Grin and Bear it

Students divulge mortifying moments

It happens at one time or another. Hearts pound, faces flush and palms sweat. One often looks around and wonders if anyone was watching. It's a fall down a steep hill or a trip in front of a crowd of people. Whatever the situation, embarrassing moments seem to happen all too frequently to some, and the memory remains for a long time.

Piercing Pain

Freshman Holley Simmons was faced with a humiliating and unpleasant experience her sophomore year of high school. It all started with her decision to get a navel piercing. After the procedure was completed, Simmons quickly stood up, not realizing how dizzy she was. "I passed out right then and there and fell flat on my face," Simmons said. She ended up breaking her jaw and had to have it completely wired shut, along with eight stitches on her chin. "I was walking around for days talking so funny and had to explain to everyone what had happened," Simmons said. "But, now I am able to just laugh it off."

Full Frontal

This past summer, freshman Laura Dageforde experienced one of her most mortifying moments on a family vacation to Emerald Isle, N.C. Her parents told Dageforde and her younger brother that they could each invite one friend. Dageforde brought a friend from home, and her younger brother brought his friend Coleman. "We all hung out together and had a lot of fun," she said. "However, we all shared the same bathroom, separate from my parents." One day, Dageforde was completely nude, changing into her bathing suit in the bathroom when Coleman, almost 15 years old, walked in. In complete shock, she stood there for a moment as he stared and smiled with his mouth open wide. "As soon as I saw his eyes start moving up and down, I snapped out of it, grabbed a towel and shoved him out of the bathroom," Dageforde said. Upon returning to the beach, she told her friend and her mom what had happened, and they replied, "Poor Coleman! He must have been so embarrassed!"

False Alarm

Shortly after returning from Thanksgiving break, freshman Kenta Ferrin experienced an embarrassing moment. Upon entering his dorm, Ferrin heard a loud beeping noise, which, at the time, he believed to have been the fire alarm. He ran down the hall, searching for the Resident Adviser and warning everyone to evacuate the building. After his entire hall evacuated and then returned to building, the RA told everyone that the noise was only an alarm clock. Everyone on the hall had a good laugh, except Ferrin. "I really think there should be a distinct sound difference between fire alarms and clock alarms," Ferrin said.

Quick Trip

Junior Kelly McCormack had her most embarrassing moment her freshman year at JMU. It began with her decision to wear a pair of three-inch heels. While rushing to the bus stop in her heels, she ran right into a parked car. "I was in such a rush, and I ended up spraining my ankle," McCormack said. "The entire busload of people saw me, but, luckily, I was able to make it onto the bus." She hasn't worn heels until just recently.