The rift between the street-savvy and the book-smart has always been one to stump psychologists and ordinary folk across the world. How can people with perfect ACT scores be unable to read sarcasm, and how did a former C-student run our country from 2000 to 2008?

Two words seem critical in answering that question: life skills.

Lately, I’ve wondered how college kids manage to master their academics while also saving enough time to foster new life skills — like changing tires or giving toasts — day-to-day. I know I struggle with this balance. I’m grateful for my top-notch Marquette education. But I can’t help but notice the tiny gaps in knowledge that remain.

Recently, I tried hanging a picture by hammering a screw into my wall. I burn 50 percent of all chicken fillets I try to saute, and when someone once told me they were sorry to hear that my grandmother had passed away, I idiotically responded,
“No problem.”

So maybe these aren’t just minor life skills I’m lacking — maybe I need a bit of an overhaul. That’s why I’ve made a list of etiquette rules and random tasks I remain clueless about and will tackle one every week in this column.

I could easily allow Google to clear up my confusion, but I want my answers to come from the people I truly trust: my friends. I’ve noticed that despite being as young as I am, they’ve managed to rack up some impressive life skills. My friend Casey has known how to change a tire since she was 16, my friend Jen is licensed to both drive a school bus and perform CPR and my roommate is proficient in knitting and fire building.

So without further ado, the first item on the list: the social kiss.

For years, I’ve only expected to see the social kiss (also known as the “air kiss”) in European cities and at red carpet premieres. I typically stick to hugs with friends and family and handshakes with everyone else. But as an effect of globalization, the social kiss is growing more popular in all regions of the US. It’s not just reserved for the famous and the foreign anymore.

The kiss is appropriate in social settings as well as on some business occasions on the East and West coasts. Still, the trend hasn’t hit Midwest offices yet, so settle on handshakes for your next interview.

Everywhere else, the social kiss is fair game. The following tips will help polish your technique.

The first, and most crucial rule: always turn your right cheek. If you can remember to do this, you can almost always avoid kissing the other person on the lips, which is ideal.

Actually, you don’t even want to kiss the other person’s cheek; the object is to just press your cheek against theirs while puckering your lips (hence, the “air kiss”). Sound effects are optional.

As far as the rest of your body goes, you can shake the person’s hand, give an upper-body hug or lightly grip their elbows.

Perfecting the social kiss, my friends advised me, takes practice. So practice on your own friends or on whomever is least-bothered by receiving an accidental peck on the lips from you.

After all, as awkward as they may be, accidents are what we remember and, in turn, what we learn from. Contrary to what we may think, they don’t stop occurring once we stop practicing and start perfecting.

That’s exactly what makes the social kiss so powerful: its element of risk. Just to attempt it requires confidence, and to recover from a poorly executed kiss requires even more. But we live in a world where the most valuable etiquette skills are learned by word of mouth, not textbooks. Human interaction is simply invaluable. So if you want to make the most of it, my advice is to drop your handshake and go in for the real thing. No matter how smooth or sticky it turns out, you’ll leave an imprint on someone’s memory.