Awkward and embarrassing moments. They are bound to happen, especially as a freshman in college. You are knocked down to the bottom of the totem pole and have to learn the ways of the new life into which you are placed. It is impossible to navigate through flawlessly without messing up somewhere along the way, and even though we learn from the mistakes we make, they can sometimes be enough to make us feel like complete idiots and ruin our day. There will surely be times when our naïveté gets the best of us, but that’s just part of being young. Wisdom comes with experience…hopefully. So, why not celebrate the mistakes and awkward moments that will hopefully make us wiser in the long run?
That’s what we are doing in supplemental with “Story of the Week.” Basically, all of my roommates and I go about our lives as usual and almost wait for something to happen. We tell each other about our days and what we are up to, and usually, there is someone who has an awkward or unique experience beyond everyone else’s. That person then wins “Story of the Week.” What is the reward? You get a gold star on the Story of the Week board and a clever title for the event is written in the box corresponding to your name and that weekend. Also, everyone gets to ask you about what awkwardness or embarrassment you endured.
Now, I’m not trying to portray this as anything for winners to be ashamed of. I am actually tied for first place. If you win, it means that everyone, including yourself, was able to get a good laugh out of the situation. That’s the entire point of Story of the Week: learning to laugh at times that we could easily stress over. Even though the actual moment when these things occurred could have felt like torture, the aftermath makes it worth it. Plus, it has helped us bond in a way that I find unique.
Nobody feels the need to hide anything, and we know that even on our worst of days, we will have friends who make us laugh and feel better. What would college be without weird run-ins, awkward encounters, or embarrassing instances? Pretty dull, if you ask me. Story of the Week is a way to reward my roommates for enduring something embarrassing with a good laugh. What’s your story of the week? Maybe it is time to step up the competition.
This may be one of the best ways I have heard of dealing with embarrassment. By sharing your stories, you are able to connect with our roommates in a way that is so very unique, the way we can only connect by being ashamed in some way but able o laugh at it because of the forum in which it's discussed. That board idea is pure genius. It simply promotes not taking things so seriously and living in a much easier way.
ReplyDelete