Random Life Stories and Unpredictable Moments

I've told everyone otherwise for too long. And when they start to notice, and I say I don't need help despite clearly needing it, they get mad at me.

I am a 15 year old boy and a junior in highschool. I am pretty introverted so I only recently managed to grow a pair and go to a real party. I drank a bit of alcohol while I was there and it made me a lot braver and bolder than I otherwise would have been. Another boy asked me to dance with him and my drunk self did something my sober self never would have done and said yes. The loud music and flashing lights disoriented me as we clung to eachother on the dance floor and stumbled around. After we were done he kissed me. That made me realize what just happened. At first I was surprised and a bit disgusted but those feelings were replaced by bliss when i realized how good it felt. I leaned in closer, kissing him agsin. The rest is a bit of a blur. I know I eventually somehow managed to sneak back home. Right now I just feel really confused and guilty because I liked what happened and I didn't want to like it.

Being a mom is the most rewarding and terrifying thing I’ve ever done. My little girl is only two years old, but every single day, I find myself wondering: am I doing enough? How to be a good mother when it feels like there’s so much to figure out?

Some days, I feel like I’m nailing it. We play together, she laughs at my silly songs, and I can see how happy she is. But then there are moments when I feel like I’m completely failing. Like yesterday, when I lost my temper because she spilled juice on the carpet after I told her three times not to run around with her cup. She cried, and it broke my heart because all I could think about was, “What kind of mom yells at a two-year-old over juice?”

I read parenting blogs and watch videos on how to raise happy, confident kids, but it’s overwhelming. There’s so much advice out there, and half of it feels contradictory. Be strict, but not too strict. Let them explore, but set boundaries. Make healthy meals, but don’t stress if they eat nuggets and fries once in a while. I’m trying to do it all, but is that even possible?

I see other moms who seem to have it all together—perfectly dressed kids, Pinterest-worthy lunches, and spotless homes. Meanwhile, I’m just proud if I can get her to daycare on time with matching socks. Sometimes, I wonder if they’re struggling too and just hiding it better.

I love my daughter more than anything, and I want her to grow up feeling loved, supported, and safe. But how do I know if I’m doing it right? Is there some magic formula on how to be a good mother, or is it just about showing up every day and doing your best?

If anyone has advice or has felt this way too, I’d love to hear it. I’m trying so hard, but some days it feels like I’m just fumbling through.

I am sorry that I'm here again to vent about the same things, but I have nowhere else to go, no one to talk to IRL. No one. I wish that that was an exaggeration- if you haven't seen things I've said before my previous posts (I think others can access them here? I can't tell, if not, oops) they have more detail of things. I just really, really needed this out, especially after an awful day with my doctor trying to take away medication that I need to live. She ultimately didn't, I fought too hard and gave her nothing that would let her, but it was clear she wanted to take everything from me just because I live different. Am different.

Home.

That's all I want, is to be able to sit in my room, or on the couch in a place and know that I'm home. I'm supposed to be here, I have safe people around me, I belong and am wanted here. To not feel like, every second of everyday, every moment I'm just waiting for someone to hurt me in some manner. For the government to do or try to do more to declare me unworthy of life.

I am intersex and trans, the government is trying to kill us off, you cannot deny it. If you genuinely still think you can, you're either blind or evil. Or both.

It is, Trump and his cronies are, trying to kill us. He's declared us not to exist, yet also says we should die, is doing anything in his power to make our very existence in itself a crime when all we want is to be ourselves and to live like everyone else. My state in particular just took trans and intersex people out of the Civil Rights Act, so the moment he would succeed, my life would be forfeit.

I'm mixed race, and look at the act from the 1700s he just enacted, allowing him to deport whoever he wants despite being a citizen declaring them dangerous aliens, create internment camps. Look at it. How long until he imprisons and deports lgbtqia2p people as a whole?

