18 People Share The Most Surprisingly Nice Thing A Police Officer Has Done For Them.
From stopping suicide attempts, to fixing cars on the road, 18 people share the nicest thing a police officer has done for them.
This article is based on the AskReddit question "What is the nicest thing a police officer has done for you?"
Source can be found at the end of the article.
1/18. Peeing on a tree on church property...cruiser pulls up mid-pee, can't stop and knew I was busted. Officer rolls down the window and says to me, "I'll let God sort you out" and drives away.
-bentmccorndik
2/18. My tire blew out on the freeway heading down from Tahoe. Pulled over and began to get the spare out, etc. Trooper pulled over, told me to step aside, and proceeded to change the flat. I tried to tell him it wasn't necessary but he ignored me.
-2_Sheds_Jackson
3/18. When I was a kid my mom had a seizure behind the wheel of her car when my sister and I were in the backseat and thankfully she just ran into a road sign. The paramedics took her away and the other officers just called my dad and ignored the two kids in the back seat crying.
This amazing older officer got us chicken nuggets from McDonald's and told us about his horse. Whenever I see people online saying fuck the police I think of that nice old man that got dinner for two crying little girls and spoke with them about horses.
-Prannke
4/18. Got picked up going 25 mph over the limit in Chicago. I was on my way to college in Minnesota and I was still 500 miles away. The police officer asked where I was going and I told him I was headed to school. He asked where school was, and what I was going to school for. I told him I wanted to be a teacher. He took my license and registration, came back a few minutes later with only a warning, and one piece of advice: "Next time someone asks you what you're going to school for, don't say "I want to be a teacher," say, "I'm going to be a teacher."" And then he walked away.
Never drove that fast through Chicago again, and I took his advice to heart.
-korthlm
5/18. A traffic copter landed in a field nearby when I was about 8 and I went down to see it. When the two pilots came out of it to run to a nearby firestation they asked me to watch it for them. When they came back they gave me a set of pilots wings and a coloring book.
-SJ135
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6/18. I was sitting in my car in the park. A cop knocks on my window and asks for my ID. I give it to him and he says "You're legal, just confiscated this from a bunch of minors" and hands me 2 cases of beer.
-printerbob
7/18. I was six and noticed the neighbor's mailbox hanging open and a bunch of their mail in a deep ditch across the street. I told my mom, she called the police and when the officer came out, she had me show him what I found. He listened patiently as I told him the story, I got really bold about what I believed happened. I had this theory about the bad guys and where I thought their fingerprints were in the mud, etc. He was so sweet, seemed to write down what I said for his report, thanked me and walked me back to my house. I felt so brave and so important when he was probably doing all be could not to laugh out loud at my stupid theories. The neighbors bought me thank you flowers when they got home from vacation, it was a proud moment. I never forgot his kindness.
-Ghostwistful
8/18. Pulled a cop off my back and threatened to arrest the same cop on grounds of assault. I spent the next few years being helped by my own small town Officer NiceGuy. He helped me escape my "family" and not fall into the same life as my dad. If it weren't for him I would have been dead or in jail a very long time ago.
-TheManRedeemed
9/18. Due to being a dumb high schooler I was arrested for shoplifting. The officer saw I was terrified, even though I was big for a high schooler and he could have treated me like a threat. I was 18 so I was legally an adult even though I still felt like a kid. He was very... kind about it all. Walked me out of the store on a path that would require the fewest people to see me. Asked if I wanted the window cracked for air and assured me that it was dark outside and the windows were tinted so no one would see me. On the way to the jail he talked me through what would happen next. Community service, fines, all that.. He walked me in and as I was having my mug taken I accidentally said "yes sir uh ma'am" to a female officer who got pissed, but I saw him in the background chuckling.
A couple years later he pulled me over for a speeding ticket and a year after that he worked Black Friday security, standing right by me in the store I worked at. I'm not sure if he recognized me, I'm sure he sees so many faces in a day. I wish I would have thanked him for his kindness back then but both times I was either busy working or with people who didn't know about the arrest.
