Dear Shayna,

First of all, I LOVE reading your advice on Shabbat. I have a problem. I was on a walk with my friend on Sunday and I accidentally tripped and fell into the mud! My friend was taking a video of me and when we looked at it, it was pretty funny. But the next day I found out that she posted it on the internet! I was so embarrassed that the public saw me make a silly mistake.

I told my friend to delete the video, but it has already had hundreds of views! I am so embarrassed, what do I do now?

Signed,

Embarrassed Ethan

Dear Embarrassed Ethan,

There are two things I want to discuss regarding this question. The first point is regarding how to deal with embarrassing situations. The second issue is how to deal with your friend who put you in this embarrassing situation.

Everyone makes stupid mistakes. So you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself for being human. When people look at clips on the internet, they watch it for a few seconds and then move on to the next. It is out of their minds almost as soon as the clip is over. “Your worst humiliation is only someone else’s momentary entertainment.”

Now on to your friend. Did your friend end up deleting the video? Did you ask her why she did it? Was she apologetic about the situation? I want you to answer these questions. If your answers were “yes,” then that was extremely poor judgment on her part, but move on, give her another chance, and just continue being friends with her. If your answers were “no,” I would talk to her and tell her how much this bothered you. If she responds rudely, don’t hang out with her anymore. That’s not the kind of friend you really want to have.

Moving forward, be very careful when walking next to a friend with a phone because, as you know, accidents happen … “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!”

Best of Luck,

Shayna B.

Last week’s word scramble is … MAKE NEW TRADITIONS!

This week’s word scramble is … OHW WSA UROY DMU BTAH?!

Shayna is a fifth grader and understands what kids in elementary school are going through. She is happy to help others navigate this tricky time. She can be reached at [email protected]. She is looking forward to hearing from you soon.

By Shayna B.