Embarrassment is NOT real!
5/1/2025
The perfect sequel to my first blog post, it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. Queue everything is embarrassing by Sky Ferreira.
If you’ve known me for quite some time, you’ve probably heard me utter the words “nothing is embarrassing”. It’s a motto I truly started living by in college, so I never felt embarrassed to try something new, talk to someone, speak in class, etc. I became the person my friends asked to try something first or to go talk to someone new. This allowed me to meet so many people and try things my younger self would not have done.
However, if you’ve really known me for quite some time, I used to not fully be this way. While I used to post YouTube videos when I was 13 (already deleted, don’t even try!) and ran for student council in high school, I used to be fearful of what others would say, what they would tell other people, how anyone and everyone would perceive me. I was scared to fully be myself or explore different interests in that I thought if I failed, or it would be awkward, it would be considered embarrassing.
I could not be more different in present time.
There are many things I might do on a day-to-day that others would consider embarrassing, such as the ways I try to put myself out there or make someone laugh. Those thoughts no longer hold any weight over me. But it wasn’t easy to get to this point, and it’s a point I believe everyone should try to get closer to in order to unlock true potential.
One of the best ways I got over feeling embarrassed as to never allow someone else to make me feel that way. Someone might say to you “that was so embarrassing” but if you don’t give it the time of day, or brush it off as a learning experience, what weight does it hold?
Another way was to start doing activities alone. When one of my favorite movies, interstellar, was re-released in theaters, no one I knew wanted/could go with me. So I went alone for the three-hour movie, no problem. Sometimes we feel really hung up on the idea that we need someone else to do something we personally want to do, but that couldn’t be more true. I could probably write a whole blog post just on this concept alone.
Ultimately, everything is about your mindset. Life is never so serious that every single mistake or action you make should be deemed embarrassing. You are human, you are bound to try new things and create new connections, and there shouldn’t be a stigma around trying due to embarrassment.
I will note that this does not excuse all behavior such as getting with a best friend's boyfriend or being rude to people you don’t know, because that IS embarrassing.
If you take anything away from this, it is to stop being so critical of yourself, judging your own behavior as embarrassing, and letting others make you feel embarrassed, which they are most likely doing because they are just insecure they didn’t try it first.
Go to the movies alone, talk to strangers everywhere, and explore yourself without fear of embarrassment.