Random Life Stories and Unpredictable Moments

Honestly I’m in a bad mental state. I’ll admit it. I’m splitting while writing this.

It’s been years, years of smoking, weed, and arguments. And I’m so fucking sick of it. Sick of the way my nose burns, chest tightens, and my fists clenching. And before you question, “is this you smoking?” No, it’s my parents.

I’ve told them for YEARS I hate that they smoke, and I told them to not do it around me or I’ll yell at them. I think it’s pretty fucking clear I hate it??? I’ve told them to their face, but they fucking LAUGH. It all stems to when I was 6 ish, caught them in the bathroom smoking weed from a bong, breathing it out into the vents.

{present day, I’m 13.} I walk into the house after being gone for 4 hours, walking and playing with these dogs right? I open the door and walk up one step. It smells like FUCKING WEED. Smoke all around the fucking house. I’m already livid, I’ve told you 73 times. Isn’t that enough..!? And yes I’ve kept count because I’m petty as fuck. So i immediately say “I’m not doing this.. I’m just gonna go back.” And then my dad stops me like “I didn’t know you were coming back.” OF COURSE YOU DIDN’T!! EVEN THOUGH I TOLD YOU RIGHT BEFORE I LEFT??? DOES IT JUST GO THROUGH YOUR LEFT EAR AND PUT YOUR RIGHT? Anyway. So yeah. I was mad. I had the right to? So I stormed to my room as I’m so sick and tired of this addiction they have. Are they trying to make me like my sister? Make me addicted at 13 like her?

Before you feel sympathy for my dad, look at my other stories before commenting. Anyway cut my mom some slack.

Last year, during the Thanksgiving season, my mom announced that the holiday would also serve as a reunion for her extensive family. She's one of many siblings, and the guest count hit 53 confirmed attendees.

The gathering was set at my mom's place. Luckily, her brother lives right next door, giving us the advantage of using two kitchens. She tasked me with devising the menu, a challenge I accepted but soon realized the complexity of. Considering the dietary restrictions alone was daunting. Our family is Jewish with varying degrees of kosher observance, half are vegetarian or vegan, some have allergies, three suffer from Celiac's disease, and a handful adhere to a keto diet. Plus, there's always a mix of picky children and adventurous adults.

After substantial planning, I shared the proposed menu in our family group chat, and the reaction was generally positive, except for a few minor adjustments like the need for a keto-friendly cheesecake and dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets for the finicky younger ones. However, my brother-in-law did not share the enthusiasm. He was notably upset over the absence of turkey from the menu. My suggestion was either to bring a turkey himself or settle for the alternatives provided. He wasn't pleased about the prospect of cooking after a long drive.

This led to a series of complaints via text from him, supported by further encouragement from my sister pushing me to take matters into my own hands and prepare the turkey. In response to continuous pestering, I made a cheeky post in the group chat declaring that he had volunteered to cook the turkey. This only fueled the fire, drawing my mother into the fray, chiding me for not handling the situation more gracefully.

Reflecting on these events, I believe he failed to appreciate the effort it took to plan such a complex menu. Admittedly, my response could have been more tactful. Now, imagine if this scenario unfolded on a reality TV show. The drama would undoubtedly be amplified for entertainment, featuring tense music and close-ups of our frustrated texts. Would the audience see my actions as justified or deem them an overreaction? It’s an intriguing thought as the line between personal grievance and public spectacle blurs in the realm of reality television.

How would viewers react if this were a reality show segment?

Heyah👋🏻😄!!

I wanna be a Wedding Planner👰🏻‍♀️.

But I don't know the steps to do so🫠. My cousin is an event planner, so maybe I can ask her🤔?

This is the first time that I've thought seriously about the career I actually wanna have☺️🙏🏻✨. I usually just go for your basic minimum wage jobs, but I wanna seek more... And now, I have more motivation to do so🤩🙏🏻✨!!

My bestie always said that she's super excited when I get married cause I already know so much wedding planning lingo😅!! But there's more to wedding planning then just knowing what everything is, but where to get it, the budgets, who to talk to, guest lists, budgets, specific items important to the couple, locations, permits, did I mention the budget... And there's also the possibility of the Bridezillas, Momzillas, Dadzillas, Sisterzillas, Brotherzillas, Groomzillas and more😱!! I'm recently changing my college degree back to psychology specifically for this job field.