-gilbertk
10/18. Back when I used to wait tables, we had a cop who would come in on busy nights near closing time and keep an eye on the place, like a security guard getting easy overtime and a free meal. This guy was super cool and always fun to talk to.
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Well I had this table of sketchy looking hillbillies that racked up an impressive bill by ordering a lot of drinks and foods like steak and ribs... Well wouldn't you know it after I dropped the check off, they tried the old dine-n-dash.
And they would have gotten away with it IF the geniuses hadn't left the keys to their minivan on the table! So while I was freaking out about a table that had walked on a +$300 tab, I spotted the keys and walked straight over to the cop saying I had a table that left without paying! A minute or two later, the main heifer of the family came skulking in and tried to stealthily walk back to their table to look for her keys... Meanwhile our cop walks up behind her and says "Looking for something?" and jingles her keys. Not wanting to cause a scene, he escorted her outside and somehow made them cough up enough money to cover their bill and graciously leave me $2 tip.
One of the coolest memories I have of a cop!
-Not_Joshy
11/18. Was travelling in San Francisco with friends, decided to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Got to the lookout on the other side extremely cold (that bridge is windy, we were used to heatwave/Texas temperatures and not expecting California mildness) and tired. Began the long walk back across and ran into a policeman in a little buggy (can't find a pic, but literally this tiny van with bars separating the back from the driver), who offered to give us a lift back across.
12/18. We happily piled into the back of this funny little vehicle and he chatted to us the whole way back - telling us the best places to visit in the city, listening to our travel stories, generally being really sweet. Turns out he was on suicide watch and just patrolled the bridge up and down all day long.
-scribblefrog
13/18. I came outside from a party where I had a few too many and stumbled up the road to find my truck where I parked. I got in and put the keys in when his lights turned on behind me. He walked up, asked who I was and where I was going. I tried answering but he smelled the obvious brewery that I had downed and he pulled me out of the truck and asked me where I lived.
I told him thinking I was going to jail. Instead he helped me into the back seat of his car and he took me to Wendy's and got some food and then took me home. He helped me in the house and I managed to get on the couch. He wished me good night and told me to sleep it off, locked up my house and left.
I saw him broke down on the side of the road a few months later and I got to stop and help him with car trouble. It was nice to pay it back. He didn't have to do what he did for someone that didn't deserve it.
-ThePlague13
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14/18. So last night I was so drunk I gave the cab the wrong address when I was trying to get home from the bar. He ended up dropped me off like a mile away from where I lived. I walked around trying to get my bearings and slipped on the ice, re-breaking the frames of my glasses and hurting my knee. Eventually I reached what I thought was my entrance to my apartment and tried to get in, but none of my keys worked. I smoked a cigarette and tried calling my roommate, but he didn't pick up. I looked for my car on the street and realized it was not there, I must be at the wrong place. A few minutes later I see a cop car driving up and they stop right in front of me. They ask, "Do you know where you are?"
And I said something along the lines of, "Honestly, officers, I'm really drunk. Can you please give me a ride home?"
They looked at each other and kind of laughed and one of them said, "I've been there before man. Let me see your ID so I can run your information real quick."
I gave them my ID and got in the back seat. I explained more about what happened as they ran my name on their computer. I came up clean, so they decided to give me a ride home. On the way there we talked more, but the best part was when we got close and I told them it's a pain in the ass to get to because of one-way streets and the one driving, looks back and says, "Are you kidding? Look at who you're talking to."
He then flashed his lights and went down the wrong way of a one-way street. They dropped me off and told me to stay safe.
I honestly felt like I was in Superbad and thought they were awesome for not citing me or taking me to jail.
-eDgAR-
15/18. When I was young and dumb and going through a horrible breakup--really nastyI told my ex something like I wanted to kill myself. I was really down and out and feeling hopeless. She called the cops and they showed up at my apartment. He talked to me for a few minutes and ensured that I wasn't, in fact suicidal. Then as the paramedics arrived, he sent them away and stayed and talked to me for a bit about love and loss and how these things pass with time and how none of it is worth being suicidal. Basically just helped me put things in perspective and left.