We have seen how this goes before, yet no one is stopping it, there are people outside the US blaming all of the country (even us who have been screaming for help and who screamed for people not to let him win) for it. We are just as culpable to them, so there's no chance we'll be granted asylum if we tried to flee. Not until we're being slaughtered in the streets.

I never really felt at home in this world at all, as a whole, I am going to die a slow and painful death under this regime and there's no way around it. As I said, I'm intersex and trans, also disabled and chronically ill. So many targets on my back. I keep begging for help to get out and everyone just tells me I'm, "not valuable," as a citizen so I need to become it or perish really.

Yes, I've been told straight up I am not valuable- even by other transfolk.

My own community is leaving me (and others like me), in the dust because I'm disabled and intersex, because I need "too much" help. Because I am "too much." Again, actual quote.

I just want to be healthy, figure out what I need to do to feel better, get everything back on track so I can study forensics like I wanted. Either anthropology or psychology. To get the hell out of here, away from the people hurting me (within my home and in the country) and find someone who loves me, who will protect me and vice versa, maybe make the loving family I never got to have. I want to adopt, I am infertile, children with a spouse and maybe run some sort of cat cafe. I don't know. I have so many dreams, so many wants, ranging from quite simple to more complex.

I want to live, and I barely even got to yet, trapped with abusive "family" that deliberately kept me sick and sad and dependent so they could do who knows what. I still don't know what their goal was ultimately.

Why do I have to justify my existence? Why do I have to be valuable to deserve to live, to deserve to smile, to deserve anything? Why do the beliefs of people that think a "loving god" flooded the world just because he was angry at his own creations, who apparently is the god of mercy yet wants to kill anyone who doesn't believe in him, matter more than a living breathing thing people can SEE?

I don't even know what I believe anymore. I was raised Evangelical on my dad's side, Catholic on my mother's, had the rapture shoved down my throat starting age eight and had my aunt try to exorcise me at fifteen or so for clear signs of abuse and just... Being me. Why are the opinions of people like that worth more than lives?

... Home.

I just want to go home, but I don't know if that ever existed for me in the first place, or ever will. I wish so badly I had someone to take me there, someone I trusted to go to for refuge, but I don't.

If it wasn't extremely unsafe and 99.9% likely to end in disaster, I'd start begging random people on the internet from better countries to come and smuggle me there (so to be clear I am NOT DOING THAT I just wish so badly I could get out of here...).

Being married to someone with ADHD is a bit like managing a never-ending whirlwind... 🤯 I'm a 39-year-old male, and let me tell you, the struggle is real! Balancing a marriage where spontaneity and disorganization reign supreme sometimes feels like a Herculean task. Words like "executive dysfunction" and "time blindness" have become part of my daily vocabulary. My vows did not include being an impromptu project manager, yet here I am, juggling schedules, managing chaos, and frequently playing the diplomat in our otherwise harmonious union.

One day blends into another, all marked by last-minute schedule changes and unexpected curveballs. I've read countless articles, promising that understanding is the key, "knowledge reduces frustration." While I do make an effort to empathize and educate myself, there are days when the constant unpredictability becomes overwhelming. Who knew that even planning a simple dinner could devolve into a logistical nightmare? 🍛 As much as I love spontaneity in small doses, I am not exactly a fan of daily surprises that involve lost keys, missed appointments, or urgent late-night runs to the store because we ran out of toothpaste (again).

Despite it all, I commend my spouse for their efforts to work with their ADHD and seek help where needed. Together, we have implemented what I like to refer to as "behavioral scaffolding”—strategies meant to curb chaos, such as color-coded calendars, digital reminders, and whispered daily affirmations of patience. On most days, these measures improve both our lives, but on others, they feel like mere Band-Aids, barely holding back the floodwaters. Have you ever heard the saying, "the straw that broke the camel's back"? Well, it feels like I'm constantly searching for new ways to reinforce the camel.

