We asked Hokies their most embarrassing freshman moments

Lost, confused, and trying to understand how to get comfortable in our own skin – all of that has been regarded as a hilarious period of our tween days because we were ridiculous and immature back then.

Well, guess what incoming freshmen. You’ll be revisiting those days at a whole different level your freshman year of college. High school was just a warm-up. However, nothing to worry about because we’ve all been there and done that…in our own unique ways.

You’ll inevitably get lost and try to appear as if you’re walking with purpose

Helen

“The first day I moved in, I went to Owens with some friends to get dinner. They were going to hang out a little while longer but I had to get back to my dorm, West AJ, to meet up with my parents. I was confident enough that I knew my way back and told them I would be fine on my own. Turns out I’m not actually that good at remembering directions, especially in the dark. I found myself outside of Cheatham Hall, so I sat down and pretended to play on my phone which was running low on battery. Too embarrassed to ask anyone passing by, I texted my dad. He called me and reminded me I could just use Google Maps to find my way back. West AJ was literally around the corner.”

Joyce

“One of the first few days of my freshman year, I woke up and wanted to eat something. However, I was still unfamiliar with the food around campus, so I used Google and saw that there was a Dunkin Donuts open from 6am-9pm or something along those lines. I got up quietly, trying not to wake up my roommate, and headed toward Hokie Grill. Being a freshman, I still didn’t know my way around campus, so I somehow ended up in the kitchen between Owens and Hokie Grill when there was an orientation for student workers going on. By then, it was my turn to introduce myself to the new group, so I just said, ‘Hello, my name is Joyce and I accidentally stumbled in here looking for Dunkin Donuts…I think I’m in the wrong place.” They all stared at me and before kicking me out, the chef said to me, ‘Dunkin Donuts won’t be open for another three months or so’. It was embarrassing to me then.”

Sara

“On the first day of classes, I meant to give myself ample time to find my class, but of course, I didn’t. Instead, I found myself rushing to find Litton Reaves with coffee dripping down my arm and my map somewhere buried deep within my backpack. When I finally got to the building, I had no idea where to find the room. Thankfully, a big, probably very helpful map hung right near the door. The only problem was that a group of boys was blocking it. When I got the nerve to ask them to move (in a very polite, though nearly inaudible tone), they pointed me to the right room. However, when I opened the door, class had already begun and the professor asked me, ‘Did you bring enough coffee for everyone?’  All 100 students turned to look at me and, embarrassed, I took my seat. Some kind stranger handed me a copy of the syllabus, but unfortunately, when I looked down, instead of seeing an ‘Intro to Comm’ like I was expecting, I saw an ‘Intro to Equine Studies.’ After all of that, I was in the wrong class!”

Waving at someone you think you know will become a normal, everyday routine

Katharine

“As I was walking to Squires for Psychology class one afternoon, I spotted a familiar face from high school, so I waved my hand without a care in the world. I even said “hi” to the girl who was walking in the opposite direction of me. However, as we were getting closer, the familiar face turned into one of a stranger’s with a confused look. You can just imagine the bewildered look on my face as well as the shade of red it turned. I tried to play it cool, acting like I was saying “hi” to the person behind her, but the next person was about 20 feet behind her. Plus, it wouldn’t have worked anyways because I had already made direct eye contact with the girl I accidentally waved at, so I just kept walking, with one purpose – to run and hide in a hole.”

Tracy

“Once I was walking out of my dorm building to go grab lunch to bring back to my room. As I was about to leave, a hallmate who I didn’t know was saying “goodbye” to her boyfriend. I said “bye” back to her and quickly realized she wasn’t saying bye to me, so I kind of just ran away.”

You’ll probably do something embarrassing in front of a crowd

Ju

“During the summer, I was getting on the bus after Chemistry. I know I’m clumsy, so I always double check the steps I’m going to take beforehand, especially for buses and stairs. But when I took a step, I completely missed and face planted onto the bus. The people on the bus and at the Burruss bus stop just stared at me, no laughing or anything, just staring. As I got up, I thought, “oh my”, and tried to laugh it off. The bus driver kept asking me if I was okay or hurt, so I said, “haha no I’m fine!” and went to sit down at my usual seat right in front of the door. However, while I was sitting, the bus driver left his seat and came to me to ask me again if I was okay. He was really sweet, but it was also really embarrassing.”

Annie

“I fell off my seat at the Math Empo and the girls at my table laughed at me, so everyone looked at me. I literally got up just a tad and then sat down again, but missed the chair. It was so sad. I think it was only the first or second week of classes too.”

There’s never a day where people politely turn a blind eye on your ungraceful moments 

Claire

“My most embarrassing moment was probably sleeping in one of the couches in Torg because apparently, I made it on VT Snapchat story.”

Sharon

“During my freshman year at Virginia Tech, my best friend and I became pretty close with a sophomore boy (for privacy purposes, let’s call him JYP). No, this isn’t a love story or anything like that, so don’t get too excited. Basically, we became so close that we would go over to his dorm every night and just chill, eat, laugh and so on. Well, apparently we became a little too close because one night as I was sitting in his chair, watching a video and he was folding laundry or something, I accidentally let out a little fart. Mind you, it was a very adorable fart, but I don’t think JYP had the same opinion. From the absolutely horrified look on his face, one could assume that he had never heard a girl fart before. I tried to play it cool and make it seem like I had let one rip on purpose, but I’m pretty sure my reddening face gave it away. From that moment on, I was scarred for life and I vowed never to fart again. Just kidding, even though it seemed like a big deal to me at the time, in the end, it was a laughable memory! It took our friendship to a different level and allowed me to learn that embarrassing freshman year moments won’t really matter that much after you graduate. Also, FYI to all you guys out there… girls fart. And I learned in biology or something that our farts actually tend to smell worse #girlpower.”

Lastly… it just happens

One doesn’t intentionally embarrass his or herself. It just happens and that’s okay! Just know that it’s okay to make a freshman move, as long as it helps you to get one step closer to becoming a proper adult.

June

“I went to a career fair for the first time ever during my freshman year. When I spotted a recruiter I immediately gave him my resume. He looked at me and, in a serious tone, asked, ‘Why are you interested in our company?’ I wasn’t sure why he was asking me such an obvious question because I mean, duh…,’because I heard you were hiring freshmen…?'(insert the expression made in the picture above).”