I don't know what they're entitled to do under the law when responding to these calls. Perhaps he could have taken me in custody--I don't know. But he was a really nice guy who gave me a few minutes of his time when he very fairly could have to told me to grow up and don't do shit like this that distracts them from more important things. His kindness and advice was a real turning point for me.
-arch_nyc
16/18. When I was young and my family was kind of in a bad situation, a police officer picked me and my siblings up and took us Christmas shopping. We each got to spend $100 on whatever we wanted. It was one of the best holidays I ever had.
-Torchwood110
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17/18. I was 19 and took my mom's brand new car to my girlfriend's house. She had forgotten something at my house and needed it that night for the following morning.
I left my house without my wallet and just drove the ~mile to her. She came downstairs, took the bag from me and went back inside. As I started to pull away, an undercover car pulled me over.
Two officers approached the car. When they asked me for my license and registration, I froze. I had nothing on me. I profusely apologized and explained the whole story.
They were both very understanding. One officer even joked that "you are putting our time in, huh?"
They gave me and all visible areas of the car a once-over. When they were satisfied, they both told me to get home safely. They didn't even hint at a ticket.
Turns out, there was a huge drug bust in the neighborhood a few days later. Here I was - a 19 year old, in a brand new car dropping off a package at midnight. I must have thrown up every red flag ever.
They could have made my life difficult. They were totally understanding and cut a young kid a break.
-_TheConsumer_
18/18. I was on vacation with my dogs in a beach town that is a 5 hour drive from home.
I took my dogs to a park. While there, I had an accident that resulted in a loss of consciousness and multiple broken bones.
I remember waking up twice at the accident scene. Once, I was still flat on my back and called out for my dogs, whose leashes I had dropped when I was knocked unconscious. We were adjacent to a busy state road.
The second time I woke up, I called out for my dogs again and a paramedic told me that a deputy had them in the back of his car. I do not remember this, but I was told later that I begged "them" not to take my dogs to the pound.
So they didn't. The police officer who responded to the 911 call and chased them down across the park put them in the back of the cruiser and let them ride along on the rest of his shift.
They contacted my next of kin, who immediately booked it toward the hospital to which I had been taken. My bestie agreed to come get the dogs, and the officer met her half way.
Between my house and where I was vacationing. A five hour drive. After his shift was over.
-Maidmilk
(Source)
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When in the beginning stages of dating, it's important to know as much as humanly possible.
The element of surprise is no longer a fun aspect of romance.
Ask the small questions. Ask the hard questions.
Interrogate. Grill. Investigate.
Of course, you should do it with a subtle hand instead of an interrogation lamp.
The truth is all we have.
Ask everything.
Redditor RedditPenguin02 wanted to make a list of the best inquiries to make when starting a relationship, so they asked:
"What is a good question to ask before you start dating someone?"
From what I've learned in my past, always ask... "Are you into Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The TV show."
If it's a no, then it's a dealbreaker.
I Do
"Are you married?"
wrenchmonkey135
"I would ask that. If they said no, the next question was 'Would your wife agree?'"
"If they laughed, they were telling the truth. If they got indignant and pissed off that I thought they were lying…they were married."
"Worked every time."
Squibit314
We Lived!
"Do you clap when the plane lands?"
dont_u_know
"I swear people used to do this all the time when I was a kid (early 2000’s), and I don’t think I’ve heard anyone do it in 5+ years. I guess 9/11 really made people afraid of flying for about 10 years and then most folks decided they didn’t need to applaud when the plane landed safely?"
jmims98
Family Planning
"Do you want kids in the future? If one person wants kids and the other wants to stay child-free, then they are not compatible. And it is better to try dating someone else."
GoodAlicia
"It confuses me whenever some couples who disagree on this end up in a conundrum because one expected the other to change their mind. This is something I bring up early cause I see no future with someone who wants kids when I do not."
GoodAlicia
"You should always put childfree on your dating profile. It's not a small thing. Either you agree on it or not. If I had to date, I would put childfree on my profile too."
GoodAlicia
Carb it on...
"Do you like bread? That is the extent of my flirting skills."
