Budding chefs know a thing or two about what makes certain dishes taste so good.
Interesting points were brought up when Redditor onegrayhair asked:
"What culinary hill are you willing to die on?"
People shared cooking tips and how some foods should be prepared a certain way.
Poor Construction
"Nachos should be built wide not tall."
– DBroncos515
"I hate when the chips at the bottom don’t have all the cheese and toppings, but the chips on top have too much. Balance is key to a great plate of nachos!"
– yo_kashlee
Jaws Have Limitations
"We need to make burgers wider not taller."
– John_Lives
"If I have to disassemble a burger to eat it, it’s missing the point, isn’t it?"
– JediTigger
Just Let It Stew
"Homemade chili is almost always better the next day."
– burritokiller1971
"And most soups and stews."
– wjglenn
Add Some Zap
"Worcestershire sauce can work magic."
– dberis
Resourcefulness
"Being poor isn’t a culinary crime. It takes talent to make cheap food taste as good as my mom did."
– urbancowgirl42
The Good Stuff
"Life is too short to not use butter."
– jasontronic
Breaking Food Conventions
"Breakfast is a construct."
"Eggs, bacon, French toast for dinner? Yes."
"Steak, potatoes, asparagus, 'dinner' roll for breakfast? Also yes."
– TheBeneGesseritWitch
Too Good To Dismiss
"That cheap bag of frozen peas and diced carrots you get at the grocery store is an outstandingly versatile source of nutrition. And tasty too."
– UncleIrohsPimpHand
People had plenty to say about rating recipes.
Unfair Critique
"When you're baking from an online recipe, don't change three or four ingredients "to make it healthy" and then leave a one star review about how bad it is."
– cliff99
Inaccurate Reviews
"Don't leave a 5-star review on someone's recipe while saying 'This was a great recipe... after I made these 10 changes!' At that point, you're not rating that person's recipe, you are rating YOUR OWN recipe. That person's recipe must not have been so good if you had to make so many changes."
"Also, don't leave a 5-star review on someone's recipe while saying 'This recipe looks great, I can't wait to try it!' Why skew the ratings when you haven't even tried it yet?"
– randomentity1
Snobbery Is Tasteless
"Being snobby about food to the point where you're hindering someone else's enjoyment is not a positive personality trait."
– swordcowboy
Taste Buds Don't Lie
"If it tastes good it tastes good."
– Danielwols
Some questioned people's capabilities in the kitchen while others straight up forbade them from doing something that is unfavorable.
The Complaint
"People who hate cooking with stainless steel don’t know how to cook with stainless steel."
– 3Me20
There's A Dress Code
"DON’T WEAR YOUR APRON INTO THE BATHROOM."
– andre3kthegiant
"I've called people out for doing this. It's disgusting. This isn't a hill to die on, this should be common sense. People be dumb."
– Aldayne
Cross-Contamination–Bad
"I had to call a girl out again for putting a container of raw meat on a cold station."
"She complained that I 'always call her out on that.'"
"Yeah no sh*t, you're the only one tryna catch state health code write ups.'
"e/ she saw the post and I made her cry, oops."
– ChefBoredAreWe
Don't Interrupt The Cook
"Get out of the kitchen if I'm cooking. Out out out I don't want your help."
– Justice171
Not All Salads Are Good For You
"I live in the Midwest, I love the Midwest but just because you call something a salad does not mean it is healthy and an acceptable side dish to your main course. Snicker-marshmallow-mayo-whatever is not salad."
– ArachnesChallenge
You Control The Outcome
"Recipes are a guide, not a rule book. You are allowed to just decide to make things and like it. What will it be called? Who the f'k knows. It can taste good anyways. Just wade through it."
– BirdLawyer50
All About The Consistency
"If you can't drink it through a straw it's not a milkshake."
– Recdrumz
I don't consider myself a cook, but I do pat myself on the back for some of the dishes I do know how to make well.
