14 Embarrassing Moments About Trying To Fit In

1. Hottie Wannabe
   At a bar, I ate some chili to amuse and impress my friends. I tried so hard to keep a straight face but when I couldn’t help it anymore, I rushed to the bathroom and tried to drown my tongue in tap water. Never again! —Armand, 19
2. Divine Intervention
   My dad’s a pastor in a Spanish-speaking church, and they asked me to play in the church. It was the first time I was ever going to play publicly and I wanted it to be good. I don’t know how my crush heard about it, but he showed up in church! I was so nervous. When I was about to play, I couldn’t even find middle C—every pianist knows where it is! It was all wrong and the song was so messed up. I tried twice but still it wasn’t right. Then, my dad came forward and prayed over me. I was thinking, “If God can’t help me, I must be really bad.” I tried playing it again, but I was unsuccessful, so I just ran out of the church! —Keri Noble, 26, singer
3. Friends Forever
   I badly wanted to belong to a group of popular girls and guys in class. I overheard them talking about the TV show, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., so I caught a show to learn more about the characters and the plot. One day, I was invited to have lunch with them, and I tried to join in on the conversation by criticizing one of the characters. I was wondering why they were giving me puzzled stares—until I realized, in my panicked state, that I was talking about a different show! Luckily, they just laughed it off and now we’re still friends. —Shai, 18
4. Dressing the Part
   When I was accepted as an intern in a prestigious firm, I made sure to dress the part. On my first day, I wore a long-sleeved polo with a blazer and slacks. When I entered the room, people started greeting me, “Good morning!” I thought they were just really polite. It was only later I realized that those people who greeted me were also interns who thought I was a supervisor! From then on, I always made sure I looked professional yet still dressed my age.—Katrina, 19
5. Smoke Belcher
   At a batch party, my classmate asked me if I smoked. Wanting to look cool, I lied and said that I was a long-time smoker so he offered me a stick. As everyone watched, my hands trembled and I couldn’t even ignite the lighter! What’s worse, I had a terrible asthma attack when I inhaled the smoke for the first time. From then on, I learned that smoking will never be cool. —Mari, 15
6. Gossip Queen
   I was with a couple of students from ICA at a party in Mazzo, and we were preparing for a modeling stint. Being the only Paulinian in the crowd, I decided to initiate a conversation to show off how sociable I was. I remember how my friends from La Salle would rave about this pretty girl from ICA named Gim Ra. Without hesitation, I asked them, “Hey, guys! Kilala niyo ba si Gim Ra? Maganda ba talaga ‘yun?”, as if I was sharing the latest gossip. All of a sudden, the girl beside me tapped me on the shoulder, smiled and said, “Um, Yasmin... Ako si Gim Ra.” Whoopsie! —Yasmin, 18
7. Computer Crazy
   I was envious of my classmates who kept talking about chatting on the Internet during lunch break. So when I got my hands on my first PC, I decided to show them I was computer-savvy, too. I butted in on their conversation and gloated, “Yeah, I chat on Microsoft Word.” When someone corrected me, I grew indignant and dug a deeper hole for myself by saying, “But I surf on www.com!” Argh! —April, 19

Click for more embarrassing moments on the next page.