My Most Embarrassing Moment on Campus   

As a freshman coming from a very small high school, I was always worried about messing up and making a fool of myself. I must say, I did pretty well considering I am awkward and unorganized. I always thought my most embarrassing moment would be in a classroom full of people when I drop all my books or something clumsy like that, but unfortunately, that was not the case.

For Christmas last year, I had one specific request: roller skates. I used to be a goddess at roller skating when I went to the roller rink with my friends for their birthdays. However, roller skating is nothing like riding a bike. I was skating on the path south of campus one evening and of course, I thought I was doing great at it. Every now and then I would wobble and move to the grass to save myself, but then continue on my way once I gained my balance back. I like to go fast all the time (who doesn’t) and this was no exception. I had almost made it to the parking lot by Victor E. Village and got distracted by the beautiful bison herd and the sunset. That’s when it happened. I started to wobble and wave my arms around in an attempt to save myself, but I fell straight on my tailbone. My original thought was that no one saw me, so I slowly moved to my hands and knees to crawl to the grass and stand up. When I got to my feet, a group of people were staring at me from the parking lot and my dignity went down the drain. It just happened to be a family saying their goodbyes and instead of just ignoring me, they yelled at me from the bottom of the hill, making it clear to everyone else I had just fallen. I do appreciate the fact that they made sure I was okay, but at the time I just wanted out of there. I started to do that nervous laugh that happens when I try to hold back tears. Not tears of pain, but tears of embarrassment. After I made it to my feet, I gave a little wave to the family, who were clearly holding back their laughter. I took off the skates and walked across the parking lot barefoot, red-faced, and slightly angry.

Now that it has been long enough to recover (and practice skating) I laugh quite often about that day. Every time I roller skate across campus I cross my fingers and hope I don’t fall, and that I don’t see that family anytime soon. I still fall a lot so I prefer to skate around in the evenings when everyone is at home resting. While I am sure that nothing could be more embarrassing than that day, I would like to not take any chances.

Even though I was completely traumatized by this experience, I still go on with my daily life. Yes, I did in fact fall very hard in front of a few people but I stood up and moved on with my life. Sometimes we get knocked down to remind us that we aren’t perfect and that we shouldn’t try to be perfect. Always have fun, and never worry about who might see you or what could go wrong. Live the best life you can!