It’s lunch time. You are sitting with your friends, laughing, eating and enjoying your lunch period. Then you glance up. You see a couple at their lunch table. They aren’t eating food though. They’re eating the other’s faces.
PDA—public displays of affection—is something we have all experienced in one form or another. Whether we are guilty of it ourselves, or are the unfortunate witnesses of it, we’ve all experienced it. Of course not all PDA is bad. Holding hands in the hallway or hugging that significant other isn’t bad. It’s the kissing and groping I feel has gotten out of hand. I walk around corners in the school, praying I don’t slam into a couple going at it.
I always hear people in the hallways say things like, “I hate PDA,” or “Why can’t they stay off each other during school?” Some of these people, however, are guilty of PDA themselves. Yet they are complaining about it. Hypocritical, right?
From my personal experiences, I can say that maybe these people don’t realize how bad their PDA really is. I have heard people saying things like “They hang all over each other.” I am totally disgusted by PDA. Yes, I was a hypocrite. Did I realize it? No. That’s the problem many people are having. Now that I have been able to step back and think about how I was, I realize I was doing exactly what I was complaining about when it came to other people. I finally understood I was a part of one of those couples making people uncomfortable.
It’s not just the students who are uncomfortable though. Try to imagine how the teachers feel. They stand outside their classrooms and they see all of this PDA around them. What if it were the other way around? How would you feel if you were walking through the halls and you saw your teachers making out? It would be uncomfortable.
I encourage all of you to take a step back and seriously look at what level your PDA is at. Think about the uncomfortable people. Think of the things you are doing in public places. You may come to see what I’ve seen: Not everything is as private as it seems. It is all a learning experience, though. Just take the time to understand. Take the time to see not only what is around you, but what you are doing yourself. You may learn something.