Someday, we'll laugh.
I was a cheerleader in Junior High. For me, one of the great things about being a cheerleader was that cheerleaders wore their uniform to school on game days. At the beginning of the basketball season, we were all given a calendar marked with all of the days that we needed to wear our uniforms to school. I taped it to my bedroom wall. I loved not having worry about whether or not my outfit was “cool” on those days. But, when a couple weeks into the season we were all notified that one of the games next month was cancelled, I forgot to mark that down on my calendar.
When one of the other cheerleaders, wearing cool MC Hammer pants, saw me on the school bus that morning she reminded me the game had been canceled. She also made it clear that me wearing my cheerleading uniform on a non-game day was the Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen. She felt sorry for me but she wouldn’t sit by me.
As the bus got closer and closer to school, picking up more cheerleaders wearing regular outfits at each stop, I worked myself into a panic. My cheerleading uniform suddenly felt like the gaudiest, most ridiculous, Bozo-The-Clown of an outfit that a person could possibly be wearing.
I came up with a plan. When the bus got to school, I rushed to the locker room before my first class and changed into my gym uniform, which was just a blue school t-shirt and grey sweatpants. I felt like this would be much less conspicuous.
What I failed to anticipate was that wearing a gym uniform to class was just as weird and much harder to explain than wearing a cheerleading uniform to class. No one believed my story.
By third period that day, the explanation that really seemed to catch on was that I changed into my gym clothes because I had wet my pants.
People gave me a wide berth. Teachers looked at me with pity. I counted the minutes left in every class, and between classes I tried to walk behind large groups of tall, older kids to hide myself.
When I finally got home that day, and recounted the whole horrific ordeal to my mom, she was sympathetic but told me it would be funny, someday. I vehemently disagreed.
I held onto that memory as The Day The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen Happened for way too long. It is funny now, and it’s such a small thing that it’s barely worth remembering.
As an adult, I still embarrass myself at a pretty steady rate. But I've managed to get the turnaround time from "this will never be funny" to “funny” cut way down. I’m always inspired by people that can always laugh at themselves, right away in the moment. It’s a much more pleasant way to be.
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Comments
Karol Gajda Friday, January 22, 2010
A good plan would have been to wear the same outfit the next day. Or once/week. Who knows, maybe you'd have started a wear-sweat-pants-to-school trend. :)
BTW, when are we going to bring MC Hammer pants back?!
Eric Jaffa Friday, January 22, 2010
Were you also a cheerleader in high school?
Blargal D. Alien Friday, January 22, 2010
Hello,Brigitte.
My most embarrassing moment,involves being sent to get "squelch oil" for a radio,while in the military. I felt like such a noob,when I realized it was a s plentiful and sought after like Snipes.
romeo Friday, January 22, 2010
new kid, new fancy school, golf and cycling was optional for p.e. it was spring swimming season. i myself at the time being sophomore was typically anxious perhaps high strung mostly for reasons unknown to me till now.
apparently i wasn't alone. i got there early -some were still there from an earlier class. felt calm and panic at the same time. in slow motion -there i was at one moment by the urinals while all the stalls were taken. then i found myself drifting pass the supply attendant room -making eye contact with no immediate response. wanted desperately to convey the urgency but was already in a bee line for what felt like relief -yes i peed in the gym shower. and the attendant caught me in midstream. everyone around me froze. i heard nothing -what i saw was a face of a man apparently emotionally perturbed. he made me clean the entire gym shower area with a sponge. the showers were immense -i felt alone and numb -may be even enjoyed the process. only later realizing how that made me a hero in the eyes of my peers.
the level of compassion was false -like people saying they understand when they don't. smiles and nods were genuine.
my advice is to be objective.
comparison is a highway to misery...
Rob Friday, January 22, 2010
Aww, that's a cute story. Haha. We've ALL done something embarrassing in school. The most embarrassing thing that had happened in middle school was in some kind of Life class. We had to get into groups and "Write a play". Of course everyone in my group was a slacker and I ended up writing the whole thing. When it was time to actually act it, they got up in front of the class and acted it out. They made it sound so dull and boring and eventually said things like "this is stupid". Leaving me to feel like I was an idiot, lol.
