Curing “Everything is Embarrassing” Syndrome

My resolution this year was to cure my “Everything is Embarrassing” syndrome. What is this syndrome, you might ask? Well, it’s a term I made up based on Sky Ferreira’s  2012 pop hit of the same name. I’m very introverted and have pretty intense social anxiety, so I often find myself being embarrassed for simply existing in society. Like I think walking around the dining hall to get a fork is a stressful and frankly, embarrassing, situation. At the end of last year, I decided that this mentality surrounding existence had to stop.

Moving to Sweden, there have definitely been times where I’ve done genuinely embarrassing things just because I’m new and things are done differently in the U.S. For this blog, I thought it would be nice to run through some of my “embarrassing” Stockholm moments to normalize doing silly things without dwelling on them too much. 

A street on Södermalm captured on a walk.

1. Everytime I’ve pulled on a push door and vice versa.
   •  The doors in Stockholm are weird! I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve tried to enter a shop and failed while patient Swedes wait for me to figure it out. Thankfully, these embarrassing moments don’t last that long. The door’s direction becomes evident pretty quickly, but I feel momentarily embarrassed nonetheless.
2. Walking on ice slower than children and mothers with strollers.
   • Guys, I’m from Florida and the ice on Brown’s campus is not nearly as prevalent as it is in Stockholm. Therefore, I’m a bit inexperienced and nervous with regards to walking on ice on a daily basis. The first few weeks I was in Stockholm, I was consistently passed by people I thought would also struggle with the task. Rather than being embarrassed from being lapped by the elderly, I realized that it was a sign that I should be more confident in my ability to navigate the icy terrain. If grandma can do it, so can you! 
3. My final, and most embarrassing anecdote: The time I walked in on an older woman in the restroom.
   • I know it doesn’t sound like the sort of thing I should be embarrassed about but let me explain. I went to the Stockholm Public Library a few weeks ago. It’s a great study spot, but, like most of Stockholm’s public restrooms you have to pay to get in. Begrudgingly, I decided to pay the fee on the day that I was studying. However, I didn’t realize that the bathrooms let you pay and enter the bathroom even if another inhabitant is inside. So, I walked in on a woman in the bathroom. Thankfully, she was just washing her hands, but I felt so bad. I literally fled the library and learned a valuable lesson about Sweden’s public restrooms.

The scene of the bathroom crime. (Stockholm Public Library)

I guess the point of this blog was to simultaneously own my embarrassing moments and perhaps impart some wisdom to any incoming DIS students. Moving to a new place is weird, it takes some to adjust and learn new customs. It’s okay!

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