“Woah, your face is so red.” “Look at her face; she’s so red!” “Are—are you okay? You’re bright red….”
Wow. My face is red? After that embarrassing moment? I had no idea. It’s not like I could feel the heat prickling up my face or anything. It’s not like I could feel the embarrassment bearing down on my shoulders, making me want to pull a paper bag over my head. Nope, I had no idea that I was blushing. Not a clue.
In case you couldn’t decipher the sarcasm dripping all over the above statement, I, as well as others who transform into tomatoes anytime, anywhere, have a few things we’d like to get across to you non-blushers.
It happens in a matter of milliseconds. Heat begins to tickle my chin, saturating my face with crimson as it climbs all the way up to my forehead. One moment, I’m as cool as a cucumber. The next, I’m a walking tomato.
Whether it’s something small like someone simply saying my name and catching me off guard, to something big like falling in the middle of the packed dining hall, my face displays my embarrassment for all to see. Heck, it’s even noticeable when all the lights are turned off in the room. And I’m not one of those lucky girls whose cheeks are dusted with a light pink blush, as if they had swiped it on themselves that morning. Unfortunately, my face flushes to such a deep crimson color that people often ask me, “Are you okay?” as if I had stopped breathing.
But, I put myself in embarrassing situations so often that I’ve begun to accept that I’m probably part tomato and that my intense blushing is just a part of who I am. However, there is nothing worse than when someone points out during my moment of embarrassment that I am hardcore blushing. In case I wasn’t already embarrassed enough, now I’m highly self-conscious about my unfortunate blushing, which only makes me blush more.
So to all those who don’t have tomato DNA in their genes, please remember that our flushing faces are fully aware of our color—and no, we aren’t sick, just embarrassed. Ignore the blushing because without anybody noticing, our blush will fade quickly and we will return to a normal skin tone.
And to all my fellow tomatoes: Own that tomato look. We can’t control our capillaries, so just accept that it’s part of who you are.
