If you’re a boy, you’ve probably seen a girl you like in the hallway, and wanted to compliment them on how cute they look or something. But then you stop mid-thought and realize they might think you’re creepy.

Why is that? An example is when I was working on something on a computer, and needed help. I called someone over, and one of the girls sitting near me came up to help. Another girl said to her, “I like your shirt!” (It had a print on it full of cats.) I liked it also, since I’m a big animal junkie, and inadvertently said, “I like it too!” But, after I said that, my heart basically did a triple backflip and the little subconscious angel in my mind basically said, “You are so stupid!”

Is this some sort of social protocol? I see a lot of other guys doing the same thing, but a lot of the reactions I see are generally extremely awkward encounters where the girl kind of gives that, “Uhhh, stop looking at my body, you creep!” expression. But instead, they attempt to be polite and say, “Thanks!” and then quickly walk away, talking to their friends about how weird “that kid” is.

What I really don’t get though is why certain guys can hit on girls and get away with it, but when a nerd like me tries, he looks creepy and is dismissed, generally in a rude way. Is it our fault for doing it the wrong way? Is it the girl’s fault for judging us based on our interests? It’s probably a mixture of both, but in my personal opinion, I think it’s more of the latter.

Why judge me based on my interests? Sure, I’m the aficionado of Scrabble, numbers and writing, and a majority of the time, that won’t be what girls like. Generally, I see girls judging other guys on these kinds of things, and the judged people, for the most part, have come to accept it. When boys do the same thing, I hear multiple derogatory names being thrown at them in return. Do girls think they have an advantage over us somehow? I’m not sure. I do think that it all eventually boils down to judging people too fast. I’m definitely guilty of this, and I’ve made friends after taking some time to get to know the person a bit better. It’s completely cliché, but don’t judge a book by its cover, and it’s what’s on the inside that counts.