Confession: I’m super awkward. I mean, really awkward. Imagine the most awkward thing you’ve ever done. Now, imagine you did that, or something equivalent on the awkward scale, every day and you’ve reached my level of awkwardness.

The worst part about being super awkward is that sometimes you don’t even know that you’re being super awkward.

For example, I moved home for the summer and was helping my mom make dinner. I’m making quesadillas and she’s making guacamole. She starts talking about how much she loves the smell of cilantro and on and on and my only response, the only thing I can possible think to add to this conversation: "I like smells."

That’s it. That’s the only intelligent response I could come up with.

"I like smells."

She went quiet for the next minute or two waiting for me to elaborate. I just went on making quesadillas completely oblivious to how odd my statement was, that is until she responded, "You like smells?"

Yeah, I can’t even be un-awkward around my family.

But the best parts of leading an unbelievably awkward life are all the funny stories and crazy memories you get from just living in the world.

The other night, my friends and I sat around talking about our old high school days; remembering super awkward situations that led us to nothing but fits of giggles and healthy embarrassment. We talked about running down hallways to avoid confronting a boy that someone may/or may not/ but definitely did like. We talked about our strange haircuts and straight-up embarrassing fashion choices. We talked about a special boy walking one of us to our door and instead of giving a goodnight kiss, knocking his hat off his head and running inside.

And the really amazing thing is that no matter how awkward those situations were at the time, no matter how many nights we sat up in bed wondering, "Why, why did I do that?" Looking back, it’s not really that big of deal.

So instead of always being tied down by how insanely awkward I am, I’m trying a new approach.

Let’s face it, I’m probably always going to say super awkward things or just by instinct do something super awkward (like knocking off a hat and running away) but I can choose to either let that awkwardness weigh me down, or I can embrace it.

Embracing your awkwardness can be as simple as laughing at yourself and not dwelling on how a situation could have gone better. Embracing the awkward opens you up for joy in every situation.

Embracing the awkward is embracing life.