I'm going to share with you something I wrote in an attempt to better understand a whole lot of things. I guess you could say that what is to follow could be classified as 'deep' and 'philosophical'. The points I will be covering (but may not make sense just reading the words - they will all make sense once you have read the hub - they all link) are:

Awkward(ness)

Signs

Analysis

Judgement

Assume

Stereotype

Unique

Same

Similar

Doubt

Paranoia

Instinct

So, let's begin. Oh, and by the way, there are plenty more of these hubs to come!

Awkward. The definition in the dictionary is as follows: Awkward. adj. 1. clumsy or ungainly. 2. embarrassed. 3. difficult to use or handle. 4. inconvenient. Awkwardly adv. Awkwardness n. I guess you could say that feeling awkward is equal to feeling uneasy or slightly fearful. What a vague emotion.

We show emotions (such as awkwardness) through body language, speech and speed of reaction... but you already knew that, right? Right. Well, apparently human beings use body language to communicate 80% of the time. I guess speech and speed of reaction make up the other 20%. I spend a lot of my time analysing the way people stand, the way they hesitate when they go to speak, the way they use their hands to gesture, even the way they speak without making a sound or movement - language of the eye.

Sign n. 1. indictation of something not immediately or outwardly observable. 2. gesture, mark or symbol conveying a meaning. 3. notice displayed to advertise, inform or warn. 4. visible indictation. I'll stop there. I think you understand what I am trying to indicate to you. One this I know for a fact is, I am good at communicating using just my eyes; nothing more, nothing less. I observe people everyday without them noticing I'm actually doing it. Yeah, I'm good like that. I can analyse a complete stranger's body language etc and tell you almost instantly what kind of person he/she is and their strong communication (as well as not-so-strong communication) points. Sounds like a special power or something, eh?

Analysis (an-nal-liss-iss) n, pl-ses [-seez]. 1. separation of a whole into its parts for study and interpretation. 2. psychoanalysis. Analyse. [an-nal-lize] v. 1. make an analysis of (something). 2. psychoanalyse. Wow, doesn't that just make me sound judgemental... and just slightly perverted... a little crazy even. Judgement is classified as reaching an opinion after careful thought. See, the difference between analysis and judgement is, analysis reaches a conclusion based on visible fact whereas judgment is reached by opinion through means of assumption.

Assume v 1. take to be true without proof. We are all judgemental, whether we like to admit it or not. You see two men walking down the street holding hands, you automatically assume they are two homosexual lovers, don't you? I mean, come on, it is very unlikely that those two men are just really good friends and/or work colleagues. Chances are, they are both 'gay'. That's right, the most common trait us humans share is stereotypical judgement. Stereotyping and judging seem to compliment each other so well! They must be 'gay'... oh, and that guy over there who is as muscular as Arnold, must be on steroids because there is just no way those muscles originated from hard work, is there? Stereotype n 1. standardized idea of a type of person or thing. 2. monotonously familiar idea. v 3. form a stereotype of.

I could say that all humans are exactly the same, but I wouldn't want to lose my anti-stereotypical uniqueness, would I? Unique [you-neek] adj. 1. being the only one of a particular type. 2. without equal or like. UNIQUE TO concerning or belonging to a particular person, thing or group. Uniquely adv. In other words, telling you that I am unique is saying I am one-of-a-kind; there is no one out there the same as me. Could there be someone out there similar to me though?

Same adj 1. identical, not different, unchanged.

Similar adj 1. alike but not indentical.

So I guess you could say that the word same and the word similar have meanings that are similar but not the same. Man, I crack myself up sometimes! Confused yet? Good... I think...

Doubt n. 1. uncertainty about the truth, facts, or existence of something. 2. unresolved difficulty or point. v 3. question the truth of. 4. distrust or be suspicious of (someone). Doubter n. Doubtful adj. Doubtless adv probably or certainly.

I reckon that doubt would rank in the top 10 of the most common, and consistently felt emotions in-built within us all... closely followed by paranoia of course! Paranoia is technically classified as a mental illness, but in my opinion, there are two types of paranoia; the paranoia associated with mental illness and the paranoia associated with doubt. We all know the one I'm talking about... I'd described it as an in-built instinct.

Paranoia n 1. mental illness causing delusion of grandeur or persecution. 2. (informal) intense fear or suspicion. In my honest opinion, if you're suspicious of someone, confront them about it and they reply with something along the lines of, "No, you're just paranoid," chances are they are lying and your 'paranoia' was indeed valid. All I am saying is that it is more than probable. Instinct n 1. inborn tendency to behave in a certain way. Instinctive adj. Instinctively adv.

I know what you're thinking right now... "How in the hell did we end up talking about instinct when we started on the topic of awkwardness?!" Easy. I just took you in one big circle. Awkwardness is just an instinct... don't you agree? It is one of the many emotions we feel that warns us, "Hey, step back, you don't wanna go there... going this far was awkward enough! Slow down Cowboy!" - Instinct - protection. We are protected by our emotions yet we are left so vulnerable. Ironic, huh?