Tell us something embarrassing about your childhood

I have always had very fine, limp hair. When I was a kid Mom used to put socks in my hair to curl it. One day my little boyfriend Steve came over and saw me in my hair socks. I was MORTIFIED. Thankfully, he still loved me and even gave me an Avon perfume stick (honeysuckle - yum).

and i was at the bus stop and all the kids were laughing at me.


i went and hid in the alley and my older sister couldn't find me.

i sat there and cried until my mom started yelling my name and i went home.

having begged and begged my step-father for that green ice cream christmas tree - needless to say it ended up all over the stage.

i still remember my angel wings and tinsel halo.

:P And if that's not embarrassing enough, I wore it to a restaurant one time. While we were waiting for our food, I started looking at the sugar packets and liked the artwork on them. When I found about eight packets I liked, I put them under my had to take home with me. My mother wasn't paying attention to any of this, but my grandmother saw it and thought it was cute. When the food arrived, Mom looked over at me and said, "Take that hat off!" She jerked it off my head, and the sugar packets went flying everywhere. My brother and sister howled with laughter, and Mom was just mad. My grandmother, however, felt sorry for me, because she thought Mom should have left me alone. :P

She answered that they were where my eggs went. Whichever way you look at it, this was a shit answer.

Anyway, I thought she meant like eggs you eat. It was years before I found out different.

the tears are rolling down my cheeks:rofl:

:hug:

... and all the other kids used to tease me because I was fat, shy and too smart. :(

during the Pledge of Allegiance. I had to get sent to the office for a change of clothing.



:blush:

I was scared of the urinals when I first went to primary school. It was the first time I'd ever seen one. It was the way they flushed themselves. I was scared I would get flushed away.

no urinals, as I am female, but the girls' toilets made these horrible whooshing sounds like the vacuum would indeed suck me to the middle of the earth, and grossly spewed water back up over the rim. I was also pretty much the only kid in the house by the time I went to kindergarden (my sisters are much older) so I was used to a lot of privacy.

Consequently, I refused to go to the bathroom, and regularly peed my pants. My mom had to send me to school with an extra pair of pants -- took me through first grade to get over my fear of public toilets.

Humiliating, very.

tell me, are urinals made smaller for kids? the big ones are almost big enough to flush away a little boy.

that are a few inches lower down, for kids.

But I seem to remember at school the urinals were the kind where they just recess porcelain into the wall, which goes all the way down to a gutter at the floor. They made the scariest noise ever when they flushed, which they would invariably do when I was in there. They waited for me, I was sure of it.

my accident was during jumping-jax in gym class. I had to borrow some clothes from another girl, then I had to sit in the office full of windows and wait for my mom to come get me while the whole class returned from gym and walked by. I actually think this is where my shyness started.

Peeing in school sucks, doesn't it?

'nuff said:

You were cute! :hi: :hug:

Ok, so the hair is a little bit bad but that face! Too cute! :hug:

...I was always the new kid, on top of it, being an Air Force brat. :eyes:

:hug:

But you were still cute so don't think otherwise. :hug:

:hug:

My kindergarten bangs were too short and straight across. Also, I dressed myself for picture day and put my blouse on backwards. I'll have to find that picture.

..but, thanks! :hi:

:D

;-)

What did you do with your Oscar? Still got it?

:D

I've heard that once or twice! :hi:

Ten-year-old Tatum O'Neill was named Best Supporting Actress for it.



I hate John Wayne movies. :puke:

But, thank you very much...Tatum O'Neill was cute. :-)

That's what I thought of too! She does look like the girl in paper moon. :)

that is so adorable. in that really bad haircut sort of way.

signed,
another victim

I'm convinced nobody has even given a haircut as badly as my mother used to!!

Those are precious! Of course, I think you're right about the cut(s)...our parents must have read the same parenting magazine about how to give a hair cut, or something! lol!

