Date: April 29, 2025

Author: Jessica Turner

I’m not proud of this, but it’s something that still haunts me every time I think about it. It’s one of those moments that’s so embarrassing, you’d rather bury it forever, but the shame keeps creeping back. I can’t believe I’m even sharing this, but here it goes.

It was my freshman year of college, and I had food poisoning. I had never experienced anything like it before. The constant stomach cramps, cold sweats, and nausea made it almost impossible to sleep. I spent hours tossing and turning in my bed, feeling miserable, praying it would end. I finally fell asleep sometime in the early morning, but that relief was short-lived.

At about 4 AM, I woke up suddenly with a horrible, gut-wrenching urgency. My stomach was doing flips, and I knew what was coming. My boyfriend had stayed over that night, and I’d been too exhausted to care about clothes, so I’d just slept in my underwear. My roommate wasn’t around, so I didn’t think much of it.

But as soon as I woke up, I realized I was in serious trouble. I was still half-asleep and dizzy from the food poisoning, and before I could even figure out where my shirt had gone, it was already too late. I could feel everything coming out at once. It was uncontrollable, and there was no way I could stop it.

In a panic, I bolted from the bed, trying to make it to the bathroom. Luckily, the public restroom was just down the hall, and the only thing I could think about was getting to the nearest stall. I ran as fast as I could, but as I reached the door, I realized things were even worse than I thought. I made it into a handicap stall, thinking I had at least some space to avoid total disaster, but I couldn’t hold it in. I ended up in a complete mess—both physically and mentally.

There I was, in a public restroom, naked, covered in my own sickness. I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and the shame of the situation was overwhelming. How could I let this happen? What if someone found me? I just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. It took me a while to clean myself up and get dressed again, and even longer to work up the courage to go back to my boyfriend’s room.

I’m sure he could tell something was wrong, but I didn’t want to say anything. I couldn’t. The embarrassment was suffocating, and I was so ashamed of the whole thing. I felt like I had failed in every way possible, and that was just a night I wanted to forget.

Of course, I eventually told my close friends, but I’ve never told anyone else. I just couldn’t. It’s one of those moments that I will carry with me forever, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shake the feeling of humiliation. I guess the only thing I can do is laugh at it now. It’s easier said than done, but one thing’s for sure: I’ll never take my health for granted again.