In the end, I don't want anyone to think it's all bad. We have our moments of brilliant clarity and profound connection. Thanks to ADHD, love is never boring! However, dealing with it requires understanding, patience, and, dare I say, a touch of humor. 😂 It is important to remember that what we deal with is not our significant other's personality, but a condition they did not wish for. Would you agree that the spontaneity, only manageable with communication, sometimes also breathes life into mundane routines? Nonetheless, I hope sharing this has lifted some weight off my chest. If you're sailing a similar boat, remember: you're not alone. Stay strong, stay patient, and find joy in small victories.

My dad is a conspiracy theorist and it’s driving me insane. I think he is losing it mentally because he spends hours outside at night taking pictures and manipulating them to see crazy faces in the pixels and making up monsters. He makes me look at them all the time, He will wake me up in the middle of the night to look at them. If I don’t see what he sees, then he gets mad or upset with me. He is convinced that he has seen ghosts and talked to demons and made a deal with them.

Today he has been trying to convince me that the earth is flat by showing me a YouTube short. Yesterday he tried to convince me that dinosaurs weren’t real. I’ve tried to tell him I don’t like conspiracy stuff unless it makes sense, mainly about like company’s drama and stuff like that. He got upset and thought I didn’t like him and that I hated him, I tried to explain it to him and he still felt the same way for like a week. I felt bad and ended up just giving in to his delusions. I just tell him I see the stuff in the pictures, but I don’t believe the earth is flat and that dinosaurs weren’t real. He said I was stupid for believing in that. I just said that I had my opinion and I had his which he was thought stupid but agreed. Honestly I’m kinda getting tired of it because he will fake being possessed and make his voice deeper and slower. Sometimes he will fake pass out and me and my little sister have to shake him to get him to not fall over or to wake up. Sometimes he does it when we are in other rooms but will cough fake but loudly and if we don’t go in to help him, he will yell “Thanks for all the help!”. It’s kinda hard to deal with him like this when I already have derealization and him trying to convince me that everything is fake and that we live in a simulation and that we are just a giant test like the hunger games or some shit

Hi i am a 15 year old female who struggles with depression, anxiety, and self hatred. I cant help hut feel like everything is my fault, and when i speak up nobody listens. I really want to feel like there is something to live for but i cant find it. I truly don’t even know what life after high school will be like. The only true thing I'm living for is my two year old cat. If anyone has any tips, please help me out.

I’m put into a position where I have to choose who to live with. Either my grandma or my mom and it’s hard because I love them both and I hate that I’m forced here. My mom is going to move out because my grandma says that she brings trouble to the house and because my mom forgave her boyfriend after he hit her and took her car. So my grandma is making my mom move out so my mom and her boyfriend can live together instead of bringing him here to where I’m currently staying (which is in a home with my grandma and my mom). Today my grandma asked me “Your mother is looking for a place to live. I assume you’ll stay here with me, right?” <— (In Spanish) and all I did was look down. I didn’t give her a clear answer so she shrugged it off but it makes my chest ache, feeling like my family is falling apart and there’s nothing I can do. I don’t want to have to choose who to live with, I just want things to be happy.

And on top of all of that I just wish I could have a dad to go to. “Daddy issues” is so sexualized but it’s not my fault my own father isn’t there for me emotionally / mentally so now every time I see a dad and daughter having a healthy relationship it makes me cry and I get so jealous that it hurts. My mom doesn’t have her shit together, she’s always coddling her boyfriend and there’s no privacy with her or her boyfriend because of a camera I mentioned in one of my other vent stories. I just wish I had both of them, a mom to go to that respects my privacy and can just comfort me and a dad who can do the same. But I’m 15 and I’m already aware of the dangers online so I don’t trust easy anymore after having a couple online friends that talked behind my back to my boyfriend. My boyfriend also has his own things that he’s going through and I don’t want to burden him so I wish I could have my own online family. Like a little support system to escape reality.

I wish there was a way to factory reset my family, lol.

