My Most Embarrassing Story

18 March 2019 Writing Practice

In an attempt to improve my writing, I started taking MasterClass and am now learning how to tell stories with Neil Gaiman, author of The Graveyard, American Gods, Sandman, Stardust, and many other award-winning novels. The first writing practice requires us to pick a moment in life and write about it honestly. In his words, “more honest than you’re comfortable with.”

I have decided to start with writing the time I am deeply embarrassed. Well, I do not have a time that I am deeply embarrassed, I have many times I am feeling that way.

My latest embarrassing collection happened two weeks ago, K, my partner and I went for a meditation class that promotes better sleep. It was not supposed to be a sleep session. The class was divided into a series of movements, lying and waking moments that brings us to a deep state of relaxation but the idea is not to sleep in class, the sleep happens when we go home. We were about close to halfway through the class when the facilitator told us to lie down for a guided meditation. Five minutes later, there was an instruction to sit back up again to complete another round of sitting meditation. Only by then, I was sound asleep like a baby. I did not hear any instructions or sounds! I honestly have no idea what happened, and the only thing I recall is that I jolt up from my sleep right before the class ended. When I woke up, everyone had their eyes closed, with the palms together in front of their chest and bowing down to a namaste.

I was burning in embarrassment because I was the only person that slept throughout half the class and did not hear the facilitators instructions. I felt another hit of embarrassment when she went one round to ask us to share our experience. From “seeing lights, feeling aura and feeling tingling sensations or bones melting,” everyone had an experience except for me. I was deeply asleep. When it came to my turn to share, I could only let out a sheepish laugh and said well, this class is so good, I’m entirely relaxed and slept.

Trying to make me feel better I think, she said I went into the highest state of relaxation (insert the emoticon laughing with tears rolling down).

The next most embarrassing thing I can think of would be an incident many years ago. Perhaps about 7 years ago. I remember going for a swim in the public pool, and I am not sure what in the world I was thinking, I wore a bikini instead of a one-piece swimsuit. As I was swimming, I noticed that people swimming in my direction were starting at me in the pool, and I wondered why? Did I have fins coming out of my head or was there a shark behind me or something? It did not take very Long after for me to realise the shock I experienced next.

When I reached the end of the pool and pop my head out of the water, I found a cooling breeze and looked down, I realised my bikini top came out! My upper body was fully exposed, and I was the only woman in the public pool. Sheer horror followed by me wishing in my head to have a place to bury myself right then was the only thing I could think of. Not only am I embarrassed by the situation, but I was also in that much shock and embarrassment that I did not dare to step out of the pool because I did not want to draw more attention to myself.

I cannot remember how long more I lingered in the pool to overcome my embarrassment of stepping out of the waters and the details after that.

So here is my piece of the most embarrassing moments for me, it was slightly uncomfortable writing the last one especially.

What would be a more significant challenge is to write something I regret or afraid to talk about, and that will be for next time.