The man walks in a gait so suave, it humbles those who walk past him. He starts down the steps from the academic quad, the long and winding descent through the Tisch area, as he heads toward the campus center.
Amidst his sense of poise, though, one can sense a sheepish, self-conscious look in his eyes, which does, of course, make his movement all the more appealing to those less knowing in the field of how to walk around campus. The man's game is solid, he has his act and he sticks with it. There is quite a bit to know in the world of walking around campus and greeting acquaintances, but this man has it down. He's got himself together.
The man, let's call him Dave, is a "how's it going" guy. At one point, he was more of a "what's up" guy but he decided to lose that image. It was too... too harsh. He wants to be a little more caring and thoughtful than the "what's up" people. In fact, he almost went so far as to be among the people that just say "hey" and nod their heads and smile. Of course, with all of these gestures, the expectation is to tilt the head in an upward direction, raise the eyebrows slightly, and smile insincerely. That's a given, but the ones who just exclaim "hey" are either too mysterious or too laid back, and Dave is not looking for that image either.
If you really want to know the truth about it, Dave, in high school, was the "what up" guy.
Logically, he saw the world saying "what's up" as being too drawn out and verbose. He thought to himself, "Ya' know something. They'll know what I mean if I drop the contracted 's' at the end of 'what's' and instead say the ever so-much easier 'what.' Sure, I might sound like a moron, but I think Tufts will accept me anyway."
His mistake is a common one, and that is why Dave is so much happier saying "how's it going." He is in college. Dave is a big boy. He knows that if he wants to succeed in this world, he is going to have do a little better than "what up." From the very first day of his freshman year, whenever Dave wanted to ask how someone was, and did not want an answer back, he was, and still is, determined to say, as proud as a peacock, "how's it going."
Back to our little story. Dave is walking down those stairs, past all the creamsicle-orange and baby diarrhea-green colored posters, exerting a sense of cockiness as he goes. Dave is pleased. In the distance, coming up the pathway to the steps, is a figure he recognizes. The person he sees is familiar, but not that familiar, which is just fine with Dave. Dave has things to do, people to see, and is not interested in visiting with a friend. All he needs is his fix of worthless interaction. And this is what Dave gets.
Dave stares intensely at the figure for a few yards, but as the person gets closer, Dave suddenly turns on his "approaching persona". He turns away, looking down at his feet, perhaps fiddling with a pencil, in his ever-present desire to look carefree. His walk changes to more drawn out, slower strides. This other person, Dave hardly knows. He doesn't know his name, his year, where he is from; all Dave does knows is that he knows this guy, somehow.
Dave, that embodiment of confidence that we all know and love, is putting his money on the fact that the other guy knows Dave too, at least well enough for the exchange they both desire.
They walk at their respective paces, closer and closer to the big moment. And finally, with much anticipation, Dave is ready. The other dude is also ready.
The other guy speaks first. He looks at Dave, and simultaneously smiles, nods his head upwards, and raises his eyebrows. He says, "what's up." Mind you, he does not say, "What's up?" (with a question mark) because the other guy is clever and wise, knowing that while his sentence is a question, he is certainly not seeking an answer. He says, "What is up" but does not really care. And the exchange continues.
It is now Dave's turn. As quick as the other guy's turn was, so comes Dave's gestures. "How's it going," with the smile, tilt, and eyebrows. And they are done. Both walk by each other without stopping. It's like EZPass instead of stopping and paying the toll. They are not interested in giving each other an answer. This exchange was plainly for outside reasons.
And that's all. Dave continues his walk with a smile, in his very perfect world. Dave's world is one where everyone thinks they are friendly conscience citizens, though this altruism is limited to the three seconds it takes to walk by someone. And people walk by a lot of other people.
Eitan Hersch is a freshman who has not yet declared a major.