It feels like forever since I've had any motivation to think more seriously about a more stable career🥹. I understand that sometimes minimum wage is stable for some who live on their own and want a smaller living space and other stuff that I don't know since I live with my cousins at the moment. But I'm just super excited to start REALLY planning my future. I'm a little late to the party, as I'm now 24 and still on college, but I look forward to continuing this journey🥳!!

And maybe one day, after I feel more comfortable with my finances, and as a person in general... Who knows, maybe I'll find a nice person to love and get married to👰🏻‍♀️💒💍? Who knows🤷🏻‍♀️!? The future is vast and I'm grabbing Life by the horns(if life had horns) and steering my own path🫡👍🏻✨!! Wish me luck🍀!! Or break a leg(if there are any theater kids out there🧐)!!

so I was just like sleeping in band class right? I wake up, and my 'friend'(are we even still friends? I dunno) takes the stand in front of me. out of curiosity I look to the stand next to them and go 'what about this one?'. they explain to me that it was broken and we leave it at that. however they'd been sort of purposefully avoiding talking to me{?) and so I ask 'hey are you mad at me?' pretty obviously I was scared, due to being brought up in an environment where everyone was mad at me all the time for no reason and caused me to have heavy people pleasing tendencies. then they started going off on me about how I always think people are mad at me and blah blah blah. thing is, they KNOW about my home life. but like they're being nice to all the other friends they abandoned me for. so I dunno.

Currently, we’re providing shelter to my sister Helen and her family after their house suffered damage from Hurricane Helene (yep... bad naming coincidence...). We’ve set some ground rules while they stay with us: they must respect our space, her boys are not allowed in my daughter Lucy’s room, and they need to move out as soon as their home is repaired.

Unfortunately, Helen's sons disregarded these rules and entered Lucy's room, rummaging through her belongings. They discovered one of Lucy’s special compression bras, which she uses for her theater roles. Since she’s been involved in drama from a young age, this bra, which resembles a tank top, is essential for when she needs to portray a boy or a young girl by flattening her chest to suit the character better.

The situation escalated when Helen found the bra and discarded it.

We only noticed it was missing when Lucy was organizing her theatre kit for a play rehearsal. She’s due to play Viola in her school’s rendition of "Twelfth Night," and this bra is vital for her costume. It wasn't just any item; it cost us $50 as most of Lucy's theatre expenses like makeup and costumes are covered by us.

I approached Helen about the issue, insisting she reimburse us so we could replace the item. However, Helen resisted, citing her financial hardships and questioning the appropriateness of Lucy owning such an item. She used the phrase "boys will be boys" to dismiss her sons' behavior. Our mother has always been lenient towards Helen and thinks I’m being overly strict, especially considering Helen's current status as a financially struggling single mother without a home.

All I want is for my daughter’s possessions to be replaced. Is it unreasonable to expect that?

If this scenario unfolded on a reality TV show, viewers might witness heightened drama with hosts and audience reactions potentially split. Some might sympathize with the plight of a family losing their home, while others could argue the importance of respecting belongings and personal space, creating a polarized viewer response.

How would you feel if your relative discarded your belongings?

dunno who else to turn to for this, so hello online community!

let's call this friend H. i consider H a very close friend of mine. we've both been in the same boarding school, and i've been friends with her for the past 3 years. we always get roomed together so that's how we eventually started bonding. but she gets in these emotional moods sometimes and tends to take her feelings out on me.

it ranges from getting mad at me for the littlest things to full on ghosting me for days straight. the most recent one was, honestly, partially my fault, but in my opinion i didn't even do anything that bad. so we were the only ones in our dorm bathroom at the time, along with two of our other friends. it was late at night and H wanted to take a shower. i wanted to scare her and pretended like my friends and i left the bathroom, so we all stayed quiet while she was showering. she did call out to us multiple times, but she was laughing and giggling so i assumed that H knew that we were still in the bathroom and was playing along with the joke.

