💬 My first day of college, I wore formals and everyone else wore jeans

First day of engineering college, 2009. My mother ironed my shirt twice and made me wear black shoes. I took the 9:10 bus from Ameerpet with a new bag and a brand new steel tiffin box. Everyone inside was in jeans and printed t shirts. One guy looked me up and down. He asked, are you here for the interview? I said no, I'm in first year. It got worse. I'd sat in the second row because I didn't know where else to go. The lecturer walked in and asked each of us our name and our board marks, out loud. I said 91 percent and the whole room turned around. Nobody said anything. I wanted to disappear. That's how I became the topper in everyone's head, which I did not enjoy. At lunch I sat alone with my tiffin. Rice, curry and a fried egg my mother had packed in foil. A boy from the next bench came over and asked if he could share. I said yes. He ate half my egg and told me the formals were a mistake. We were friends by 2 pm. His name was Rohit. We shared a room 2 years later and he still owes me an egg. Next day I wore jeans. Nobody noticed. I'd carried that shirt around in my head all night. My mother still brings it up at family dinners. She says I looked like a bank manager. My uncle adds that bank managers get more respect than students, so I shouldn't complain. I still have the black shoes. They don't fit, but nobody's allowed to throw them out.

Are you here for the interview is the best line, and the second row seat made it worse.

My first day at a new job a few years back was rough because I walked into the wrong floor and sat through ten minutes of someone else's team meeting before anyone noticed I didn't belong. Nobody said anything, I just quietly excused myself once I realized. Looking back it is funny, but that morning felt endless, checking the clock every few minutes wondering if the day would ever move forward.