Thanks for posting them!! :-)

I can imagine how you felt at the time, but now looking back, isn't it a really cute cut?! I've been cutting my little girl's hair and I'm so scared to totally screw it up.

Hey -- your Mom was ahead of the times...that is a very stylish haircut!

:rofl:

And as my mom rushed to take it away... I scarfed it all up so she wouldn't get it.

:rofl:

:rofl:

Well you did say there wasn't a 'dish' you wouldn't eat...

hehehe

:*

Oh noes! no smooch smily!

:rofl:

:hi:

What lies have we been told! What disgusting things we have eaten! What indignities we have suffered! And somehow we grew into thinking, caring beings!

In the first few days, or later when we had a substitute teacher.

One day, some kids were playing on the jungle gym, chanting, "David is a crybaby!"

It might've been post-partum separation anxiety — an extension of having been taken away from my birth mom.

I mean loved them. I'd eat 6 or 7 of them a day.

OMG did I just write that?

When I was 8 I sleepwalked into my closet, thinking it was the bathroom, and proceeded to urinate on my Hoppity-Hop. Sad but true.

When I was in fifth grade, there was a school bully who I'll call "Jeff" (because that was his name). He used to beat me up, beat my friends up...pretty much, he'd beat anyone up for fun. One day, I was on the swings, and swinging high and fast. So, I see Jeff walking in front of my path, and vaulted off the swing at probably 12-15 in the air. I landed on top of him HARD, and he ended up with a broken arm. He started crying, and I waited for the teacher (Mr. Sharpin) to run over before I turned on the waterworks too. "I fell off the swing!" I cried. Jeff got taken to the hospital, and I got to go home for the rest of the day.

I *should* feel bad about that, but I still don't. Later, I made sure that he knew that I did it on purpose. He stopped beating people up after that, as far as I know.

:rofl: :thumbsup:

I sometimes wonder if some bullies even realize they are bullies. I think some people have so little empathy that they don't even realize what they're doing to other people or what it means.

But breaking his arm and telling him you did it on purpose has to drive the point home pretty clearly. :P

My oboe case fell open and my oboe pieces went everywhere in a crowded hall and I had to pick them up in between older kids while getting laughed at and called names. I was in 6th grade and the school was grades 6-8 so I was already prime target anyway. I guess the fact that I played the oboe was dorky enough. Did I mention I was fat and had thick glasses?

But kids in general suck at that age! I don't remember being laughed at when I walked all the way home carrying my cello on my back, thank God.

But it's either really good or really bad and at that age you can guess which one! But you have to start somewhere right? I didn't play it after middle school. You're lucky, my MS (and HS) band only had winds and percussion, no strings.

with pretty much the same results!

I remember childhood as a perpetual state of embarrassment about a lot of things, like, say, walking around, being seen in public, breathing, etc. Once my mom made me get my hair cut really short (this was in about 4th grade), and at the time I wore those awful '50s cat-eye glasses and my ears stuck out through my goofy-looking really short hair, and I totally wanted to crawl away and die. I knew showing up in school the next day with that terrible haircut was gonna suck, and it did...

I was talking to a "cute" boy who, according to my friend Jane's friend John, liked me. We were talking in a very self-conscious way, and I farted. Loud. I said "oops" and ran away.

in 7th grade stands out as one of many embarrassing moments in my childhood. :blush:

I have no idea why except nervousness. I had to sit down and the teacher frowned at me, but what could he do, I couldn't talk :shrug:


:rofl:

public speaking :scared:

in public, but I can handle that and I don't laugh

I don't do it anymore than I have to either :D

:hi:

and I had to give a speech on drug addiction. Well, when I got to the part about how addicts sometimes have a permanent case of diahrrea, I burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. I had tears running down my cheeks, I was laughing so hard, and couldn't finish my speech. The whole class roared with laughter. Funny thing was, I wasn't embarrassed. I thought it was hilarious.

but I was scared which made me laugh

your story sounds pretty funny.