when H opened the shower door, she was still laughing with us. it was only until we entered the dorm that she suddenly started crying, putting on her clothes aggressively and then leaving, slamming the door shut. H called her mom right after that using a public phone and began to complain and rant about my 'terrifying' joke. we haven't spoken since, because i'm not going to apologize over something that was supposed to be a joke.

other than this, H has also snapped at me at random times, and by snapping, i mean screaming at me, shouting at me, randomly crying and telling me that i was 'bullying her' even though all i did was joke about how she sometimes slept too late at night or stayed in the shower for too long. perhaps my jokes were a bit mean, but i think H didn't need to yell about how i was 'such a bitch' and how she hated me for bullying her in front of all our friends just because i commented that she woke up late that morning. if H was really bothered with my jokes, why didn't she talk to me about it instead of screaming at me for it? H also confuses me because one day, she'll join in on the jokes and laughs along too, or makes a joke about me in return (which i don't mind, of course) but the day after that she'd be telling me that i'm a terrible friend for joking about her.

not only that, H complained to all my other friends about how 'mean' i was being, and 'cried' to them (it's not really crying because there's no tears coming out of her eyes but she makes weird sobbing sounds, so) about all my cruel and evil 'jokes'. i'm tired of being her villain. H knows i have issues with arguments that involve screaming because i had a bad childhood and i prefer arguments being settled through talking and communication rather than shouting, but she still yells and screams at me and doesn't apologize when i tell her it makes me scared and i want her to communicate in a calmer way. i also have issues with tone, and i have a hard time trying to figure out her emotions and stuff, so it really makes me feel sad when she accuses me of not trying harder to understand her.

her anger issues have taken such a toll on me for the past years we've been friends. i don't know how to tell her about my feelings without ticking her off and making her cry. i don't want to seem like more of a bad person to all our other friends, and i'm tired of being her scapegoat all the time. i'm so done with her just giving me the silent treatment without even trying to talk to me about what i did that made her angry. i'm so done with her just snapping at me angrily and not apologizing for it while i have had to apologize to her thousands of times for a small, petty joke. i don't know what else to do. i don't want to lose our friendship but i also feel like if this goes on for any longer i might go crazy lol

Of course, becoming a teen theirs responsibility. And always feeling the pressure to get a job from your parents. Anyways, im 15 and what are some jobs where I don’t have to work in a musty fast food place and being a cashier. (Counting money sucks😞) And im also introverted, but that won’t stop me from getting a job.

Merry Christmas everyone! ❤️🥰

I think I might be the floater friend. I used to have a friend group of four people including me. I was actually the last one to be included, and I tend to be the quiet one while the other three are the ones who talk all the time. But that doesn’t mean I never react to their messages, I do. I’m just not the type who likes to initiate conversations all the time, especially when there’s nothing happening in my life.

But I can sense them slowly drifting away from me. I feel like one of them is the “leader” of the group, and she’s the one who kind of decides where the relationship goes between all of us. I recently found out they went back to their old group chat where I’m not included. I asked if something was going on, and we talked it out, but in the end they still ended up talking only among themselves.

Honestly, it really sucks. I feel excluded, but there’s nothing more I can do because I’ve already addressed it, and everything after that feels out of my control. I guess I’ll just let this friendship slowly fall apart.

I feel so frustrated. I have always wanted to go abroad and study as it would allow me some freedom and let me learn stuff by myself. However, due to some familial issues I was not able to go, don’t get me wrong I am grateful that I am even getting the opportunity to study in my home country but the issue is my parents are not letting me do anything. My older sister who went abroad for her studies in her 19s was able to learn a lot of stuff and is the “pride” of the family whereas I am the loser. I am constantly reminded about how my degree will hold no importance in the global market or how I can’t do simple stuff like going to the gym because our “culture” is different. Whenever I try to bring this up to my parents that I also want to learn something like my sister I get told I still have time, that I am not going to get married any soon???? What does this even mean? I am constantly compared with my sister ( fyi my sister is absolutely on my side and always tries to help me so none of this is her fault ), I get reminded about how my degree holds no value, about how the world will not even care about the degree I hold. I was SO excited for this new phase of my life but I feel so sucked out now, I am not even studying what I wanted but I am not showing the signs that I am upset about it. Whenever I tell my mom that sometimes I get upset that I was not able to go she tells me in a harsh way that I should be grateful but then they degrade my degree?? Funny thing is I got accepted into all the universities that I applied to ( both abroad and domestic ) yet I keep getting blamed / compared to because they could not send me.

