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People Explain What Everyone Should Experience At Least Once In Their Lifetime

People Explain What Everyone Should Experience At Least Once In Their Lifetime
Fabio Comparelli on Unsplash

Ever have a "once in a lifetime" experience?

Did you plan it in advance or were you just in the right place at the right time?

If you're a planner, AskReddit has some suggestions for your next adventure.


Redditor Leoz_13 asked:

"What should everyone experience in their lifetime?"

The Great Beyond

"Seeing the stars far away from any ambient light."

"Where you can see the Milky Way and a steady stream of shooting stars."

"It’s awe inspiring, and changes your perspective about your place in the universe."

- lizzieb77

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Parental Pleasure

"Seeing one of your parents get so excited about doing something with you that they're almost crying."

"My dad and I have always gotten along, but we've also bickered a lot since I was a teenager. But last August, he and I took a road trip to New Mexico and went to these really old Native American ruins called Gila Cliffs (I highly recommend everyone go there at some point too. It's amazing!)."

"He and I were walking up the trail, and then we rounded a corner and there they were: these 500 year old Native American ruins built into the cliffside. My dad looked over at me with a smirk on his face and a little water in his eyes and told me 'I'm so glad I get to experience this with you'."

"My dad doesn't express a lot of emotion usually, so that was really meaningful to me. I think everyone deserves to have an experience like that with one of their parents. It's so special."

- Fred_Foresk

Winter Wonderland

"The complete silence in a heavy snowfall."

- Stale-Jello

"When the top layer of snow is fresh and fluffy, and moonlight sparkles off the individual snowflakes like a wave of glitter. The sound of your footsteps crunching quietly beneath you."

"The quiet ambient swish of snowflakes falling onto the ground and the light pattering of them hitting your jacket. It's a very peaceful feeling when the weather is just right for it."

- NuclearCandy

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Be The Change

"Helping someone in need."

- lovechunks3000

"Even just little stuff works."

- Fez_and_no_Pants

Nature's Giants

"Old growth forests."

"There is something humbling about seeing for yourself the life cycle of huge ancient trees and the incredible lush and vibrant ecosystems that exist around them as they grow, fall, decompose, and grow again over decades.

"A week walking across cradle mountain in Tasmania was life changing for me, as it has been for many others."

- dooony

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Handmade

"Making something with your own hands. Could be art, could be a fire, could be a carving or a tool or clay or a shelter in the woods."

"Creating something that came from you, and you alone is a rewarding experience and gives one a true sense of pride."

"Just using your own hands and some tools to make something out of nothing makes me feel grounded, connected, and away from my troubles for a bit."

- ProfessionalCow9566

Aurora Borealis

"Northern Lights"

- rollsoftape

"Not just little green ones, full on solar storm, fast moving, buzzing sound, colourful, northern lights!

"I cried when I first saw them and I’m glad I live north enough to witness them!"

- skaosowpwnw

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Bills, Bills, Bills

"Being debt free."

- Foo3112

The Great Outdoors

"As someone who comes from a country with a lot of mountains and hills, I would highly recommend going trekking to places accessible only by foot."

"It's really nice to see the untouched,peaceful nature existing there, without humans to ruin it."

- howwouldiknow--

"Any outdoor phenomenon is amazing."

"Near me I have Niagara Falls, I love to go in February, March when the ice is loaded. One day I hope to see some come crashing down."

"The northern lights once. The Alberta Badlands. Lake Louise."

- nanfanpancam

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To Be Loved

"To be truly loved by someone."

"My whole life, I was never loved. Not my parents,not people I dated or my 1st husband."

"Then I met my 2nd husband. We will be celebrating 9 years married and 11 years together next month."

"He loves me more than life and I feel it everyday. To be loved is something I hope everyone gets to experience in their life."

- mlj0312

Our Place In The Universe

"The feeling you get when you are completely eclipsed by a landscape, skyscape, or even a city sometimes."

"The feeling of joy that comes with recognizing how small you are in the grand scheme of the world is priceless and I wish I could experience the wonder and awe that come along with it a million times over."

"It's in Redwood and Sequoia forest, the entirety of Alaska, the desert sky in New Mexico at night; it's New York City when you step out of the subway for the first time."

"Being in the middle of the ocean on a giant ship and knowing that it expands farther than you would ever hope to comprehend (beyond some measurements on Wikipedia)."

"You and the Earth, alone together."

- LVII

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Have you added anything to your bucket list?

Is there anything you'd add that wasn't mentioned here?

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Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

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