Whether or not you’re connected to someone you’ve never met on Facebook, you still have a mutual friend with any given person across campus. It comes in the form of glass bottles, shot glasses, mugs and pitchers, and it’s great at introducing people to one another.

After a few rounds with this mutual buddy, you and everyone in Zypher’s have suddenly become best friends. Anyone from classmates to mere acquaintances to complete strangers are suddenly saying, “I (expletive)-ing love you. You are the (expletive),” or something along those lines.

You and your new best friend, thanks to Capt. Morgan or Andre or Jose, dance to “Call On Me,” spend the whole night walking (or stumbling) circles around the bar and maybe even exchange phone numbers because you are “definitely partying together next weekend.”

But Friday morning when you are walking to Dallas Hall and pass by your new “best friend,” it gets really awkward. Both of you avoid eye contact and quickly reach for your cell phones so you look busy.

Upon this situation, three possible scenarios arise. One: You don’t want to remember the other person. Two: You don’t want that person to remember you. Three: Maybe you actually don’t remember each other at all. We’ve probably experienced all of these situations at some point or another.

Unless you fall under situation number three, it’s pointless to pretend you don’t recognize your old pal from the previous night. Almost all of us have woken up with an embarrassing story, and because of that we are all sympathetic of each other.

So why can’t we just swallow our pride and say hello like normal human beings?

Maybe some people want to appear cooler or drunker than they actually were. Maybe some lack the skills to be friendly without a margarita and the others are just plain awkward.

It’s time we get over ourselves and act like the student body we are. The Princeton Review recently rated SMU as the fourth Happiest College Campus, so apparently we have the potential to be friendly to one another.

Now it’s time to act on that. Don’t expect to find the love of your life or future bridesmaid if you can’t muster up the courage to say hello the next day. At least wave; it’s a universal language that even hung-over college students can.

We’re all in this together, and we might as well let down our guards and be sociable – during the sober moments, also. Don’t stop having a good time with Jack D. and Jim B. and the interesting people they introduce to you – I’m sure they’d be disappointed if you did.

But you’re on your own the next morning when you have to say “hey” to those people. (Well, you are unless you’re still feeling that last Jaeger-bomb.) Whatever the case is, smile, say hello, laugh, whatever. You might actually make a real “best friend” this time.

Annalise Ghiz is a junior journalism major. She may be contacted at [email protected].