I never thought I’d be the type of person who just freezes up in the moment, but here I am. I’m 31, I’m married, and I’ve worked hard to build a career I’m proud of, but lately it feels like all of that is overshadowed by one man—my boss. He has this way of turning normal work situations into something uncomfortable and humiliating, and it’s almost always in front of my colleagues. I wish I could tell you I speak up for myself, or that I shut it down with a sharp comment, but the truth is I don’t. Instead, I give this nervous little smile, the kind that feels glued to my face even though my insides are screaming. It’s not a smile of agreement or encouragement. It’s the kind of smile you use when your body is in fight-or-flight but your brain tells you that staying quiet is safer than making a scene. And then I go home and replay the moment over and over, wishing I’d done anything different.

The worst part is the way he does it like it’s entertainment for the room. During a team meeting not long ago, he joked about how my “presentation skills come with added charm,” dragging out the word “charm” in a way that left no doubt what he meant. Some people chuckled awkwardly, others avoided eye contact, and I sat there with that same smile, cheeks stiff, heart pounding. Inside, I felt tiny. I couldn’t bring myself to say, “That’s not appropriate” or even just a simple “Please stop.” I’ve worked in professional environments long enough to know the terms—hostile work environment, power imbalance, harassment—but knowing them doesn’t help when you’re the one stuck in the spotlight. Have you ever found yourself betraying yourself like that? Smiling when every fiber of you wants to disappear or protest? It’s humiliating to realize my body’s default response is submission masked as politeness.

My husband tells me I should start documenting everything, that I should go to HR and protect myself before it escalates further. And part of me knows he’s right. But then there’s the other part—the one that whispers that HR doesn’t always protect the employee, especially when the boss has influence. What if they think I’m exaggerating, or worse, that I encouraged it? What if my nervous smile is later used against me as “proof” that I wasn’t uncomfortable? That thought terrifies me. Even my coworkers, who sometimes look just as uncomfortable as I feel, don’t say a word. I don’t blame them, because I know how much pressure we’re all under just to keep our jobs. But the silence makes me feel so alone. Instead of focusing on my projects and responsibilities—budget planning, deadlines, client presentations—I end up wasting so much energy just managing my fear of the next inappropriate comment.

I hate what this has done to me outside of work, too. That nervous smile has started showing up in other situations, like when someone puts me on the spot unexpectedly in a meeting, even if it’s harmless. It’s like my body has been trained to respond with false friendliness when I feel cornered. And I don’t recognize that version of myself. I value honesty, confidence, and being real with people, but lately I feel like I’m shrinking into someone who hides behind a fake grin. Maybe writing this here is a way of trying to reclaim a little bit of my own voice. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to confront him yet, but I don’t want to keep living in fear of his words or my own silence. So I’m asking you—how do you change that nervous smile into something braver? How do you break the cycle without putting your whole career at risk? Because right now, I feel like I’m balancing on a very thin line, and I honestly don’t know which way to lean. 🙏

At 16 years old, my son has been facing a tough battle with depression. Following advice from his therapist, he began taking antidepressants, which came with their own set of tough side effects like irritability and a significant drop in his motivation levels. His therapy sessions also emphasized the importance of gentle communication; sharp tones and harsh words only lead to negative reactions from him, such as retorts like "Do it yourself" or hurling insults back.

To deal with his depression, he often goes for long walks or hits the gym, finding solace in these physical activities. Despite me attempting to enlighten my husband and his family about our son’s need for patience and empathy during this challenging period, they seem to misinterpret his condition as laziness or outright disrespect, constantly pushing him to “man up.”