Okay so basically just Sunday I went out shopping and got these pore strips for my nose and I only use them two days a week since it’s only two days a week and I’m actually gonna stick to that. And just today my sister(4 years older then me with her own car and money) had came up to me and asked if she could have one and obviously I said no because I want it balanced and she kept on begging and begging and I kept telling her no and she finally left and decided to go to our mom to make me give her the pore strips she could’ve easily bought. And the place where I got them only costs like four or three dollars for a six pack of them and she was well over 900 dollars to spend too and also not to mention she uses her boyfriends money(he makes way less then her) anyways she went to out mom and I guess she said something dumb like “oh I bought her food but she still refuses to give me her pore strip!” And so when I walk out to just hang out with my mom she was all like “just give your sister a pore strip” and when I handed her the stupid pore strip she was all like “oh yeah I ordered you a triple dipper from chilis” and proceeded to keep most of the fucking food. And like I didn’t even ask for that and im amusing in her world I’m hungry all the fucking time just because I’m chubby. And it’s like why are you even assuming that? Like not all “fat” people are the same

As someone who captures weddings through the lens of a camera, I've encountered my first situation where I’m seriously considering declining to cover an event. I secured a wedding booking back in February and had a preliminary chat with the couple, where they mentioned a broad destination without pinning down the exact location. I agreed on the condition that they would update me accordingly. Similarly, they didn't provide a specific time for the event.

Over the following months, I attempted to reach out for details but my messages were left unanswered. By mid-June, with the wedding fast approaching on the 30th, there was still radio silence from their side.

Driven to find answers, I contacted another vendor involved in the wedding. Shockingly, I learned that the couple had shifted their wedding site to a spot three hours away, now planning to start the event at 5 AM, followed by a two-mile trek to the venue. All this, and still no word directly from the couple themselves. Additionally, the vendor hinted that these plans might not even be final.

Despite having received payment upfront, we had never formalized a contract detailing the agreement's specifics. Now, just five days away from the event, I find myself in a dilemma whether I should cancel. The thought of traveling all that distance only to possibly find the venue changed again is daunting.

If I cancel, I think it would be fair to offer a full or at least partial refund due to the circumstances. However, I’m open to suggestions on how to handle this professionally. I was hesitating for the category between the one I chose and the Bridezilla category... hard to choose :)

Imagine how this scenario would unfold if it were part of a reality TV show. Cameras following every tense moment as I struggle with the decision, juxtaposed with the intrigue of the wedding couple’s erratic planning. The drama of it could captivate viewers, showing the real challenges faced by wedding vendors, often hidden behind the glamour of the big day. But would the public sympathize with my predicament or see it as an overreaction? The suspense and possible conflict might make for riveting television but would certainly add another layer of stress in reality.

I'm not a particularly religious person, and usually, I respect everyone's beliefs as long as they don't impose them aggressively on others.

I'm employed as a delivery driver at a local pizzeria. Typically, I cover the morning shift alone since it’s not usually very hectic.

Today, out of the blue, a call came from a woman requesting a large order to be delivered to the nearby hospital. It took quite a while to prepare because of the size of the order. Meanwhile, another order was placed online, destined for a church, which happened to be in the complete opposite direction of the hospital. My boss had to inform the woman at the church that her delivery would be significantly delayed due to the circumstances.

Once the hospital delivery was done, I headed back to the shop to pick up the church order. I heard that the lady from the church had been furiously calling the shop, complaining about the delay. She did not seem pleased when I finally arrived with her order. Her first words were, "I don't care who's to blame, but this is forty-five minutes late. This should never happen, I've got hungry kids waiting."

I chose to remain silent.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" she prodded.

"Just trying to ensure you have a good day, ma’am," I replied coolly.

She scoffed, turned away, and as I muttered under my breath, "That’s very Christ-like of you."

Returning to the shop, predictably she had already called to complain about my 'mocking' her faith. My manager isn't my biggest fan, so she took the opportunity to lecture me about customer service, demanding I always apologize and smile, regardless of the situation.

