<p>Like phuriku, I think the most common “complaints” are actually pretty cool things.</p>
<p>On social awkwardness: It comes in a few varieties. </p>
<p>Sometimes socially awkward people are so self-centered that they don’t realize that they insult easily (this happens all the time everywhere and I don’t think there’s a higher occurrence of self-centered people at Chicago than elsewhere, but I do think that the Chicago self-centered tend to deviate from socially tolerated norms a bit more).</p>
<p>Other times, people don’t pick up on more subtle cues, such as when a conversation is over. These people are not as aggravating as those who are self-centered, but it can be a little frustrating.</p>
<p>Other times, people deviate from the norm and are pretty shameless about keeping their personalities on a leash. Think funny hats and pajama pants and such.</p>
<p>But most of the time, people are just people. They don’t wear a giant, flashing, “I GO TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO AND IT SHOWS” sign. And if anything, I think I’ve benefited from being around some socially awkward people. Being the introvert that I am, I get embarrassed in social interactions pretty easily. It’s very hard to get embarrassed here, and if you do happen to embarrass yourself, you always know that they’ve seen worse.</p>