Are you feeling embarrassed? Everyone has those moments that they wish they could just forget. Maybe you tripped up in front of everyone. Maybe you were asked a question when you weren’t listening. Or maybe you waved at someone who didn’t wave back. We’ve all been there. Don’t worry, feeling embarrassed is human. Although we’re taught to not revel in other people’s misfortune, today, we will learn from it instead.
Embarrassed Student 1: Silence in the Library?
A few weeks ago, my brother told me about an unfortunate thing that happened to his friend, who we will call Daniel. This happened at Daniel’s first meeting for his group project. As the group sat together in the library planning who would do what, Daniel found himself allocated the worst possible role. As this was happening, he was swinging back and forth on his chair, and when the news hit, his chair hit the floor and he fell down. As he didn’t know any of these people personally (they had just met), he had to recover himself in silence as they all stared at him, blankly. Not to mention, the rest of the library had been interrupted by the bang of his chair against the ground. As we all do, he realised afterwards just how bad the situation was, as his group must have thought that he had, in anger, come down with his chair when he was allocated his role.
Embarrassed Student 2: “My Phone English No So Good” – Gloria Pritchett (Modern Family)
St Andrews University is known for its multiculturalism. Lily speaks many languages. In her first tutorial, she shared this with her classmates. They were all very impressed, especially because she was so much younger than they were – she was only seventeen at the time. Her tutor then inquired about her age. Clearly, English isn’t one of the many languages she has mastered as she replied, “seven”. The whole class laughed, including the teacher, whilst Lily sat there humbled beyond belief.
Embarrassed Student 3: The Hunger Games
Paul was on a mission. Around lunchtime, he realised he had left his lunch in a lecture theatre. Determined to retrieve it, he went back in, even though there was another lecture going on. As he searched between the rows and under seats, the lecturer stopped. He asked, “What are you looking for?” Paul informed him that he was searching for his lost lunch. At this, everyone in the lecture theatre started looking around with him. Fortunately, he found his lunch and enjoyed it very much. His determination teaches us that sometimes taking the extra step and putting ourselves in an uncomfortable position can bring about the best outcome.
Embarrassed Student 4: “Ooh, Close One There!”
Anna arrived late to her lecture. As she was walking down the steps, looking for a place to sit, trying to be as subtle as possible – she tripped! She almost fell over, but she was able to reach out and hold on for dear life to the edge of one of the rows. As she attempted to recover herself, the lecturer paused and said: “Ooh, close one there!” and then returned to the lecture. When recalling this memory, Anna said: “I’m actually burning up just thinking about it.” I think that the lecturer made the situation a bit better, as he turned it into something humorous. But yeah, I would never get over that either. I hope she wasn’t hurt, although I think the pain of the embarrassment, or the “mortification” (in her words), would eclipse any physical pain sustained.
Hopefully, some of these stories have helped you to get over any lingering embarrassment you have been trying to suppress for the last week (or worse, year). While second-hand, and even more so, first-hand embarrassment can be painful, the good thing about embarrassing moments is that they make for entertaining stories that remind us that we are all completely at the mercy of the fates. Go easy on yourself!