HumpieDouglas
"Being German, bread is like a frickin' cultural phenomenon here, we have around 300 kinds of bread, there's a bread museum, every time I go on vacation I'm like yeah it's nice here but the bread ain't it yall, never as good as home lol. So yeah, valid question and the only answer to this is an enthusiastic yes."
Nayeliq1
Room Temperature
"What temperature do you set the thermostat to throughout the year?"
OneFingerIn
"Haha this one always gets me as someone who needs low temps - you can always put on more clothes, I can't peel my skin off to get cooler."
djdante
The thermostat is a dealbreaker for me.
It's gonna be 60. Love it or move on.
Discovery
"When was the last time you changed your mind about something?
"Opens a window to how they think."
youcantkillanidea
"If that was really early on in the dating I’d think it was a bit of a head-f**k question. I’d probably find that question a red flag, tone dependent, although I agree with the sentiment."
LivestockMarc
Personal Time
"Aside from major differences about finances, kids, politics, or religion, a big one is; What are your hobbies? If they don’t really have any, you may be the next hobby, which isn’t going to work unless you’ve got that kind of time. If the hobbies are time-consuming ones generally done with a SO."
"But you have no interest in them, that could be an issue as well. If only one of you likes camping, wanted to spend vacation lounging instead of exploring, didn’t like sports, etc either that partner is annoyed or the other feels like they don’t get to enjoy what they love."
Githard
Past Issues
"Ask them about their exes. If they think every single one of them is an a**hole... they are likely the real a**hole."
CantTakeMeSeriously
"I have mixed feelings about that - I've been in three previous relationships and all three were emotionally abusive towards me (one wasn't nearly as bad as the other two, though) in various ways. I know this is a common sentiment and it always makes me afraid that people won't believe me or something.
"I mean, I realize in your comment you said 'likely' and not '100% sure' and there's plenty of room for nuance."
phiore
Values
"I would try to take care of any dealbreakers. If I find out that she has different political values than I do, it's not going to work out in the long run, so I wouldn't bother. Same thing with other factors (religion, financial values, etc.). I would also ask how much cuddling she likes to engage in, as I prefer a lot."
SkullKrusher9000
Essentials
"When I was dating my three essential questions were always kids, sex, and money. If you're not on the same wavelength for any of those three things, just don't even try."
KhaosElement
TRUTH PLEASE!!
"So, how much personal debt do you have?"
"Source: the guy who dated a woman with huge debts and was asked to pay for everything and then some".
"After that, I'd go with, 'Have you ever been diagnosed with borderline, narcissistic, or histrionic personality disorders?"
extracensorypower
The questions are basic.
Just ask for the truth.
Do you have any good Qs to add to the queue? Let us know in the comments below.
As much as we always hop for our dating efforts to be worth it and for every relationship to work out, we all know that some relationships are not destined to work out.
But sometimes relationships end for totally valid reasons, and sometimes the reasons are painful, if not devastating.
Redditor overIorded asked:
"What went wrong with your last partner?"
History Repeating Itself
"He cheated on me. And I was glad because that was finally reason enough to allow myself to leave."
"Now I know somebody who's in the same situation. They're trapped. And she's such a gentle and fun person who's afraid to leave him because 'well, it's always been like this, I'm used to it,' and 'I deserve it.'"
"She wants to leave him, she knows she should leave him, but it's so hard to do it, and I know that feeling."
"I'm thinking I should give her my phone number like when the day comes you've had enough, I'll gladly come to help you move out from that s**thole."
- NmlsFool
Mental Health Struggles
"I'm lost in my own trauma and mental illness and he deserves better than anything I have to offer right now."
- Last-Celery7146
"I’ve been on the receiving end of this, and mildly said, it absolutely ruined me. Her trauma and mental problems were BAD, but I still wanted to be with them. So if you ask me, as long as they can give you the space and support you need, and want to be with you, let them make the decision."
- emilersen
"It's also fair and mature to care very much about someone but realize that you only have the emotional bandwidth to take care of yourself right now."