I questioned whether it was justifiable to apologize and smile after being verbally abused, and she nearly terminated my employment on the spot.

Since I was already doing overtime this week, I decided to wait till the end of my shift today before quitting.

Does that make me a bad person?

Imagine if this scenario unfolded on a reality TV show. How intense would the reaction be on social media or among the show's viewers? The dramatic interaction could potentially become a pivotal moment, underscored by debates on professionalism, religious tolerance, and personal limits in service-oriented roles.

I hate all the lies she tells me. I hate that She says She doesn't care, she's Better off, She moved on, that she's hardned up. Because It's not true. It's lie. And she's actively trying to mend a hole he, or some body else with other things, or people or Animals. Trying to shape them into her ideals, projecting her suffiring onto them, making them pay for his mistakes. I hate that all those solid values she preached on and on for my whole life Is just what She wanted in him. I hate that She thinks i'm him. And i hate that She May be right. I hate that I have this kind of obbligation to make up for all she went through and to apologize for what he did. I hate him. I hate her. I loathe her.

i’ve been thinkin about this a lot lately, like way more than i probly should, but i just can’t help it. i go to this school where so many kids are rich or like... pretty well off. not just talkin new clothes or fancy phones, i mean actual money. like they get picked up in shiny cars, talk about their summer trips to europe, have the newest gadgets before they even come out. nd then there’s me. my shoes are always a little worn out, i still got the same backpack since 7th grade, and when ppl talk about “weekend plans” mine are usually helpin my mom clean or babysit my cousin. my family’s not just “not rich,” we’re broke-broke. i don’t blame them or anything, they work hard, they love me, we just never had much. and while no one at school has ever been mean to me about it, not once, i still feel it. like this quiet voice in my head always whisperin “you don’t belong here.”

what sucks the most is that i do have friends. like, good ones. they include me in everything, they don’t care i don’t have name-brand stuff or can’t always go out when they do. they joke with me, they listen, they’re just... normal. and i try to act normal too. i laugh, i join in, i smile. but inside, i’m always thinkin about what i’m missing. i feel like i have to try harder just to be at the same level. if we’re doin a project, i work extra hard so they don’t think i’m dumb. if we’re hangin out, i make sure i’m funny or helpful or something, like i gotta earn my place all the time. and they never asked me to. they never made me feel like i’m “less than.” but that don’t change the fact that i still feel less than. i can’t stop comparing. even if i got the same grade or the same laugh, i still feel like i’m catching up to everyone else’s life.

i don’t even talk to anyone about it, not even my best friend. how do you even say, “hey, i feel small around you sometimes even tho you’re nice to me”? it’s not their fault i feel this way. it’s just... the way everything is. the way i grew up always worrying about bills or food or how to fix something ourselves because we can’t pay someone to do it. nd even when i’m at school, doing fine, gettin decent grades, i still feel like one wrong move and i’ll slip and they’ll all realize i’m not like them. it makes me scared to dream big sometimes. like, who am i to think i can be something? go to a big college? have a cool job? buy my mom a house? sounds fake when i say it out loud. it’s hard to believe in yourself when everything around you has always told you to settle. and even harder when you’re in a place full of people who already have what you’re fightin for.

so yeah, how to overcome inferiority complex? hell if i know. i’m still figurin it out. maybe it starts with stopping the comparisons, or reminding myself that money don’t make someone better than me. maybe i gotta start believing my friends actually like me for me, not what i have. i guess i gotta remind myself that i’m smart, i’m funny (sometimes lol), i’m kind, and those things matter too. but it’s not easy. some days it’s like carrying a weight i can’t drop. but i’m tryna be better. i’m tryna hold my head up even when my shoes are scuffed. maybe i don’t got all the stuff they got, but i got my own story. and maybe one day, i’ll look back at this and realize i was enough the whole time. just gotta keep goin. one step at a time.