One of those is Japanese curry. And while I can't keep from serving and eating what takes at least an hour-and-a-half to make, I do find that my leftover tastes infinitely better the next day.
I make a HUGE batch of curry sauce so I can continue enjoying it for the next few days. There's something about leaving it in the fridge and heating up portions at a time that really activate the spices.
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Things That Were Way More Expensive Than People Anticipated
"Reddit user Jarvis_Strife asked: 'What turned out to be A LOT more expensive than you anticipated?'"
It feels like everything under the sun is expensive these days.
So maybe when we look at price tags, we're just having a little financial PTSD.
Some items and services that were once doable have turned into a years-long savings plan.
Like where do the cable and internet people get these price points?
Especially for their "services."
Please.
Redditor Jarvis_Strife wanted to hear about the times the price tag left people a little shook, so they asked:
"What turned out to be A LOT more expensive than you anticipated?"
Used cars.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD?!
How does a 20 year old car with 250,000 miles on it cost THOUSANDS of dollars?!
MADNESS!
Open Wide
Dentist GIFGiphy"Root canal with a crown. I understand now why a lot of people just get the tooth pulled."
Bitey_the_opossum
"Dental insurance barely covering anything is crazy to me. It’s extremely important to keep teeth healthy, being that an infection can kill you, so you think it would be covered under preventative care, but nope."
Jamie9712
The Usual
"Car repairs."
BlackLesbianTroll
"My usual shop tried to charge us $700 for a coolant flush, engine air filter, battery, and spark plugs. I did all of it but the spark plugs myself in an hour for about $120. I have started doing my own oil changes and it's about 50% cheaper. It's crazy how much places by me charge for cheap and easy stuff."
gaybatman75-6
"The fact that every service ends up being an extra $100+ is frustrating sometimes too 😮💨."
-Tired_Phoenix-
Flooring
"Rugs. Biggest shock when I got my own place."
spnginger3
"One of those things I can’t believe people pay full price for. Those things are like 85% margin if you buy them from retail. Find a local auction website and search through it to find a rug distribution center that usually does quarterly (or so) liquidations at auction. You can get thousands of dollars in rugs for a couple hundred bucks."
FairState612
Window Dressing
"When I bought my first house about 5 years ago it was a new build, as such it had no blinds or curtains etc. I’m a blinds guy so we got a company Dunelm Mill to make us measure blinds for the whole house. It was a couple thousand pounds but we had allowed for it when buying."
"The blinds ended up being a little delayed, not a crazy amount but a bit of a frustrating amount - maybe 2 months or so. They straight up gave them to us (and still fitted them for us) literally for free, and they had given us a temporary more basic blind for our bedroom in the meantime!"
jw205
Why so much?
Angry Organized Crime GIF by Law & OrderGiphy"Kitchen garbage can. Why are they $50+!?"
redheadscorp
"Man mine was double that! Options are apparently either a five-dollar plastic bin with no lid that is borderline useless or a $100+ Ferrari trash can. I just wanted one with a lid and a foot pedal to open it."
BellicosePost
Seriously garbage bag prices have gotten out of control.
There has to be a better way to sell this product.
Get Another Quote
Doors Doorways GIF by Joe MerrellGiphy"I had someone come out to the house and he quoted me almost $20k to replace four doors. I passed."
stoneman9284
"I'd get another quote. I spent $1,500 to have an exterior door replaced last year. I had quotes come in from $1,500 to $7,500 for the same scope of work."
Milehighcarson
In the dirt
"Landscaping. Even by yourself."
alwaysyardening
"There's that saying 'cheap as dirt' but soil/dirt is expensive AF."
notjanelane
"Getting quotes on having some landscaping done and wow... it is insane. Four quotes ranged from $1500 to $8500 for the same work. To the point where I called the $1500 and told them maybe I forgot to include stuff because their quote was so much lower. LOL!"