Debbie Friday, January 22, 2010
Hilarious!!!
Mikhaela Saturday, January 23, 2010
Haha, that was really good. I really can't imagine you as a child though.
Joe436 Saturday, January 23, 2010
One time I woke up early before my alarm clock went off, I just woke up. Everyone else was still asleep and I saw no reason to wake them up. I got dressed, ate breakfast and went to school. When I got there the doors were locked and I was the only one there. And then it hit me, it was Sunday. I rushed back home walked in and my parents were eating breakfast wondering what I was doing walking in the door so early in the morning on a Sunday carrying my bookbag. They were kind enough not to tell my borthers or sister.
Bilal Saturday, January 23, 2010
It's good to see that you've started blogging. After I post this comment I'll have to read your other posts, once again congrats.
I've done something similar, but minus the cheerleader outfit and add a clown costume. When I was 9/10 I was a "Wolf Cub" (similar to a Cub Scout) & we were having a costume party, but I got the dates mixed up & showed up to the school gym (where we would meet) dressed as a clown.
This is one of my high school embarrassing moments, the summer before I began grade 12 I took grade 11 English in summer school. Our summer school teacher was an actor (I guess she needed a summer job?). In our summer school English class we were studying Macbeth. I remember the teacher/actor telling us about one specific passage where the 3 witches are talking about a woman and her husband sailor. One of the witches is upset with the sailor's wife and says, "And like a rat without a tail, I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do." referring what she will do to the sailor. Our "teacher" told us that the witch intends to get revenge on the sailor's wife by having "relations"... *wink**wink* (of course she didn't use the word relations) with the sailor over and over again.
The summer ends and the new school year begins. I'm sitting in my grade 12 English class and surprisingly our teacher informs us that we'll be studying Macbeth. I'm super happy because I went through this just a few months ago, so I'm thinking this will be a breeze. Eventually we get to the passage of the 3 witches with the, "I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do...", and our teacher asks the us what do we think this means? My hand shoots up & I say confidently, "It means the witch plans to have "relations" (of course I didn't use the word relations) with the sailor over and over again."... the room became silent and everyone in class including my English teacher just stared at me! He then said something like, "What x-rated version of Macbeth have you been reading?!" of course everyone in the class laughed at me and I was speechless. The funniest thing is a few days later my friend was in the lunch line and he overheard two girls talking. The one girl wanted to know if she heard the story of the "relations" obsessed weird guy in the grade 12 English class, haha.
Joe Fileman Saturday, January 23, 2010
I read a saying some time ago that stated "to laugh at one's self is a sign of maturity." I guess you can say you rose above what had happened. In my mind, people can sink, float, or rise above and in rising above people can either climb to new heights or push everyone else down. xD
silly times Monday, January 25, 2010
kids can be cruel and finding any reason to tease another seems like the cool thing to do when you are in junior high. Coming from a budget stricken family we did not have much and when my alis dad decided to send me a package of school clothes for congrats to junior high he forgot 1 thing; what jr. high meant. I think a cheerleader outfit may have been better then the pants with dolls and or the ones covered with horses they looked like something of a frilly bedroom curtain.
To make a story somewhat short. It made me decide that if I wanted anything I had to get it myself and I began delivering newspapers, taking out peoples trash and going door to door selling art work that I had made. I even begged my older cousin for her hand me downs.
All in all it was a total embarrassment but taught me the value of working for what you want and need.
James Knauff Monday, January 25, 2010
The embarassing moment that continues to haunt me happened many years ago in an adult Sunday School class. One of the women was pregnant and we would all observe her progress through the gestation period. One Sunday I inquired as to when she was going to have the baby. Well, she already had. I never went to the class or attended services at the church again. What a boob! Apparently I already knew and forgot. I still make stupid mistakes, but, I just seek to be excused or forgiven and move on. After all, life is short, right?