Have you ever felt that all eyes were on you during an awkward moment? Most people have, as embarrassing moments are one of the most common experiences shared among people. Whether you mistook a stranger for your parents in public, tripped in front of a crowd, stuttered and forgot words during a presentation, or been caught liking old pictures on Instagram, we’ve all been there. Considering that these moments have happened to most people, they shouldn’t be found embarrassing, or so one would assume. At the moment you aren’t thinking about how everyone has been there; all you can think about is how many people saw you. At the end of the day, embarrassing moments make for funny stories later down the road, which is exactly what is going to be shared here. 

Presentations, whether in school or work, are stressful for a lot of people. Add stress to a little amount of practice and you get a mess of stuttering that leads you to leave out details and forget words that you meant to say. I personally have experienced this plenty of times and have only realized the mistakes I made after the presentation was done. Feelings like this are enough to make anyone want to leave the room and pretend as if they were never there, though something that always seems to slip the mind is that a lot of the class is likely feeling the same about their presentations. Drew Tibbits, a junior at Quakertown High School, shared an embarrassing story of his from school. “It was dead silent, and I had to sneeze,” he said, “unfortunately, the sneeze ended up being a scream.” 

Embarrassing moments aren’t only common in the classroom, but at work as well. There was a time when I was doing my job, that being stocking shelves at Walmart, when I found a piece of women’s clothing on the shelf. My friend had suggested that I put it over my vest as a joke, so naturally, I did. Immediately after I dropped my water bottle and it rolled under the shelf right after. My immediate reaction was to lay flat on the ground to reach for it. At the perfect time, my supervisor walked past my aisle and made direct eye contact with me. No words were exchanged. He just stared and walked away. A coworker of mine shared a work story of their own. Joey Needham, a senior at Pennridge, recounted this story, saying, “I switched our water bottles assuming he would drink it first. Turns out I forgot, and I drank his water.” 

The embarrassing moments don’t end there. Liking old pictures on Instagram is notoriously a massively embarrassing thing to do. First world problems, a product of the effect of social media on Gen Z, whatever you would like to call it; this is something anybody with Instagram is familiar with. If you’ve ever been caught liking old pictures- don’t worry, you’re not alone. Plenty of us have been here, and plenty of us have had to explain our way out of it. The classic, “my friend had my phone,” should suffice, but you can always tell them that it was simply a glitch on their end. It’s likely that the person whose profile you were creeping on has no idea how Instagram’s code is laid out, so that excuse could get you in the clear with them, so you only have to deal with your own personal embarrassment.

Everybody gets embarrassed, though some show it more than others. Understanding that mistakes are made in public is a core part of growing up. That’s not to say that embarrassment fades with age, though it often seems as though people care less about others’ perceptions of them as they grow older. Embarrassing moments are not all bad, of course. They serve as funny stories in the future or even conversation starters in the moment. Any way you spin them, they’re unavoidable. For that reason, it’s best to just embrace them and roll with the punches.