Just Run With It

Published November 6, 2007

By Lea McLellan

I was running down the street, flipping through songs on my MP3 when I tripped on (what I assume) was an uneven sidewalk. I didn’t slip and recover. This was no stumble; I seriously wiped out. I skinned my hands, my knees, one elbow, and I’m starting to think I bruised my rib. I wanted to sit on the sidewalk, check for blood, and maybe cry a little. Unfortunately, there were at least ten witnesses to my fall and I didn’t want to risk people asking me if I was okay. I didn’t know what else to do, so Isort of awkwardly laughed, got up, and kept running.

It is definitely a surprising thing to be running one second and sprawled out on the pavement the next, but the fact that I had fallen was not surprising to me whatsoever. It seems like I’m always doing embarrassing things. The other day in Williams, I walked out of the women’s bathroom directly across the hall into the men’s bathroom. Luckily there wasn’t anyone in there, but still, I feel like these types of embarrassing moments should have been left behind in middle school.

So I guess my question is, how much longer is this going to be? I mean, I had always thought there would be a point where I’d grow up, attain a measure of poise, and stop walking into boys’ bathrooms. At least that was my hope, but now I’m not so sure. College life actually seems to supply way more opportunities for humiliation than ever before.

I’m not so self-centered to think that I’m the only one who ever has cause to blush in embarrassment. I bear witness to other people making fools out of themselves all the time. Even as I was limp-running back to my dorm after “the fall,” I saw a guy with a skateboard trying to do some sicknasty move in front of the Davis Center. He ended up wiping out in front of a bunch of people waiting for a walking signal. My personal favorite was when I saw a girl in the Marché eating the display dessert, thinking it was a free sample. She was chewing and looking very confused as to why her muffin was so gross and stale. And then there were all the girls in slutty bunny, fairy, and French maid costumes walking home early Sunday morning after a night of Halloween partying. I think I’d rather bruise my rib than walk home in fishnets and bunny ears at 8am. So much for my naïve belief that with age, people become cool and collected. There will always be teeth to get food stuck in, tags you forget to rip off new shirts, and people’s names that are impossible to remember. Those things aren’t going to go away. But now, in addition to the old embarrassing moment standbys, there are the added issues of leaving ill-advised, drunken voicemails; regrettable hookups; and having to climb over fifteen annoyed people when you come in late to your lecture class.

So to answer my own question, people probably never completely grow out of embarrassing themselves. It’s not the most encouraging conclusion, but maybe it isn’t so bad. You can’t walk around constantly making sure your fly isn’t down or live in fear of tripping up the stairs. No one can be cool all the time. So next time you do something stupid, accept there’s not much else to do but laugh awkwardly and keep running.

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