Whether we like to admit it or not, we’re all awkward. As humans, we are flawed, vulnerable creatures. However, for some odd reason, we all seem to pretend that we’re never awkward and never do embarrassing things. So I’m here to put a squash on that and say: Embrace your weirdness and your awkward moments!
I’ve asked a bunch of people to share some of their most awkward, embarrassing stories to show that we are all weird, embarrassing, and awkward. So let your freak flag fly and enjoy these embarrassing stories and other general embarrassing moments in honor of National Awkward Moments Day!
All stories are anonymous and may have been edited for length and/or clarity.
- Trying to get your teacher’s attention and calling her “mom” instead.
- I went into the wrong bathroom once and didn’t realize until I had exited the stall to find a bunch of angry women looking at me.
- One day at the playground, whilst I’m listening to music on my headphones and I don’t hear background noises, I suddenly see everyone opening their mouth at me and I’m like “Huh?” Next thing you know, I look up and a basketball smashes my nose.
- Getting drunk and farting on a lighter, setting fire to my pants and going to the hospital with a burnt butt.
- Saying “you, too” after the waiter brings your food and tells you to enjoy your meal.
- When I was a kid, I went up to my mom who was bartending at the time. I was telling her how I noticed my body was changing. She announced to the entire bar I was beginning puberty.
- After the first night that my then-boyfriend spent at my apartment, I was walking him down to the door to say goodbye. I ended up falling down the staircase and twisting my ankle. I was crying like a baby the whole time.
- Holding the door open for someone and watching them decide to open the door next to you, so you’re kind of just standing there awkwardly holding the door open for ghosts.
- I was home alone, in the bathroom. I ended up running out of toilet paper and had to go run around my house searching for it, pants down. Turns out my girlfriend just got home with her mom and some friends…
- Texting something about your crush to your friend and then realizing you sent it to the wrong person.
- Falling down the stairs in front of everyone at my high school.
- Having to go home in the middle of a work shift because I had sneezed so hard I peed my pants.
- I showed up late to my son’s choir performance at his school. I thought I saw my girlfriend standing near the back, so I came up behind her with a hug. Turns out it wasn’t my girlfriend.
- Realizing I put my work pants on backwards, and inside out after I already arrived to work.
- I was late to school one morning and I tripped down the steps, dropping all of my books. After picking everything up, I tripped again. And then a third time. Then, I made awkward eye contact with a teacher as they just walked away.
- Leaving the bathroom stall with a little piece of toilet paper stuck to your shoe.
- I fell down a rain gutter — like literally in the gutter — on a busy street when I was 18.
- I had a child think I was his father while at the store one day. He started following me around and pulling at my hand, crying because I’m not stopping. I spent ages trying to convince a security guard this was not my child. Finally, the actual father sees his kid — he actually did look just like me, he could have been my twin!
- When you think you see someone waving at you, so you wave back, but then you realize they’re waving to the person behind you.
- Not realizing you’ve tucked your skirt into your knickers and everyone can see your underwear.
- My daughter walked in on my then-boyfriend while we were having “adult time” when she was little. She started running around the bed saying she wanted to wrestle, too!
- Having a full conversation with someone and then coming home to find you have something quite obviously stuck in your teeth.
As you can see, we all do embarrassing and awkward things. We shouldn’t be ashamed of them because literally everyone does them. Embrace your quirks and enjoy National Awkward Moments Day!
Featured image via Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash
