Take off in a dead sprint to the bathroom and lock yourself in the stall for the rest of eternity.Д®ven if the person is crazy enough to actually follow you all the way to the bathroom, they can't make you unlock the stall. Honestly, not many people are likely to bend down and say, вЂњExcuse me, are you avoiding me?вЂќ (If they do, just play dead. Either way, you're pretty likely to get out of saying hello. Maybe they'll walk by and pretend like they didn't see you, or maybe they'll stare as they walk by. OK, so this one takes a bit more dedication because there's a fairly good chance the person will notice when you immediately crawl underneath the nearest object. Crawl underneath anything next to you: a table, a clothing rack, maybe even a chair. You might have to pick up a blanket and read the tag or even a milk carton and read the label, but as long as you look focused, you've probably succeeded at avoiding an awkward conversation. Making eye contact with people can be extremely awkward no matter what, but if you turn and pretend to be busy, there's a good chance that they won't stop and bother you. If you're in a store, turn and pick up the nearest item, pretend to read the label and pray they don't say hello. It really doesn't matter where you turn, just make sure to look completely focused on what's ahead of you. Maybe you turn down the toy aisle in a Target or maybe you turn into the nearest shoe store. OK, if you think doing a 180-degree turn is maybe a little much, you could always just take a right when you see them.

Turn, immediately do not pass go, do not collect $200, just turn. Unless the other person is extremely determined, they're either going to think that you hate them or you just didn't see them (honestly, neither are really that bad). I don't care if you made eye contact, I don't care if they saw you, I don't even care if they started raising their hand and opening their mouth as if to start talking to you, just turn around. Literally turn around when you see them full-on walk in the opposite direction. It really is the best of both worlds, as Hannah would say. Plus, if you're on the phone, you can just walk by and whisper, вЂњHey! Good to see you! So sorry, I'm busy!вЂќ This way, you seem both polite and genuinely busy. Sometimes pretending like I'm not alone is way easier than actually being alone in the produce section of a super busy grocery store. If we're going to be honest here, I do this even when I'm just surrounded by strangers. Pretend someone is calling you and вЂњanswerвЂќ the phone. Here are seven things you can do when you see someone in public, instead of stopping to say hello: 1. In fact, I'm super outgoing, but small talk is one of my least favorite things of all time, so I avoid it at all cost, which, naturally, means avoiding the majority of familiar faces in public as well. I don't have a problem talking to people. You see, there are two kinds of people in the world: people like my mother, who will say hi to you even if she only met you once in a line for a ride at Disney World on a Tuesday afternoon 17 years ago, andВ people like me, who will literally turn and run the other direction if I see you in public.

Then of course there'sВ the people from your hometown whoВ you know everything about, but just aren't friends with. You know, the classmates you haven't talked to in years, or that one boy that you had a three-hour conversation with when you were out one night, but never heard from again.

Now, to clarify, I should mention that I always say hi to close friends in public, but it's the acquaintances I have a problem with. OK, well it's not a real disease, but it is a real problem that I actually have. Hi, my name is Kaelly Welsh and I suffer from a disease called вЂњrun as fast as you can when you see someone in public you know.вЂќ

Stopping by to say hi