Miserable_Emu5191
"Landscaper quoted us $20k to re-rock flower beds that already had [some] rock in them. We were getting more of the same rock to just freshen it up. I laughed them out of my house. We did it ourselves... very. very. slowly. And very painfully. Still spent $12k after everything was done."
thatChickinBFE
Chronic
"Being sick/chronic illnesses/becoming disabled. Everyone thinks that having a chronic illness or becoming disabled is a great excuse to sit at home and watch TV all day. The constant doctor visits, surgeries, prescriptions, medical devices, and therapies add up to thousands a year."
"And the more you make the more you spend, when I could still manage to work I’d pay for or buy any type of treatment or device I could that promised some relief. $100 massages every week? Ok fancy chiropractor at $40 a visit, sure. $100 massager tool, ok. I’ve spent tens of thousands just because I got in a car accident that left me with chronic back pain and surgery that left me disabled."
"And these are just the monetary costs, there are plenty of costs that aren’t money. Want to enjoy a day out, well now you need to be on bed rest for a week. It’s constant and unrelenting, and unless a miracle happens it will be the rest of my life."
PinkPrincess1224
Every Week
"Seriously, groceries, it's insane how high the prices have risen on everything."
Ddowns5454
"The really shi**y thing is it keeps going up basically on a weekly basis. I work for a major national grocery store and I hang the sales tags for the grocery department. We apparently have this AI that will see how much money they can milk out of customers."
"It will set a price higher and I think based on how much we well over a specified amount of time the system will lower the price if the changed price cuts too much into their profits. I've seen crazy price jumps of like $2 or $3 because they are just trying to f**k with the prices until they hit that sweet spot."
jpaugh69
Every Breath
life GIFGiphy"Life. Even just sitting in my apartment doing nothing costs $2000 a month."
Eyfordsucks
"For real. I pay 1600 for half of a beat-up duplex. After everything, it's like I have my Xbox and that's it."
Lovetopuck37
Life. What a scam.
Even breathing feels expensive.
For many people, the difference between being housed and unhoused is a single paycheck.
For some it's a matter of money management, but for most it's the lack of a living wage for many jobs. Add a poor social safety net and poverty is always a footstep away.
Let's face it—many people have lived with a zero balance in their bank account and bills to pay and empty cupboards.
Reddit user Krisrunnintina asked:
"What’s the brokest you’ve ever been?"
Dumpster Dining
"Found four unopened packages of pasta while dumpster diving."
"Nearly cried."
~ WhimsicalError
"I found like 10 pounds of NAVY BEANS."
"The next week my EBT was approved."
~ LiveLaughTosterBath
Thou Shall Not Steal
"The lowest I’ve been is sneaking around looking for unlocked cars so I could take any change they had."
"I never stole any personal items or whatever. Just change and food if there was some."
"I had too much embarrassment to ask people for money."
"Now, over 15 years later, I still feel like sh*t for doing that. Stealing is stealing."
~ xithbaby
Portion Control
"My most vivid memory from college was eating half a hot dog and saving the other half for the next day."
"That probably cemented my decision not to ever have kids."
~ Sobriquet-acushla
Predatory Lenders
"I got caught up in the housing crisis back in 2006."
"It looked like I had enough to afford a cute little house nothing extravagant. I was surprised when they gave me the loan and as I didn't have much in the way of credit and I was in my early 20s."
"When I went to sign and saw the monthly note, my heart sank. I should have refused to sign and cut my losses but I was dumb and went ahead with it. I figured I could just budget like hell and make it work."
"It lasted about a year. Ant any given point I was either behind on my note or my electricity or gas was cut off. Sometimes all three. Got caught up in an endless cycle of payday loans."
"Came home to an empty house that was with dark or cold every day after 12 hour manual labor shifts, usually taking cold showers with the light from an old hurricane lantern."
"Don't even get me started on food. It usually consisted of rice and beans cooked over an old camp stove I rigged to a propane tank on my back porch."
"Eventually they foreclosed and I had to start everything from scratch. But I learned a lot during that period."
