I've had and talked to people in various writing workshops where stories about the most .... experience are often fodder for icebreakers and other exercises. I have a tremendously difficult time with this concept. The worst for me is most embarrassing. I think both all my life is somewhat embarrassing and when I think about it, none of it really is. Picking out the worst incident in this sea of failure would require some doing. Interestingly, I talked with my dear friend Shawn the other day who had such a workshop. He said that most people talked about things that had been done to them. I tend to go the other way as humiliation isn't really embarrassing. My worst moments come in the things that I do. I can't control when other people act like asshats, but when I do, there's a sense of shame that's far worse than anything that has been done or said to me. I think I've been immunized against taking insult too seriously -- yes, words hurt, but not as much as they used to hurt. The internet age brings both kindness and insult in equal measure. So again, when I think of my answer to this question, I come up blank. To go into my deepest failings is not the ideal icebreaker. That said, I'd try it just to see what happened. What about you -- most embarrassing moments? Were you younger or older when they happened? Do they involve other people or only things you know about?
10 comments:
When I was young I had more embarassing moments. I still have them but I generally avoid the places where they used to happen so regularly.
For me age has brought about a different perspective on those moments. In my youth it was a dramatic tragedy. Now it is part of my comedy routine.
I involve as many as possible.
For something like that, I prefer the anonimity of the internet. You can reveal your deepest inner secrets in a nameless and faceless environment and find out if others have had similar experiences. It is far easier to break the ice when you can reveal more about yourself at pace that is personally comfortable.
My most embarassing moment spans fifteen years, and as much as I'd like to keep it out of the courts, I may be forced to share something that belongs in therapy.
I have a life and I live it. If it is not up or down to the expectations of someone else that is not my problem, if it is not up to my own expectations then it is no embarrassment but rather a bar set to high.
Embarrassment by its very nature is a judgment, either by the self or by someone else. I refuse all judgment but my own, the key to not being embarrassed is don't give a rats ass and live your life the way your own being dictates and as we say in Detroit
"If they don't like it Fuck 'em"
I was buggered by the Turks in Deraa!(And kind of enjoyed it!)--T.E.Lawrence
When i was in 4th grade I told a so-called friend (some of you may know these types) about how much I liked the girl who sat next to me. Well, that being said, imagine a 4th grade class doing book reports, picture the bad cartoon fan fiction and the like, perhaps some Nate the Great and Ramona thrown in. Imagine the horror of previously mentioned so-called friend reading a faux-book report in which was described a young boy's infatuation with the girl next to him, then after a few minutes of this pointing out that it was the person in class dumb enough to confide that truth to him.
Not the most embarrassing thing as far as that goes, but at the time it was pretty bad. A lesson learned about the extent of trust, as well as who one should trust. An ongoing exercise in life it seems.
Ahem...
That said I must say that I too was buggered by Turks. Good thing Thanksgiving was near--revenge turned out to be a dish served quite warm and with a side of cranberry sauce :)
Embarassing moments, of which i have many, are just a part of life. i can only hope that I learn from them.
-Sheila Marie
Oh Dear Bella, I have numerous embarrassing gaffes! As a natural airhead, it comes with the territory. I have and will share more in the blog 'o mine! xo
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