No one is comfortable having awkward conversations. Having them tends to make us anxious or scared. However there are times when awkward conversations with people like our parents, teachers or friends cannot be avoided. Despite this, there are times when we still try to avoid such conversations, especially when they have the potential to compromise of relationships. Here are a list of ‘would you rathers’ to help us decide just how much awkwardness we’re willing to endure within our friendships:

You have a friend who practises poor hygiene. Everyone laughs at her about it behind her back, but she doesn’t notice. She is a good friend but she has huge self-esteem issues that cause her to lash out at you every time you two have an argument about it. You’re afraid that if you tell her, she might lash out and tell your teacher that you cheated on your exam when she warned you not to.
Would you rather:

• Risk her telling the teacher (95%)
• Continue to let everyone laugh behind her back (5%)

Brandon, 18: “As a real friend I couldn’t continue to let her be laughed at. So I would tell her despite the consequences to me.” 
Natalie , 15:  “I’d tell her for her sake but if she lashes out like that we’d probably end up not talking for a while.” 

You and your friend pride yourselves on being the two best students in your class. You two even tended to be snobby about your performance to the rest of the class. Recently you failed a test but your friend aced it. It’s the first time this has happened and you hide it from your friend. Seeing as everyone but your friend failed the test, the teacher is going to give a makeup test on the same topic that you find you don’t understand it. The test is tomorrow and you really need help but you’re afraid that you friend will  think less of you for failing in the first place.
Would you rather:

• Risk asking your friend for help (80%)
• Try learning the topic alone and risk failing the test (20%)

Abigail, 14:  “If it’s a true friend then they won’t think less of me. I wouldn’t risk failing a test for that.”

Lindon, 17: “If it was just one test then I’d likely try learning the topic alone and make a note to study extra hard to make sure I don’t fail another test and hurt my average or get into that situation with my again.”

Your friend has an ex that she/he often complains to you about. You’ve recently become friends with said ex and you find that you have a crush on them. You really like this person and you feel like there’s a chance you won’t find a better match for your personality than them. But your friend still seems to hate this ex.
Would you rather:

• Tell your friend that you like his/her ex (40%)
• Bury your feelings and refrain from pursuing the ex (60%)

Dania, 18:  “The best thing is to talk it out with my friend and hope he/she understands. Even if it doesn’t end with me dating the ex, I’d still need to get something like that off my chest if it were me.”
Rachel, 19: “I actually believe in the whole ‘girl code’ thing so I’d never pursue any of my friends’ exes. That would just feel weird.”

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