"Took me almost 15 years to get stable enough where I could finally buy a house again."
~ OkaySureBye
Making Do
"I worked as a bank teller for two years, and was able to collect many American silver coins, such as quarters dimes and nickels made during certain years. Had probably $75 worth of silver coins, worth much more to collectors."
"For those wondering, the bank didn't care if I took those coins as long as I replaced them for the same face value - it's all legal tender to them."
"But one day my gas tank was empty. I needed gas, had $0 in my account and no other money. I went to a pawn shop and barely got over face value for all my silver coins. Got 3/4 a tank of gas."
"It wasn't about the money though, it was about those 2 years searching and collecting and getting excited when I'd come across one... all to trade it away for something my car burned off in less than a week."
~ Redditor
It All Falls Apart
"My dad had a coin collection he started in the late 80s. He had probably saved 20lbs of every coin when I finally found his collection."
"His sketchy girlfriend sold it off along with my book collection (lots of first editions like Harry Potter), my n64 and games, along with all my Disney movies, entire first and second round Pokémon’s (most with regular and shiny), and beach cruiser bike."
"She sold the lot of movies for like $3, my Pokémon card collection for about $20, and all my books were basically <$1. I don’t know what she gave the n64 and bike away for."
"I think in total she managed to get about $300 or so for the entirety of my lifes collections up to that point."
"She did it while my dad was at work one day. They did indeed break up, but I’ve never been more broke in my life."
"My dad passed away shortly after, along with the rest of my family and a bunch of lawyers stole my inheritance. All in all I’d frequently have $4 in my account on a Tuesday that needed to last until Friday."
"I had roommates, slept on couches, rented cheap motels until I finally grasped some stability. Still hurts every time I think about what could have been. Completely altered my life."
"I’m in a wonderfully successful and happy place, but I absolutely 100% would look back to see what would have been had none of that happened."
~ otterpop21
Food Shortage
"Really didn't have enough money to eat regularly."
"My mother kept giving me articles about anorexia, couldn't get it into her head I was broke."
~ Sea_Firefighter_4598
Get Out
"An eviction. Watching all my stuff being carried to the curb at 20 years old."
"It definitely changed my perspective and priorities."
~ damnedspot
Hidden Treasures
"'Happy to find some forgotten rice and spinach in a cupboard so I had something to eat until my next paycheck' poor."
~ Hakar_Kerarmor
Counting It Out
"Giving change to a gas station attendant definitely doesn’t feel good."
~ anonomousername
"I did that once but buying packets of ramen. The man behind me in line had the audacity to try to lecture me about how unhealthy they were."
"If you are buying ramen with change, you are not caring about how healthy it is."
"Thankfully I’m in a better place but it certainly didn’t feel good."
~ Draginia
Collateral Damage
"Probably when I was a kid and my parents divorced. My father left us in debt and didn't contribute financially to helping my mother raise me."
"I've never been particularly well off but nowadays I have a job and can afford to do things."
"My mum did as best she could so I didn't go hungry."
"I remember when I got my first paycheck, I went and bought some £2 Ravioli and felt fancy as heck."
~ PKblaze
Starting Over
"I was a single mom of two after just leaving my children’s dad. He cleaned my bank account out from spite and stopped paying for the car that he was driving that was in my name."
"Worked some stuff out with the bank and they took the car without impacting my credit, but I still had to pay an $8500 loan off."
"My 2 year old son and I shared a futon for a year and we had no refrigerator, but we made things work."
"I broke down and cried that first Christmas alone because I barely had anything to give my kids."
"It took a few years, but I was able to rebuild financially and just bought my first home two years ago. My kids are thriving and they are my entire world. They drive me to be a better me every day."
"I learned a lot about how sh*tty people can be from that situation and time."
~ NoodleSpooner
United States Healthcare
"Rolling Pennies for insulin in college before Obama care. My single mom was poor and couldn’t help."