During a family event not too long ago, tensions boiled over. Everything seemed under control until his uncle began to criticize him for his subdued demeanor, urging him to "toughen up." Trying to escape the confrontation, my son attempted to walk away, but his uncle pressed on provokingly, remarking, “If I were your father, you wouldn't act like this.” Losing his composure, my son confronted his uncle, claiming to be “a bigger man at 16 than you’ll ever be,” which caused the uncle to step back.

Thankfully, his aunt intervened, supporting us and rebuking her husband for his harsh words. After things cooled down a bit, my son embraced her, clearly thankful for her support, and later sought comfort in my arms as well.

Back at home, when my husband began to critique his behavior calling for more discipline, I stood firm, telling him that such an approach would only make things worse right now. His uncle too received a stern warning from me to never demean our son again. Realizing the evening was becoming too stressful for my son, I decided it was time for us to leave, allowing him the space to relax and watch a movie in the comfort of our home. Eventually, my husband returned and although he was visibly upset, he didn’t push further.

Imagining this scenario unfolding in a reality TV show, one can almost picture the drama escalating dramatically. Cameras would zoom in on the heated exchanges, possibly amplifying the tension, and undoubtedly the audience's reactions would vary. Some might sympathize with my son and our approach to handling his mental health struggles, while others might side with my husband and his family, arguing that a stricter demeanor is necessary.

How should I manage the situation? What do you think?

Some years ago I got into a long-distance (me 14, him 16) and obviously it was a relationship that turned out to be really unhealthy. He was rude to me and others, made disgusting comments, dragged me into a weird situation with one of his friends, used me for things I was too young to understand, denied to make calls and hid me completely from his life. I tried to contact him a month after we broke up, and he told me he'd "see if we could continue together." He ignored my messages and was a bit rude, so I decided to tell him that "if he didn't think we could stay together he should just tell me"; next day he told me everything was my fault.

Four months after we ended, he got a new girlfriend and suddenly she was everywhere. Meanwhile, I ended up struggling with psychosis and even now dealing with loss of sensation on one side of my body.

Now I'm around my 20's, I live alone abroad, I have a stable job, I've managed to keep my health in order and I've found a stable partner. A few weeks ago, as a joke, we looked up my ex’s account. He’s still with the girl he once told me was just his “best friend,” they live together and are planning to get married. In her videos he looks like the perfect partner and I bet he changed; but there's one that was posted months after the breakup, they meet in person and she referred to him as a healthy person.

A few days later I ended up in the hospital after a crisis at work, and they told me I showed symptoms of a possible stroke.

I’m starting therapy again soon because I don't want to lose the battle so young, but holding all of this in until then feels impossible. Any opinion would be accepted and really loved by my heart!

People should stop judging people based on what they post on social media , messages sent to their friends and family or what insults and jokes they sent to their loved ones specially if it was done illegally without prior consent. They've only seen a 3 second conversation yet they haven't reflected to themselves they have gotten the messages illegally snooping into network and illegally obtaining them yet they want to be called " perfect". Oh and doxxing is also illegal add that to your "perfect" nature. Lol

I am collapsing inward like a dying star but no one will see the implosion until the light dissipates.

If you were to ask me what kind of friend I was, I’d tell you I’m the compassionate one.

But if you were to ask me on a deeper level, I’d say not once have I ever felt genuinely wanted or seen. I’ve always felt like the pity friend that is just allowed to be there. Not the favorite or the least favorite, just forever existing in a state of mediocrity. Deep down I desperately wish to feel truly cared for and I don’t know how much longer I can exist feeling like this. But I absolutely refuse to let anyone I love feel the way that I do. I will fiercely care and love them even if it sacrifices my own peace.

I’m never wanted. Too much and simultaneously not enough. Desperately praying to be completely and irrevocably seen. I think the second I’d feel wanted, the world would pause, all emotions would break like a tidal wave as I feel the earth give way under my feet, grasping onto the wanton need, fearing it would turn and run. Just like everything and everyone has done to me. So I’ll sit. And I’ll stay. Waiting for that day if it were to ever come. Though I fear I’d wait so long death would meet me first. Perhaps that is the only time I’d be wanted. I’d grasp his outstretched skeleton hand and wander to the land of the dead. Perhaps that is when I’ll have peace.