My Most Embarrassing Story

It’s been a bit of a quiet week for me, what with a few cancelled shifts and a cold that just won’t seem to go away. So quiet in fact that my bed has been made every morning …yes, this is a big deal for me. I’ve been searching my mind for interesting blog topics and I managed to come up zilch. I was watching a program on TV a few days ago where someone was talking about embarrassing moments and then I thought, why not write about my most embarrassing moment? BECAUSE WHY WOULD SOMEONE WILLINGLY DO THAT, ALI?

I am desperate, so here you go…

I had just turned 12 and was only a few weeks into grade 7 at a brand new Junior High School. Can you already tell where this is going?

My grade 7 gym class was co-ed so naturally it’s already going to be incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassing. We were still able to hold gym class outside as it was early October and hadn’t snowed yet. This particular week we were playing flag football. Great. Fun. Awesome. So, I’m wearing a hoodie and gloves and tear-away pants to keep me warm while I stood as far away from the ball as possible. After a few plays of awkwardly standing, my hands came into contact with the pigskin.

Well shit.

A male classmate who, if you’re reading this, I’m totally over what happened and I don’t hold it against you, but you will forever be the guy who pantsed (sp?) me in gym class. I kind of just ruined the climax of this story but you saw it coming when I said I was wearing TEAR-AWAY pants?!

So this male classmate pulled one of my flags that I had tucked into the waistband of my tear-aways. The entire right side of my pants TORE AWAY and there, in the middle of the frosty football field, were my blue Fruit of the Loom panties for all to see.

I don’t even remember thinking at that point. I grabbed the limp fabric of the right leg of my pants and ran as fast I think I have ever run toward the gym door and into the girls change room. I changed immediately into my jeans and vowed to never wear tear-aways again. I’ve kept that promise. I’m totally over this, I swear, it’s just tear-aways are really ugly pants so it has all worked out.

I sat in the change room for a while and a friend of mine from elementary came in to check on me. Something that I’ll always find odd is that I didn’t cry once. Shocking, right? Not a single tear! My friend was cautious and wasn’t sure what to say, I mean we were 12, who could blame her? But I was oddly fine.

My gym teacher came in to check on me shortly after and was also very cautious. She was a young teacher so I could tell she was just as, if not more, awkward than I.

A few years ago, I found out that while my friend was giving me a pep talk, my teacher essentially threatened my classmates that if they said anything or made fun of me at all, they’d lose a limb. I thank her for that.

As embarrassing as this story may be, I don’t have a problem sharing it because if we can’t show our weaknesses and awkwardness, then how are we supposed to be empathetic? We are all human and we are all equal.

I hope you found a little bit of humour in this story. I’m giving you permission to laugh with me.

If you want to hear me tell this story via video, click here.

Thank you, friends!

xo A