"Back then if you were not insured when you were diagnosed in childhood, insurance didn’t cover insulin because it was a pre-existing condition."
"One month I was so so broke from getting laid off that I applied for emergency Medicaid for my insulin but made 4 dollars over the poverty limit."
"I asked what I was supposed to do for insulin, and they told me to go to the emergency room, which would have put me further in debt."
"I called the local ADA in tears to ask if there was any way someone could get me some expired insulin. The lady gave me a number and told me I could only call it once."
"It turned out to be a man who owned a small private pharmacy that had been a family business. He gave me 4 months of insulin and others supplies that was enough to not only get me through but get me ahead in my rent and groceries."
"Back then over half my money went to insulin and test strips."
"Sir, if you are out there THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Your kindness restored my hope. I couldn’t pay you back but I do pay it forward."
~ Nova_Tango
While these stories are heartbreaking, the people came out the other side.
As the saying goes, when you're going through Hell, the best thing to do is keep going.
With the elaborate costs of the wedding industry, starting with the engagement ring and going all the way up through the honeymoon and anniversary plans, there are those who will spend all the money and those who will look for savings.
While getting married is absolutely worth spending the money on, how much money is spent is not necessarily reflected of how much the two people love each other, either. It's all up to the couple!
Redditor ClassicJogging asked:
"Married people of Reddit, what made you decide to get the engagement ring you did, and how much was it?"
A Special Bond
"My grandmother pulled me aside five minutes after meeting my now wife, then girlfriend, for the first time, that she really loved her and she would fit right into our family. They had a REALLY good bond for a couple of years before my grandmother passed."
"Her last wish was that I use her engagement ring from 1945 (my grandfather proposed the day the Germans left Norway) when I asked for marriage. I did, she said yes, and we have been happily married for a good few years now."
- Panzerpython
Perfectly Vintage
"I was asked if I wanted a ring... and I surprised myself by saying that I did even though I'm not a jewelry person."
"So we went shopping and I hated all the jewelry store rings. We decided to check out antique stores and we found a cool-looking '50s vintage diamond ring with an illusion setting (makes tiny stone look bigger). It fit. It was $300. It was perfect."
- RitaTome
Recreated Art
"I love vintage rings, specifically art deco style, and had a whole Pinterest board of ones I loved. But it turns out I have giant fingers and most vintage rings are much smaller. Yes, you can size up, but only by so much."
"So my now husband surprised me by getting a ring custom-made in the same style. I adore it and get so many compliments."
- angeliqu
A Last Wish
"My mother was dying of cancer and gave me her engagement ring to give to my wife. It was a low-profile diamond from 1965. I think my father paid $275 for it at Eaton’s."
"We just celebrated our 25th last week. She still wears it daily."
- JustsomeAudioGuy
Full of Memories
"$140, I wanted a more expensive ring for her, but she insisted that I use that money for the wedding."
"I ended up going with a silver ring that looks like the branches of a tree, it has one large amethyst in the middle and two smaller ones in the branches to the side."
"When I saw it, it immediately reminded me of the date we went on when I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."
"We got up early to go to an orchard that was a little while away, the whole ride, she was talking about how frustrated she was with work and I was so happy to be listening to her talk and to spend time with her. We spent all day at the orchard, we got lunch at the farmer's market, went on a hayride, went to a petting zoo, and we picked pumpkins then picked apples as the sun was just starting to get low."
"From there, we went a haunted trail on a ski trail that took us up the hill in a ski lift and we had to walk down. As we went up the hill, we got the most amazing view of the sunset and I knew had found my better half, because I couldn't even imagine anyone else that I would want to watch the sunset with."
- TabbyCabby
Because Science
"My wife is a chemist and agronomist. She was working on her master's in agronomy and part of her thesis project had to do with cobalt and molybdenum."
"So I got her a cobalt chrome engagement ring (which happens to also be 6% molybdenum). For the stone, I went with a manufactured sapphire, because science."
