campus, try as I might I still only manage to get there with seconds remaining. Obviously, at this point, the other two to four hundred students in my class without this issue have already selected seats. Which seats do they choose? The aisle seats. What seats does this leave for the stragglers? The middle. God forbid the first people in the auditorium file in next to the people they don’t know. How awkward would that be? Well, probably not as awkward as me, shoving my backpack or my backside in your face, stepping on your purse or bag on the floor, or disrupting class in general as I try to scoot by you.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a jerk. I’m constantly repeating my apologies until I finally get to my seat five angry students later. However, let’s take a closer look at the situation. The students who got there super early chose their seat. They all had a choice, and they picked to sit anywhere and everywhere but the middle. If I have to pass by you to get to a seat that you knowingly didn’t sit in, then you have absolutely no right to dramatically sigh, roll your eyes, or glare at me because when you really think about it, you brought this upon yourself. While I am truly sorry to the girl whose coach purse I stepped on with muddy shoes, if you had moved one seat down we wouldn’t have had a problem. So save the drama for your mama because if you consciously chose a seat that people have to force themselves by to get to the desk one over, that’s completely on you. Rule of thumb when choosing a seat in lectures: Move in or get over it.

Ali Strand can be reached at [email protected].