By: Megan Saul

Media Production Editor

Being embarrassed is definitely in the top three of worst feelings ever. Wanting to crumple up in a ball and hide, or having your face turn bright red is my worst nightmare. As I am extremely familiar with this concept, I think that I have a right to compile a list of the worst ways to be embarrassed.

Number one, of course, is having your water bottle (especially metal) fall and make a sound similar to what I think the world ending would sound like. The looks you receive from others are something you will never be able to erase from your mind. I do not know if the action of it falling or the aftermath of picking it up is worse. Both cause the place I am in to feel ten degrees hotter. I recommend not dropping your water; in fact, just don’t drink anything (please actually hydrate because it is very important).

A close second to the terror described above is waving back at someone you think is waving at you but, in reality, is really waving at someone else. The stress felt when reading the complicated sentence above perfectly captures the stress of what you feel after you wave to no one. My personal favorites to disguise this situation include fixing my hair, finding someone else to wave at, or faking a sneeze. 

Asking for someone’s opinion and then doing the exact opposite of what they respond with is yet another experience that often brings me terrors. For example, recently I was dining at a restaurant when I couldn’t decide between pasta or a burger, so being the extroverted person I thought I was, I asked the server which one was better, only to choose something other than what they recommended. That was the moment I turned introverted. Unless you are going to listen to the person, I recommend deciding inside your head.

Over or under-dressing is another embarrassing moment that I hope never to face again. The terror felt the moment you see your friend dressed nicely when you still look like you are in pajamas. Or likewise, when you are unusually dressed up amidst a crowd of regularly dressed people. Pro tip to avoid this issue, ask what people are wearing before you go out.

I think that umbrellas and rain boots are embarrassing, even in a downpour or rainstorm, but I am trying to change my opinion on this due to the multiple pairs of Converses that rain destroyed. The act of holding an umbrella is quite smart, but scarring experiences have ruined my view of them. These experiences include being hit in the head with one (I think that I received a concussion from it) and tripping over one left in the middle of the floor in science class. These experiences have caused me to see these items in a negative light, making my hatred for them grow in every way possible.