Adolescent awkwardness is nearly impossible to avoid. But if you’re tired of the uncomfortable silences, judgmental stares and raised eyebrows, read up on Statesman’s guidelines on how to properly deal with daily Stevenson struggles

Traveler Problems

Even after sprinting out of class, climbing up and down the stairs with the agility of an Olympic champion and expertly weaving through crowds of students who move at the pace of a glacier melting, you’re still late as you travel from the 8000s to the 2700s. You dread the moment when you have to walk into class with everyone looking up at you, giving you looks of disapproval that are worse than your mother’s face when she sees that you certainly did not clean your room. The solution? Bring some speakers from home, put on some lip gloss and blast Lil Mama’s “Lip Gloss” while you walk into class. Everyone will be so dazzled by your poppin’ lip gloss that they won’t even notice your tardiness.

Bathroom Permission

Twenty minutes into a lecture with no apparent plans of taking a break, you need to get your teacher’s permission to go to the bathroom. You attempt to distract yourself by playing games on your iPad, but it’s not enough. Although you would only have to interrupt your teacher for a few seconds, you’re afraid of what will happen if you break their monotonous teaching. Different scenarios of having to answer your teacher’s questions for the rest of the year, never being permitted to use the bathroom again and being shunned for the rest of your school career cross your mind. Unfortunately, there’s no way around this dilemma, so brave it out and raise your hand. Worse case scenario, your class never talks to you again and calls you the “Lecture Breaker.” Don’t worry; it’s worth it.

Dying iPad

Your iPad has become your ultimate classroom learning tool, but between soccer practice and homework you forgot to charge it last night, and only have 10 percent left. Although you have your charger, the only available outlet is on the other side of the classroom next to the windows, where a draft of cool air reduces even the fiercest students into ice cubes who can’t function for the rest of class. Instead of moving all the way across your classroom, only use your iPad if your teacher glares at you while asking you to go to a website for a specific purpose, and take your notes on a piece of paper. Although using a pencil and paper may seem like a prehistoric concept that may outdate dinosaurs, it’s better than trying to survive weather like the cold days. Again.