Comfort isn't hard to find when the genetic sequences of everyone nearby is amazingly similar to you. Family is contentment, relaxation, because you know everyone. It's easy to be yourself because everyone else is so much like you. This makes it harder for those in the tree who aren't like everyone else. You all grew up the same way, so why are you so different?
Reddit user, u/Squishy_Pixelz, wanted the black sheep to be brave and speak out when they asked:
"Black sheep" of Reddit. What things make you the odd person out in your family?
We're Not Shouting
Ear shattering volume is the default speaking tone for my family.
I'm frequently told to speak up
Not A Fan Of Higher Education
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Every member of my immediate family has a minimum of 2 university degrees. I bailed on community college after two and a half semesters.
Oh. How are you doing now?
Trade school, five year apprenticeship, working in construction trade.
I like intellectual pursuits such as history, philosophy, and economics.
Just didn't like college.
Are The Rest Of You Deaf?
My family are like this when playing music or watching TV. I like to have my volume below 10 on the TV and at 30% on my phone.
Then I have family telling me to turn it up or playing stuff really loud
When The Genetics Point You In A Different Direction
My parents are both over six foot. I ended up being 5'6" on a good day.
My parents are super athletic. I ended up doing lots of theatre and was embarrassingly bad at sports.
There are other things, but I don't think I turned out quite how my parents imagined. I should have been a volleyball-playing supermodel, and instead I became an artsy little potato. An uncoordinated little spud. They still love me, somehow :P
Technically, You're Both Fighting Fires
Being a fire fighter in a family comprised of teachers.
Path Splitting In Your Career Future
We are 19 people in my immediate family.
I'm the only one interested in science and engineering. All of the adults work in public administration and all of my cousins plan on doing the same. And our political views are just too different. I just have nothing in common with them, I feel like an stranger.
Ugh...People...
I'm extremely introverted; I get drained by being around people for too long and I hate big social events.
Performance Over Public Service
My entire family works for the government (parents/brother/cousins are cops, uncle is a fire fighter, another uncle is a prosecutor) and I'm in musical theater.
As Far At The End Of The Spectrum As Possible
Wealthy father, wealthy siblings. Everyone went to a solid uni and then went into either family business or struck out alone and made ridiculous money.
Of the five of us I'm the ex drug dealing vagabond dropout, barely managed to survive my life this far and still somehow going, meanwhile my siblings are out there making their millions. Got my own place now though, a decent normal job and a new car all legit. Not sure how long it'll last since I'm slipping again but I'm here living the black sheep life. Wow formatting
Lot Of Pressure So Early On
I'm 20 and don't have kids yet.
Little do they know I'm never planning on it either.
I Live In A Better World
Being a nerd/geek. I get attached to fictional characters, buy a ton of merch, and I'm trying to go to more conventions. But most of my family think I'm weird.
One time I told my mom about how devastated I was over the death of a beloved fictional character, and she looks at me and says, "I don't have time to get upset about that stuff cause I'm busy living in the REAL world."
My mom basically called me delusional for being a nerd.
So, What Is The Truth?
Well for one thing apparently my parents raised my kids. One portion of the family thinks I had kids and dumped them on my folks.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Wait, You Can Eat Marmite?
1: I'm the only one on my household who isn't overweight~obese. I'm average BMI
2: I'm the only one who eats Marmite
3: I'm the only one with a Uni education
Tat Me Up!
I am heavily tattooed, like heavily tattooed (face, hands, etc..) which doesn't sound like much until you learn that I grew up in a very conservative family from the south.
Ignoring What They Don't Like
I'm transgender. I came out over five years ago and it's pretty damn obvious.
The worst part is that everyone keeps pretending that I'm not even though I change more and more between each Thanksgiving dinner.
Religion Or Ride
There are two things that make me the odd person
- I have a really religious family and they kind of force me into this whole Christian thing even though I told them numerous times that I don't believe in any kind of God but they just won't accept that because there can't be other people who have another opinion or just doesn't believe in this stuff.
- My whole family on my fathers side is really into riding. Their entire life is basically about horses and then there's me who hates riding because it is just boring. Plus I'm kind of traumatized by a weird horse camp I went to which was basically hell and since then I never even thought about riding a horse ever again.
Setting The Bar By Breaking The Bar
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I grew up dirt poor. My wife and I worked our a--es off to get me through college, I earned a master's in engineering. I am dedicated to my career and last year I made over 2.5x my nearest sibling, who is a teacher. Of five living siblings, three don't work, one gets by, and one earns a decent living as a teacher.
I am the black sheep because I am successful and it makes it hard to talk to my siblings. I just have very little to talk with them about. I love most of them, but we have nothing common.
Not Going To Play Your Game...
My grandparents are multimillionaires and own over 100 real estate properties last time I was aware of it. Ive made choices counter to family opinion and when questioned informed the grandparents that I wasnt going to try to make them happy for a check when they died like the rest of the family. They could either like me for me or not, but I thought it was immoral to make decisions based on their opinions.
Being "disowned" (and meaning disinherited) is the big threat they always use, and I told them I had no right to expect anything since it wasnt mine in the first place.
And my mom was previous black sheep, so I'm son of black sheep.
...And Not Willing To Stick Around
I am the only divorcee.
Unlike the previous generations, I do not stay and put up with abuse. I went to counciling, I tried to fix my marriage, but the abuse just kept ramping up. So I took my son and left. I watched my father abuse my mother and my siblings and I all through my childhood. I didn't want that for me or my son.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIF
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.