Tripping down the stairs. Tripping up the stairs. Awkward bathroom encounters. An outfit crisis or two. Voice cracks during attendance. High school is a four-year journey that gives students plenty of chances to embarrass themselves.

When people look back on high school, it is easy to reminisce with rose-colored glasses. In reality, sometimes the scarring and humiliating experiences make the best stories.

Senior Brooklyn Digirolamo had a butterfly fly into her mouth when she was laughing on her way to class.

“Everyone saw me spit it out. I spent like ten minutes swishing water because I felt it fly around in my mouth,” Digirolamo said.

Even in between classes, students are still faced with traumatic experiences. Maddy Fisher, senior, literally came between a couple her freshman year on her way to journalism.

“There was a guy and his girlfriend in front of me. He had his arm around her and held the door open for her, but I thought he was holding it open for me, so I crawled under his arm in between him and his girlfriend, and walked through the door,” Fisher said.

These are not the only unusual experiences Etowah students have had. Walks to East can be treacherous, but plenty of embarrassing stories originate in the cafeteria.

“Earlier this year, my friend and I were leaving the lunchroom, and I accidentally dropped my bowl of chicken in front of Mr. Horn, and we got scared, so we ran away. Then when we came back 10 minutes later, the chicken was gone,” Caroline Pierce, sophomore, said.

Everyone has fallen before at school, whether it be a trip on a shoe that is easy to play off or a full head on tumble down the stairs.

“I fell down the stairs in the courtyard and knocked down everyone below me. This has happened multiple times,” Olivia Dorsey, junior, said.

Being an underclassman who is friends with an upperclassman can be a big deal. It is all about playing it cool until you get hit in the face by a sign. Kristin Denmark, senior, had a similar experience two years ago.

“I was talking to an upperclassman at the time and literally got shucked by the crosswalk sign that I had no clue existed and dropped my water and fell,” Denmark said.

Even teachers have had their fair share of funny, embarrassing moments amongst the halls of Etowah. Chris Stahler, economics and world history teacher, fell down the stairs in front of a lot of students.

“Everyone laughed at me at first but ended up helping me pick up the papers that flew everywhere,” Stahler said.

Students and faculty have enjoyed reflecting on memories that seemed scarring in the moment with others who have experienced similar high school humiliations. The easiest way to overcome embarrassing moments is to laugh about them with others.