I have a daughter named Lucy who was really eager to be a bridesmaid at her sister Alice’s upcoming wedding. Initially, Alice hadn’t planned to include Lucy in the bridal party, but given Lucy's enthusiasm and desire to be a part of it, she relented even though it involved additional expense and planning.

The costs for Lucy’s bridesmaid outfit, inclusive of the gown, shoes, and alterations, summed up to around $1000, which we agreed to cover since Lucy didn't have the means to pay for it herself. However, with the wedding just a month away, Lucy suddenly decided she no longer wanted to be a bridesmaid. She complained that the dress was unattractive and unflattering, criticisms she hadn’t voiced earlier. Moreover, she felt out of place among the other bridesmaids and ultimately chose to withdraw her participation.

Now, we’re left with a pricey dress that’s non-refundable. I reminded Lucy that it was her insistence that swayed our decision to let her join the bridal party. Given this context, I told her she needs to reimburse us for the cost of the dress. I suggested she could either get a part-time job or set up a payment plan from her future gift money. Lucy feels this solution is unfair and views it as a punishment for stepping back from a situation where she felt uncomfortable.

Some of our relatives think I’m being too strict. What’s you're take on this?

Imagine if this scenario played out on a reality show — the drama and the divided opinions among viewers would be intense! Cameras zooming in as Lucy expresses her dissatisfaction with the dress, the tense family discussions about finances, and the heated debates among viewers online and perhaps even a live audience voting on whether my decision was too harsh or justified!

I’ve always been the type to keep my head down and focus on my goals. I’m 21, in my third year of engineering school, and everything I do, every choice I make, is with my future in mind. I’ve sacrificed a lot to get here—late nights, weekends, even my social life. So when I met her, I thought maybe I finally found someone who could make all this stress a little easier to carry. She was fun, spontaneous, full of energy. The opposite of me in a lot of ways, but I liked that. She made me laugh, pulled me out of my shell, reminded me what it felt like to live a little. At first, it was amazing. I felt like we balanced each other out. I’d be buried in assignments, and she’d bring over takeout and just chill with me, no pressure. But things started shifting. The parties became constant. The calls stopped. The texts were shorter. And eventually, the rumors started.

At first I didn’t believe them. I didn’t want to. People talk, right? Especially in college. I told myself they were just jealous, or didn’t know what they were talking about. But then I started noticing things—Snapchats from clubs she said she wasn’t going to, random guys commenting stuff that didn’t sit right, her suddenly not answering for hours when she used to be glued to her phone. And yeah, I finally asked. She denied it, of course. Said I was being paranoid, that I didn’t trust her. And I felt guilty for even bringing it up. But then I saw it with my own eyes. Twice. Two different guys. And still she acted like I was overreacting. "It didn’t mean anything," she said. "I was drunk, it was a mistake." But it wasn’t a mistake if it happened more than once. It wasn’t an accident. It was a choice. And I can’t lie—it broke something in me.

The thing is, I know I should leave. Everyone tells me to. My friends are fed up with watching me go through this cycle of betrayal and fake apologies. But I haven’t. Not yet. I wish I could explain why. Maybe it's because I'm scared to be alone. I spent so much time focused on school that she became my only real escape. My only comfort. And now, even with all the lies, part of me still wants her to care. Still wants her to be who she was at the beginning. I keep holding on to the memory of that girl, even though I know she’s not coming back. And it makes me feel weak, honestly. Like I’m not the guy I thought I was. I always prided myself on being strong, being focused, having self-respect. But here I am, stuck in this mess, not knowing how to let go of someone who clearly doesn't value me. I'm torn between not wanting to be alone and not being able to accept the idea of staying with someone who could hurt me like that. I don’t know how to fix it, or if I even should. All I know is I’m tired. Tired of pretending I’m fine. Tired of the lies. Tired of loving someone who doesn’t love me back the right way.