"She absolutely loves it. Cost me less than $300."
- surdophobe
Substantial Savings
"I worked for the jeweler store. I had about a steep discount. I chose five options and let him pick from there since I had to technically buy it. He picked my favorite."
"It is a one-carat ruby set in rose gold, and I love it. Retail it would be around $5000, but for me, it was $900."
"I wanted a ruby as I did not want a diamond, and I am a big history buff."
- Nancy2121
A Good Listener
"My Fiancé remembered that in Freshman year of college, I mentioned I would only take a lab diamond (clear or black), and my dream ring had a specific gemstone on either side of the main stone."
"Fall 2018 to December 2022 and he remembered every detail. From one conversation. He is a blessing and I love my ring."
- Trumpet6789
Post-Engagement Ring
"I couldn’t afford an engagement ring when we got married. It’s been a few years and now I can, so I’m working on a custom ring with a local jeweler we’ve worked with a bunch already. The concept is a subtle subversion of traditional engagement ring tropes and will cost around a grand USD."
- DeepFriedApples
Groceries > Rings
"She gave me pictures of a few rings she wanted. All sapphires, no diamonds. I got one of those for $120. Probably worth in the $200 range today."
"She specifically did not want the 'two months' salary' standard. She would refuse a ring that was expensive enough that somebody would be willing to cut off her hand in order to steal it."
- CaptainTime5556
Important Family Heirlooms
"It was my grandmother's and it was awesome and it was free and she loved it."
- Knute5
"Grandma's club checking in. I was having sort of a deep philosophical moment with this question about how I guess it technically cost me my grandma. But then I had a burrito."
- Hammand
Worth the Pricetag
"Love the shaming on this thread for anyone who spent more than $24.99 on a ring."
"$18k because it’s the only expensive thing she’s ever asked me for and it makes her happy every single day. One year interest-free financing softened the financial blow considerably."
"To each their own! Don’t shame people for spending their money how they choose on the ones they love!"
- Son_Of_A_Plumber
Yay for Pinterest Boards
"My wife had a bunch of floral style rings on her Pinterest page, so I went and got one custom designed from a local jeweler."
"They suggested Moissanite (synthetic diamond) to keep costs down and appearance up. I got three times the stone for half the price of a real diamond. Well worth it. Total ran about 3k for the engagement ring."
- bighairyyak
Everybody's Happy
"I chose the shape of the stone, he chose the actual diamond (size, quality, etc), and then we went shopping together to choose the setting."
"It was a lovely experience! I got a ring I love which I will wear forever and he got to control the situation and feel comfortable with a large component of the cost to keep within his budget."
- jvldmn
Très Relatable
"My wife liked it. 15k."
- BabyTunnel
"All the top voted answers are just cheap rings or inheritance. So I am glad someone posted something else. Although maybe there is something below but Reddit might just upvote certain answers more."
- Additional_Meeting_2
"Dude. Finally a comment in here I can relate to."
"My wife liked it. 12k."
"No hate to the lab-grown, or the many blue and yellow special stones in this thread. But d**n, it makes it sound like the norm! In my experience and my friends' circles…. It’s just diamonds from the jewelry store lol (laughing out loud)."
- howmanywhales
This thread was a great example of "to each their own." Where some will want an expensive ring, others will want something incredibly simple, just like some will want an extravagant wedding whereas others will want to go to the courthouse and have a nice dinner after.
These decisions don't make one couple or one marriage or one love better than the other. They simply reflect that they're different partnerships, and as long as both people are happy, who cares how anyone else would handle it?
Anyone who grew up with one or more siblings is bound to have stories of how their siblings occasionally (or frequently) got on their nerves.
Indeed, some people don't even have any sort of relationship with their siblings once they fly the nest.
Those who grew up only children, however, often have trouble accepting that people would cut their siblings out of their lives.
While being an only child can often mean getting your parent's complete love and attention, it also means that you will have to go through many of life's challenges alone, with no peer to turn to for support.