"I'm sure it was very hard for both of you to come to terms with that decision. I don't think it's that he deserves better, I think it's that your attention needs to be on guiding yourself through this thicket of trauma and mental illness before you can be someone else's partner. You can love each other very much but also acknowledge that you don't have the tools to spare for a relationship right now."
"I'm proud of you for focusing on your own mental health and someday, when you have more emotional stability and energy, I hope you find a wonderful partner."
- SpoonAtKnifeFight
Relationship Styles
"We disagreed on how many women he was allowed to date. I’m very strong on monogamy and have no interest in someone (in a supposedly committed relationship) that isn’t."
- Altrano
At Least There's That
"Her psychotic brother tried to kill me. Thankfully he has a Stormtrooper's aim..."
- Active-Plate7939
"Hate the attempted murder, love the 'Star Wars' reference."
- letmetellyousom
Childfree Living
"He wanted a big family, like, six kids, all-natural. Obviously, he wouldn't be birthing them. This was very important to him while I was pretty ambivalent about kids, and the further into my adulthood I've gotten, the more I've realized I just don't want to be pregnant."
"I broke it off so we could both get the lives we wanted. He was also quite a bit more conservative than me, and at the time closeted pansexual person, and some stuff he believed just didn't line up with what I believed. It hurt, but it was amicable."
"Now he has a wife and kids like he wanted, and I am happily partnered and childfree. It worked out for the best."
- Free-Government5162
Family Ties
"She hated that I had a healthy relationship with my family and was trying to find ways to sabotage it."
- Cobra-Serpentress
"Similar aspect to mine, she hated my sister and mother because she had a bad relationship with her sister and mother. She would get mad at me whenever I brought my family up."
- letmetellyousom
Quality Time
"My last boyfriend dumped me because I got mad that he was coming to Dallas after I hadn't seen him for two months, but didn't want to see me."
"He was going to meet up with some friends of his he hadn't seen in a few months. I told him that was fine with me, but I felt he should make time to see me too since we hadn't seen each other in two months and we were supposed to be a couple."
"He responded to my anger by ghosting me. That was two years ago."
- dallasmysterylover
Distracted with a Punch
"A girl contacted me about him talking to her. I asked him what was going on, and he sucker-punched me in the face."
- Brilliant-Victory128
Projecting Insecurities
"He cheated on me for all six years we were together and then accused me of cheating on him, even though I wasn't allowed to leave the house."
"I'm also pretty sure he slept with my sister-in-law when my brother and I went to pick up dinner."
- Affectionate_Egg1252
Children Come First
"He was and still is no father to his kids, has anger issues, and probably has other mental health issues. I tried for years to help him and help the relationship, but he wasn't having it. After seeing how my oldest suffered under him, I had to leave."
- rintan13
Poor Communication
"I communicated how I felt about many things in the relationship. He never communicated about anything."
- aj_oof0323
"Oh look, it's the last 14 years of my life..."
- empathetic111
"I'm guilty of this, and boy, do I regret not being able to open up about my feelings. It cost me my marriage. But now I'm trying to be more open and share my thoughts and feelings. Just wished I could've done this earlier than later."
Deserving Better
"I started drinking again and became a miserable a**hole due to my own depression and my s**tty job. As such, she didn't get the attention she deserved, and had to put up with my s**tty mood all the time... so she left. I don't blame her."
"So, it was me. I don't know if I trust myself with a relationship again, but aside from the shame of knowing I hurt someone who I loved, and loved me back, but I was too self-absorbed and selfish, I am trying to be a better human to everyone."
"And to my ex: You'll find someone again... someone better."
- cracksintheegg
Big Moves
"He wanted to move to Alaska to be with some girl he was 'friends' with before me."
- dont_be_trash
Alzheimer's Disease
"My ex's early-onset Alzheimers (at the age of 50) and the resulting violence, paranoia, and irrational thinking. I tried to honor my vows, but he was so far out there, I feared for my life."
- No_Transportation258
Different Definitions of Marriage
"She cheated on me after five years total together, the last one of which was while we were engaged. She cheated on me for months, all while I was planning the wedding, working part-time, and going to graduate school so I can support us comfortably in the future."
"I planned on giving her everything I could and sharing the rest of my life with her, and apparently she didn’t care."
