National Awkward Moments Day

Caroline Pritchard

Wednesday, March 18 is recognized as National Awkward Moments Day. We all have experiences we would rather erase from our memories. Still, some moments are unfortunately ingrained into our minds forever . Here are some awkward moments students have experienced while on the University of Minnesota campus. I hope some of these stories will make you feel better about any embarrassing moments you have had yourself.

“I work as a c ashier at the dining hall. People say hi to me a lot when I swipe their cards, and I say, ‘thank you, enjoy your meal. ’ I do this about 2000 times a day. Well, I got conditioned, and when a friend from an old class saw me near Coffman and said hi, I immediately blurted, ‘thanks, enjoy your meal.’ I was so embarrassed that I just kept walking.” - Reebhu

“I didn’t realize I was sitting next to a guy who I had matched with on Tinder . He knew who I was, and on the third day into the class, he messaged me again on the app. We’re about to go out on our first date soon.” - Anonymous “It was snowing outside so everyone’s shoes were bringing the elements in from the outdoors. This caused the staircase in Bruininks Hall to become very slippery. I witnessed this poor guy slip down nearly the entire staircase onto the first floor. No one really knew how to react to his misfortune. It’s okay bro, we’ve all been there.” - Anonymous

“Everybody remembers their first day — a freshman on a campus full of thousands of people, some of them in the same shoes, most of them working towards vastly different degrees. It’s a terrifying feeling, but an exciting one. I was busy thinking about what came next, what to do, and where to go. What should I wear? I hardly knew what I was doing. On my first day at the U, I just had two classes in the morning, and by 10 a.m., I had conquered the beast — my first day of college was done. After six hours of quiet celebration and catching up with new friends in the dorm (Middlebrook hall and proud), it was time for my first regular-season marching band rehearsal. I’m a big proponent of biking — especially when the route is from West Bank to the stadium. I started the journey on two wheels, making a pit stop at Sanford pick up a friend. The rest of the day, however, is completely lost for me as my helmet-less freshman

body went flying. My bike wheel lodged itself in a sewage grate, concussing my otherwise perfect first day.

I do remember zoning out in the emergency room, listening to some music, and feeling pretty loopy. Th en, I realized I was extremely hungry, and I indeed totaled not only my bike, but also my forehead, eyebrow, and upper lip. Five stitches and a delicious sandwich from a sympathetic stranger later, my week-old friends came to visit me and help me out of the hospital back to my room. They did this as if we’d known each other for years. A few, ‘you should’ve seen the other guy, ’ remarks about my stitches and bruises later, I turned in for the night after what ended up being the most freshman day of all. Awkwardness and soreness aside, it was a pretty sweet way to ring in the next few years at the U. All I can say is, wear your helmet, Gophers. ” - Drew

“I had to get off of the bus one stop early because someone I matched with on Tinder was on the same bus and recognized me. ” - Anonymous

“I went home to Wisconsin for the weekend. On Sunday, I drove back to school. What I didn’t realize was that it had been lightly raining, and all the sidewalks were like a sheet of glass… long story short, I ended up falling flat on my butt outside of Frontier Hall! I don’t remember if anyone was watching, but if anyone was, I’m sure they were laughing as hard as I was.” - Nate

“I was going over to my cousin’s dorm to help her with homework. She didn’t specify where we were meeting so I just assumed she was in her dorm. To my surprise, she wasn’t there. I walked in on her roommate who had no idea who I was, or why I was there.” - Anonymous

“I was at the light-rail station, and a man walked up to me, trying to give me a pop tart (in the silver packaging, but still a little suspicious). I politely declined numerous times, but he grabbed my hand, opened it, and put the package in it, and walked away. He left without a single word.” - Anonymous

“I was so excited to start my first day of college. I had been dreaming of attending the University of Minnesota since I was an eighth-grader. I had just finished my first class of the day so I went to buy lunch at the Union. After I paid for my salad, I grabbed the container to walk outside and enjoy my lunch. Unfortunately, the container slipped right out of my hands and covered the Union floor. I was mortified. It was lunchtime, and the marketplace was completely packed with students. To make things even worse, a guy I went to high school with saw the whole thing happen from across the room. Fortunately, they let me pick out another salad for no extra charge. My apologies to the worker’s day I ruined by having to clean up my mess!” - Anonymous

“Sometimes, this school is just too small for me. I had just downloaded Tinder after a recent heartbreak, and I was excited to see what all of the hype was about. There were two guys that I immediately hit it off with. One night I went over to one of their apartments to watch a movie. Little did I know what I was about to walk in on. The other guy I had been talking to on Tinder was one of his roommates… awkward.” - Anonymous