Free hugs!

Mission: Spread LOVE <3

I have completed my senior social science project with the help of the exotic dancing sensation, Nadia. She and I journeyed to the mall, and bestowed the gift of an affectionate hug upon the empty souls trying to fill their hearts by shopping for possessions, but had never felt a drop of love. I have recorded our findings.

Before: Nadia is feeling the love tonight.

We got off to a bit of a slow start. I wanted for both of us to participate in our free hugs mission, but Nadia got scared and I had to take matters into my own paws. I walked out into the middle of the big open area near the apple store, and waved the free hugs sign around. Mostly everyone ignored me, and the people who did acknowledge my presence looked at me like I was an idiot. I managed to get Nadia to join me for a few minutes, but we had almost no luck.

David wants a free hug.

Since it was going so poorly, I decided I would have to step up my game. We went to the second floor, and I began walking around, holding the sign over my head, yelling for people’s attention. My dialogue went something like, “FREE HUGS! WHO WANTS A FREE HUG? YES! YOU! WHAT? WHY? WELL I DON’T EVEN WANT TO HUG YOU ANYMORE! BITCH!” I’ll admit, I was pretty rude to people who rejected me, which was the vast majority of them. I did, however, get a few.

This goddess was my most enthusiastic customer.

I'm pretty sure this kid thought I was mentally challenged, and was making fun of me.

During my turn, Nadia was either laughing at me, or keeping her distance out of embarrassment. Pretty soon, however, it was her time. She was initially very shy and apprehensive about the whole thing, but pretty soon had enough (lack of) dignity to wave my silly sign around, while I yelled, “FREE HUGS!” People generally seemed more willing to hug her, which makes sense, considering she’s probably not as intimidating a figure.

Nadia has met her frog prince.

I found that for the most part, I got the best reception from black girls, followed by white girls who were younger than me. For some reason, white girls who looked about my age or older tended to either look at me with disgust, or ignore me completely. In general, guys were less receptive to the whole thing. A lot of them laughed at me, or openly made fun of me. I did find, however, that people who dressed in alternative styles tended to be enthusiastic about the idea. At one point, based off of this information, I began predicting in my head who would want a free hug, and I was almost always right.

This girl hugged me twice. I must be incredibly desirable.

Nadia and I took turns for a while, taking periodic breaks to eat and go exploring, before calling it a night. I had a lot of fun, and would definitely consider doing it again.