- Mountaingoat1001
This conversation just goes to show that relationships can end for all kinds of reasons. Even in relationships where there is still a lot of love and committment, the relationship can still end, just like how the relationship can end suddenly because of a surprising and devastating realization.
We all had our aspirations about becoming a certain type of person or accomplishing different goals when looking towards the future.
But the goals we have for ourselves can drastically change once we're adults, and that's partly due to the influence of different life experiences.
Sometimes, despite our best intentions and respective strategies to achieve something by a certain age, we can never imagine experiencing different outcomes.
Curious to hear from strangers online who never saw themselves in their current positions in life, Redditor graces-taylor12 asked:
"What about becoming an adult caught you completely off guard?"
The following Redditors were not ready to process the inevitable when it came to their parents.
A Role Reversal
"Watching your parents becoming old and frail."
– Mrbusybaconandeggs
"Dealing with this yesterday and it is an eye-opener. Its hard seeing someone you’ve known as a pillar of strength for 30+ years in a position of such weakness, and knowing that he might improve but generally the decline is coming."
– Rook1872
Age-Defying
"I've had a weird atypical experience. My dad was pretty old when I was born and always had a bad knee he could never afford to get fixed. He could barely walk and has never been able to run since I could remember. It got so bad that he couldn't even walk up or down the stairs in our house."
"Well he eventually got a knee replacement and he's now more agile at 73 than he was at 53. It's weird to see."
– Downtown_Skill
Sad Epiphany
"I'll never forget when I first realized how frail they actually were. I went over to their house to help out with some chores, and they couldn't even clean out any of the pens by themselves. They ended up selling most of their animals that year because they couldn't look after them."
– thecanadiancowboy
Life Can Be Cruel
"It’s slowly beginning with my parents, small hints here and there, they’re in their mid 50s.The big freak out for me has been watching my grandparents slowly declining over the last 3ish years. One set of grandparents have been gone since I was a kid, so these two are all I’ve got now. My Pap’s arthritis and sciatica is to the point now where it’s a process for him just to stand up. 2020 I saved him from a fall, if I wasn’t there to catch him, he would’ve easily been in the hospital for quite a while. That was the first 'Oh sh*t, he’s not immortal' moment."
– NoinePiecesOfVinyl
These Redditors discovered older doesn't always mean wiser.
Wake-Up Call
"I can do whatever the f'k I want. But I don't really want to do anything..."
– IcarusWax
"Yup, the idea of doing whatever you want as an adult was the biggest scam cartoons sold us."
"Yeah, you can do anything you want but you're gonna need money. So you get a job, there goes most of your day to your job."
"So now you have money but that'll go to bills first and by the time you can do what you want you don't have the energy or funds. Then the loop continues.."
– JimmyJackJericho
Fake It Til You Make It
"How clueless other adults are. I really thought adults had their sh*t in order while in reality most people are winging it."
–= xepci0
"Maturity is a skill. Some people learn it quickly. Others never do."
"Children are limited by their youth. Their brains aren't fully developed. But adults are not guaranteed to get more mature without working for it."
"Some people never grow up. They just get old."
– snapwillow
Being Independent
"I'm surprised by the amount of people who genuinely couldn't live by themselves if they had to. They somehow never learned basic life skills like simple cooking or cleaning and always had someone else to do it for them."
– CliffExcellent123
People became more aware of time.
Not Enough Me Time
"How little free time you have. You have to work, you have to prepare for work, drive to work, drive home from work. You also have to do household chores. You have to take care of kids if you have some. When do I get to enjoy my hobbies?"
– lllSnowmanlll
Point Of Exhaustion
"Most of the time I'm so tired from the day, I just don't have the mental capacity to do anything but go right to bed and watch tv ;_;"
– WitherWithout
Never Going Back
"Transitioning from college student + part time worker to full time worker I gained a bunch of time back. I was shocked that I could just decide to do laundry tomorrow if I didn't feel like it. Every evening I had this huge chunk of time that was just open."
"But then, moving from an apartment to a house, now there's a bunch more chores to do. Then introducing kids, now there's all that. But still, I wouldn't go back to the hectic college life."
