{"id":5752,"date":"2020-11-20T20:00:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T01:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=5752"},"modified":"2020-11-20T20:00:18","modified_gmt":"2020-11-21T01:00:18","slug":"how-to-avoid-hot-topics-around-the-dinner-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=5752","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Hot Topics Around the Dinner Table"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Kaelyn Spickler<\/em><\/p>\n

The holidays are here, and if you think the usual small-talk you have with your second cousin at the table during Thanksgiving is bad, I can only imagine what this year will bring. Normally college students like to avoid inquiries on plans for next year (especially if you are a senior), any mention of relationship status, and how the semester turned out academically. This year we have a few more topics to add to the table with the recent election or if wearing a mask is democratic or not, so here is how to avoid all of the awkward conversations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Plan your escape route. While you\u2019re saying grace around the kitchen, try to spot out the perfect spot at the table that will allow you easy access to the kitchen or bathroom if things get awkward.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Call dibs to sit with your favorite cousin. We all have that favorite cousin, or if you\u2019re lucky, all of your cousins are your favorite, so you\u2019ll have more options to choose from. Either way, surround yourself around people you know will back you up, help you get out of the conversation, or pretend to spill the gravy on you to distract everyone away from the conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Eat a big spoonful of the mashed potatoes. Follow this by complimenting the chef, and not just any ol\u2019 \u201cthis is good.\u201d You have to go all out here if you want to avoid the conversation getting steered back to the question at hand. Try \u201cOh my gosh this is the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. Aunt Sally, where did you get the recipe?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Change the subject. This can be done casually, and it can be done obviously. Do your best to make it as casual of a transition as you can, but if all else fails, blurt out \u201cso are the Cowboys going to beat the Washington Football Team?\u201d If your family is divided with Dallas fans and Washington fans, then maybe pick a different game.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Answer politely. If you feel all eyes are on you and you can\u2019t change the topic, then smile, answer very briefly, smile again, and then change the subject. You can even say \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d or \u201cI don\u2019t want to talk about that right now.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As the movie Christmas Vacation says, \u201cIt\u2019s Christmas. We are all in misery.\u201d But, it doesn\u2019t have to be that way, especially if you can avoid getting into a fist fight with your grandma over the election (be careful, she has a cane!), or get out of answering the million dollar question- \u201cHave you started applying for jobs and where at?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Good luck everyone!<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Written by Kaelyn Spickler The holidays are here, and if you think the usual small-talk you have with your second cousin at the table during Thanksgiving is bad, I can only imagine what this year will bring. Normally college students like to avoid inquiries on plans for next year (especially if you are a senior),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-5752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-summer2019"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}