I am not sure anyone laughed but me, surely they did, I just can't remember anything but laughing myself, and even that has an almost surreal dreamlike quality to it.

:hi:

and let's just say sometimes I think I shoulda stayed in the crib

H O R R I B L E ! ! ! I finally learned how to get thrown out of girlscouts. It took 3 times, but finally my mother didn't force me to go back.

now the boy scout uniform, not so much

but that's a different story, different age, etc.

see the swag thread for details about that :shrug:

:shrug: -- shu-u-u-u-u-u-t-up -- i liked the way they looked.

if they looked good, and you like them, I support you man!

:thumbsup:

:toast: -- they don't really have a butch guy smiley do they?

i dunno, butch smiley guys :shrug:

:toast:

:D

mean & stand off-ish, they either ignored me or said very mean things to me just to hurt my feelings, one Valentine's Day when everyone was receiving their various cards, the snarkiest mean girl came up along with some of her friends and handed me an envelop along with a pretty little smile saying that it was filled with V-Day cards from my secret admirers...

but when i opened the envelop, it was filled with cards that read, "Fuck You, You Bitch!!" "NO ONE Would Be Your Valentine!" "Have A Lovely Valentine's Day Cause You'll Be Spending It All By Yourself You White Trash!" and so forth...

i became physically ill, and left running out of the school sobbing nearly thinking i would topple over or pass out as i ran, i did not go back for months and forged my mother's signature on excuse slips for a host of events & activities; that were later presented in a meeting with the principle and my mom...

it was a great embarrassment, i was 12, my mother blamed everything on me after which the beatings escalated as did my drinking, i attempted suicide but am here to speak of such things...

within three years of that experience, i was legally emancipated and have been living on my own ever since...

from time to time embarrassments continue, but it is still a source of learning to understand just how mean spirited one's so-called peers are capable of being

Spanish Inquisition.
You made it through and are stronger for it.
I do feel for the ones who do not learn to cope.
Cheers

it's tragic your parent not giving you the support and understanding you needed

:hug:

:loveya:

you are amazingly resilient! I hate bullies too.

I'm totally moved by your sharing here though and I am glad you didn't succeed at suicide!

:hi:

how can people be that heartless, especially children? They were plain dirty.
That's a lot for a kid to handle, it's terrible you were surrounded by people like that but you are very strong to be able to look back it at so clearly.

I've often wondered how kids can be so cruel, and these were the "smart" kids too as you point out. They learn it from somewhere, it isn't just born in them.

Glad you made it through it all. It must have been real tough. Hats off to you.

I'm still trying to get past it all 20+ years later. I hope you're doing better than me. :(

Reading this helped me understand your kindness, but it breaks my heart knowing that you had to go through such pain to develop your kindness and your sense of justice and bravery. After having had one *nice* person after another put knives into my back, you are the best example I have ever seen of someone who is truly kind versus the many who are *nice* on the surface, yet vile, vindictive and capable of incredible cruelty behind the scenes. It truly is an honor to be your friend.

I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Your story brought to mind Margaret Atwood's book, "Cat's Eye" which delves into young girls' relattionships with one another. Not necessarily as brutal as what you endured, but it was a worthwhile read for me.
Hope this finds that life has turned around for the better for you.

:hug:

I'm so sorry you had to go through that. The effect negative childhood experiences has on us is lasting and very difficult to mitigate. Life is hard enough without having to suffer such abuse.

and broke my wrist. I was too busy watching what my opponet was doing with her trick and not looking where I was going.

The Catholic school where I went didn't have a playground, we had to play in the parking lot thus the pot hole.

Man did hitting the pavement hurt and so did my pride.

I wasn't the only one though who went down that week. So did a guy playing basket ball and another girl running to catch up with her friend. I was the only one with a broken bone though. The others had bad scrapes on their heads and knees though and the school's insurance company finally suggested if the school was going to have us play there, they should at least spring for new paving.