– civilwarcorpses
Marking Time
"How it just goes on endlessly."
"When you're a kid, there's a summer break every year, and a new school to go to in a couple of years. Whatever part of your life you are in is clearly delimited and there is something new to look forward to after it."
"Once you're an adult, it's just 5 days of work and 2 days of weekend over and over and over until you die."
– Suitable_Mistake2208
After having a decent, long run in the entertainment business as a dancer, I've long held the belief I was invincible.
I was physically stronger, more agile, and foolish enough to think I could perpetually live in such a state.
All of a sudden, reality smacked me in the face one morning when I woke up and heard and felt various parts of my body crackle and pop like when milk hits a bowl of Rice Krispies.
My tired body had the audacity to inform me:
"Not today and from this day forward."
We're currently not on speaking terms.
Not much good can come from dwelling on the past.
Even so, no matter how hard we try to avoid doing so, we can't help but look back on things we've done in our lives which we regret.
In some cases, it's nothing which had any sort of lasting effect, like wishing we thought more carefully about where we had a birthday or spending more than we could afford on an outfit that didn't end up paying off.
In sadder cases though, we often wonder what our lives might have been like if he had made a different, and smarter decision.
If we didn't say certain things to certain people, not spoken up when someone needed us to or rushed too hastily into a life we weren't ready for.
"What is one thing you regret doing in life?"
Giving People Attention Who Didn't Deserve It
"Wasting time worrying about people that never spared me a single thought."- Eborys
Getting In With The Wrong Crowd
"I regret making friends with people who I knew were bad for me just because it was easier than becoming friends with good people."
"Now I don't have many solid friends."- misswallflowerr
Staying In, When They Should Have Gotten Out
"Not ending bad/unhealthy/unfulfilling relationships sooner."- Superseriouslyguys
"Hanging on to a relationship for too long."
"I should have up and disappeared the first time he was disrespectful."- Mirrorflute88
Not Taking Enough Risks
"Not putting myself out there enough."
"I probably missed out on a lot of opportunities because I'm so self-conscious."
"Working on this though!"- Fife_Flyer
"Not following my dreams and ended up sitting behind a desk for 30 years."
"Of course, I'm currently on Reddit sitting behind my desk."
"So, there's that."- CatOnTheHill
"Overthinking my way out of potentially rewarding choices."- mmmmike1590
Rushing Into Things
"Going to college before I had the slightest idea what I wanted to do with my life."- Mysterious_Shake2894
Taking Things For Granted
"Not spending more time with my mom."
"I visited her 2-3 times a week but still, there were other times she'd call and I'd ignore the call or tell her I didn't have time to talk."
"Would give anything to go back and take every one of those calls."- Fruitjustlistens
Putting Their Health At Risk
"Most of 2019–addiction bottom."
"Sober now for 432 days and counting."- CommunicationTop5231
"Smoking."
"20 years spent on expensive, self-fed poison."
"Biggest regret of my life, by far."- Itsprobablysarcasm
Undervaluing Self-Worth
"Mentally exhausting myself at work for companies that turned out to not give a sh*t about me or value my work."- fpuni107
"Being too nice to tell undeserving people to f*ck off when I should've been putting myself first."
"Lessons learned."- MrsHppy
Not Having Enough Fun
"So, this is gonna sound kinda dumb, but I kinda wish I had acted out a bit more."
"Taken more risks, gotten in trouble more, explored and pushed my boundaries."
"I was pretty sheltered growing up and really wanted to be this good person."
"It created a lot of conflicting feelings for me."
"It also contributed to me avoiding doing some stuff cause I thought it'd be bad for me."
"Now that I'm older and worked through some of those issues, I feel like I missed out on a lot of stuff other people got in their teens and 20s."
"I'm now at a point where I'm exploring that, but most people my age have already gone through it."
"I just feel like I'm trying to 'catch up' with everybody."- animewhitewolf
It's only human to look back on things we regret, or wish we had done differently.
But living in the past will only keep us in the past.
The only way to move forward and make progress is to accept the present for what it is: a present.