Not to mention, never having anyone to torment and boss around, as many children dream of doing to their younger siblings.
Redditor BroccoliniCarrot was curious to hear what only children thought was the biggest disadvantage of growing up with no siblings, leading them to ask:
"What’s the worst about being an only child?"
Lack Of Playmates
"When I was little, people would give me board games like Monopoly for gifts, and I wouldn't have anyone to play with."
"even Hungry Hungry Hippo sucked playing solo."
"I did master Solitaire though!"- Jesikabelcher
Last One Standing
"When my parents die that’s it."
"I’m just alone."- undertheraindrops
"Family is the most likely group of people to help you when things get tough."
"When your parents pass you have less support."
"Also, aging parents become solely your responsibility."- rubixd
"Taking care of an elderly parent with no one to help."- 3Gilligans
No One To Turn To
"When you are the only one to support your aging parents."- Fantastic_Leg_3534
Forced Independence
"I think because I am an only child I have become used to spending time on my own."
"As a result I am quite antisocial.'
"I don’t mind being around people and can be quite talkative however it exhausts me and I need far too much time on my own to recover."- OstneyPiz
"You become TOO comfortable with being alone all the time, to the point where being alone is the default and interacting with others feels like a chore."
"And that doesn't play out too well in the real world."- DeathSpiral321·
Going Through It Alone
"No one to have a sanity check with."
"My wife and closest friend have siblings and they talk about a close bond with their respective siblings where they could look at the other and effectively say 'mom/dad are crazy, right?'"
"Being an only, I thought some of the sh*t they pulled growing up was normal."
"Having a sibling would have helped counter the gas lighting from parents."- RennSport5280
Making Your Own Conversation Partners...
"As an adult, I sometimes find it difficult to quiet the self-talk because all too often growing up it was all I had."-GreenDolphin86
More For Me?
"I am absolutely not good at sharing."
"Plus and minus was that I got all of my parents' attention, so I had a lot of love and support but also a lot of expectations and not a lot of space to f*ck up."
"Nowhere to hide, no one to blame anything on, and no backup when they were being unreasonable."
"But I also didn't have to split time, affections, or personal belongings with some other gremlin sharing my DNA."=Justheretolurkyall
No One To Keep You In Line...
"No reality check."
"Nobody to confirm that, no, it's not you that's acting nuts."
"Later, nobody to bounce ideas and behaviors off of, nobody to tell you, 'hey, X thinks you're cute' or 'that's not how you ask a girl out, doofus, say this'."
"I should mention that for various reasons, if I had had siblings they would have been older."
"So when I imagine not being an only child, I tend to imagine being a younger brother."
"But I think the reality-check thing would still operate even as an oldest sibling; plus I might have learned to handle responsibility earlier."- ElderPoet
There Is, Indeed, Safety In Numbers
"I am the only son of a single mother."
"I hate this term, but it's called emotional incest."
"Basically my Mom was very young when she had me and there were no men in her / my life."
"As a result, she placed all of that emotional needs of a grown woman on to me."
"My Mom never really raised me as a son."
"At best, she raised me like a little brother she got stuck with after our parents died."
"At worst, she treated me like I was a toxic boyfriend."- ANerdCalledMike
No Scapegoats
"All eyes are on you- can’t get away with anything!"
"Most strict parents ever ( they were older too)."
"Unlike my husband's family growing up with 6 kids."
"Parents hardly knew where the teenagers were or who they were with."- Available_Honey_2951
"When asked by a parent what happened you cannot blame your sibling."- nanodecay
The Eye Of TheBeholder
"People assuming that I was spoiled."- Purlz1st
Having no siblings means never being bullied, teased or tormented, or having to vie for your parent's attention.
Something many people who grew up with older or younger siblings openly say they dream of.
When the going gets tough, however, and these same people realize they always had their brothers or sisters to turn to, they might bite their words and regret ever even thinking of being an only child.