Can't remember what the official name of that jump rope game was. It was the one where two people swing the rope and one person jumps doing tricks, then jumps out, another jumper follows and mimics the first jumper, then has to chase her before she can jump again. Any one else remember that game or know the name of it?

I tried cutting my own bangs and ended up with hair 1 to 2 inches long sticking out at the edge of my hairline, it took months for it to grow to reach my eyes, like the actual bangs I was going for. I had a class picture taken but I'm not gonna scan it, Ever.

He has inverse V-shaped bangs now. Silly boy!

(you did see the three upthread didn't you?) Do it!:rofl:

my teacher even asked me about it, in front of the entire class. i just wanted to die.

I always got 'hand-me-downs'. It sucked!!

on edit:
Guess I should've added that the 'elite' (rich) kids (girls) made fun of me because of it.
Assholes! :grr:

I was with my mom, out shopping, and I sat down on an escalator step, didn't get up in time and got caught. I screamed bloody murder. Still have the scar.

he fell on the escalator and scraped his knee. he sure scared him. he held my hand the rest of the trip and wanted me to pick him up when we had to get back on the escalator. he is getting TOO BIG for me to pick up:rofl:

:hug:

until I was four. My kindergarten teacher thought I was retarded. I didn't like her stinkin' milk, either. :)

:hug:

And I thought I had problems with French & Latin in 4th grade! :P

Congratulations, smartie! ;)

Which was my first language and which I read and wrote before going to kinder.

Oh, lord! Those dialogues!

"Meatballs, didn't I tell you?" "At least there's rice, too."

I would have eaten canned spinich to take Latin, which reminded me of algebra and which I loved to death.

lol

:hi:

I pooped. Totally ignored the urge to go to the bathroom and pooped all down my pants. THEN, being a hardass, I snuck off to the bathroom and changed them by myself (all little kids had extra underwear and whatever with 'em then), and nobody knew what had gone down until my mother asked me that afternoon why I had changed my pants/underwear. It was a terrifically stinky affair, if I remember correctly.

:rofl:

We were both 6 years old. We found some "adult" magazines in his parents bedroom, and figured we could try out some of the stuff *they* were doing. We were clueless about sex or taboos, of course. So we stripped naked and were laying together on the sliding board attached to my swingset in the backyard when Mom walked out and caught us.

:blush:

:wow:

I think it was time to have that birds and bees talk.

:rofl:

in 3rd grade....I slid down it and got about a 3" splinter in my butt. It was HUGH! I was even too embarrassed to tell my mom about it until it started to get infected. Removing it from my butt with a tweezers was the most mortifying thing I had ever experienced. :)

:P

:rofl:

i still get comments today, damn it.

i have dark hair. *dark* hair- on my head, my legs, my arms... everywhere. so some of the hair on my upper lip is a bit dark. i was terrorized throughout my childhood and teen years for having a 'mustache'. ok so it's a little dark, but not THAT fucking dark. jesus christ. i dont look like a man.

and im still super sensitive about it.

my WHITE band uniform pants. And of course I didn't play anything sensible with a huge section I could hide out in; no, I was percussion, so there were like 8 of us. Right in the center of the formation.

I guess that technically ended my "childhood" right there. What a way to go out. :eyes: :thumbsup:

I was staying with my uncle in Florida while my parents traveled to Las Vegas. (They came back, if anyone cares.)

Anyway, one day we went to my uncle's girlfriend's house, so he could...visit. Ha. They put me in the pool and went inside. Remember, I was eight! Very young.

Remember...EIGHT.

I was a shy boy when I was young, so it turns out that when I needed to use the bathroom, I didn't want to bother them. So...being EIGHT (I can't emphasize that enough) I just went in the pool. And I'm not talking #1.

My name is Jeff, and I have a problem.