What would you do?

JJLemon18

There are three empty seats in a row. Do you sit in the first one, middle one, or the one at the end?

In any case, i made a stupid mistake and chose the middle seat. A bit later, someone sat next to me and put me in a very difficult conundrum; do I move over a seat, or not?

Cause on one hand, I dont want to appear unfriendly or rude by moving away. But on the other hand, that person would probably appreciate if I gave them more space.

So after a bit of anxious overthinking I decided it'd probably be best if i moved. But by the time i came to this conclusion (and overcame the initial anxiety of having another human being next to me lol) it was already too late to move, cause that'd seem even more strange, moving away like 5 minutes after they already sat there. Like I was 'too committed' at that point I'm such a weirdo.

This happened at a lecture and because of this I got so anxious that I left early

What would you do in this situation?

AnonymousToe

I have no idea, I’d just panic.
I wouldn’t wanna be in the way but then I also wouldn’t want to seem like I hate the person. I suppose the best thing would be to ask them but that would be awkward too. Honestly though, I doubt the other person paid any attention to it.
You’re not a weirdo! 🧡

JJLemon18

@AnonymousToe Yeah I thought about asking them (not like I'd have the courage to do that anyways) but that also seems like a weird thing to do, especially since I wouldn't want to bother them over something so little. Also that would just be moving this problem over to them, putting them in a very uncomfortable and awkward situation, even worse than mine.

Also appreciate the orange heart

Maisy

That's a tricky one. I don't think you made a mistake though.

Of course, you don't want to move after someone has just sat down next to you because it might appear rude. But I'm also wondering why you felt they might want some space? A lot of the time people just sit wherever and we never really know what someone else is thinking- for all we know, maybe they thought you didn't sit on the end seat because you were saving it for someone. I agree that you could ask if they wanted you to move across, but I also feel that you don't really have to move unless the lecture hall starts filling up and you need to save space for others.

I can really relate to the overthinking part though. I know it's no fun sat there thinking a lot and then realising you've taken such a long time that it would now appear 'odd' to take action. But even then, it wouldn't matter...the other person might just think you were keeping a seat for someone, waited a while, they didn't show up so you moved across so that the other person could move over if they needed to. But chances are, the other person was probably busy with their own thoughts, they might not have given much attention to the seats anyway.

Either way, you're not a weirdo, don't worry!