Being a child is far from easy. It may look cool but it comes with many issues. We just never seem to be able to discuss those issues until we can process them with an adult mind; though sometimes having an adult mind can be overrated. Those first memories of when we learn life is a mess stay with us forever.
Redditor u/Cisqoe wanted to hear from the adults about what they can't stand out their youth by asking...
What was your first encounter with utter bullshit during your childhood?
Your Thoughts?
GiphyMy mom would ask my opinion on things constantly. I would say it didn't matter to me, or whatever she thought was best, but she would force the issue until I finally answered. Then she would scream at me about how I didn't understand or I was an idiot or I never thought of her needs. I still panic a little when people ask for my opinion on something. themissingsister
Not the B-word.
In second grade a friend said the b-word, and didn't realize that it was a curse word. I tried to explain to him it was a bad word and he shouldn't say it. The teacher heard me spell it (because I didn't want to say it out loud) during my explanation, wrote a note to my parents saying I used this word and sent me home for the day. RansackedFish
11 Years Ago.
This was back before classrooms were super tech savvy. One afternoon, the teacher was trying a new system and wanted the class to participate. She couldn't get it to work and called the tech support guy. Well, this took a long time. We were just sitting there quietly,'waiting impatiently and the time for recess came.
The teacher didn't let us go to recess because she couldn't figure out the computer program.'
This happened 11 years go and I am still angry. MarchKick
Paperwork.
Turned in 2 papers in third grade that were not facing the right way. Got held in 10 minutes from recess because (they won't let you do that in college or in business)
Never had an issue with it in college. Worked a retail job with daily paperwork. They didn't care what the paper looked like as long as they could read it and as long as it was done. pherring
And. So.
GiphyLearning that you can start a sentence with 'and.' Despite, you know, me being fed that information since Year 3. gli1tch_unkn0wn
Eye Contact.
Not the first but one that sticks out strongly in my mind: me laying in a hospital bed after an overdose when I was thirteen, and my mother and father were standing on opposite sides of the bed screaming and yelling at each other over me. I recall making eye contact with a nurse for a notable length of time. SupineEuphoric
Shut Up!
Being told I could not use the restroom in class. I was not a cut up and really had to go. It was dehumanizing. BellatrixLenormal
I had this issue with teachers several times in my childhood. I eventually learned to just get up and leave without asking. Most of the time they didn't notice or didn't want to interrupt their lecture to protest.
Any time that they had a problem with it, I simply threatened to pee on the floor right there in front of them. Usually got them to shut up, and then I'd leave. LegoStax
Thanks Mom.
GiphyMy mom: informs everyone dinner is ready by yelling from the bottom of the stairs and expects me to hear her despite my room being on the other side of the house, my door being closed, and my TV being on.
Also my mom: "Don't yell from the top of the stairs, you need to ask me in person or else I can't hear you. I'm not made of ears you know." odWorkLetsReddit
Forget you Ms. Smith.
In first grade getting my yellow card flipped to red while I was in the bathroom. The teacher flipped everyone in the class one card while I was away because I guess she had it with us. Forget you Ms. Smith. saucecat2
My buddy busted a window at his house. I was completely innocent and didn't do anything to help. Yet his mother told my parents it was my fault, so that my dad would pay to fix it.
Of course, I got grounded and had to pay dad back (it would be justified if I actually broke the window). I lost a whole summer, unable to go hang out with friends or do anything fun, all because that woman was a cheapskate.
I'm not friends with him anymore. But I did get to see his mom later on. She was the kind of person who would wear clothes once and return them. So I knew what she was doing. I told her we couldn't accept the returns because she washed the receipt and I couldn't verify it was legitimate (even though I could). So I screwed her out of money too. I'm a terrible person for doing it, but she was a nasty. DM-Hollens-117
It's Not Me....
GiphyMy little sister pushed me down the stairs and I got in trouble for "antagonizing" her. "She wouldn't do that for no reason." You did not know your daughter mom and dad. To my knowledge it was for no reason it was the morning so I hadn't even gotten the chance to piss her off. Also it wasn't the first time she had done it just the first time my parents got involved. frankenstein_73
Snitched!
I remember this one girl in elementary school who had some demented pleasure in getting me in trouble. One of the lunch items we would get (trust me, this is important) was a chicken patty. Sometimes we got it with hamburger buns, while other times we got it with a roll. Every time I got it with a roll, I would use my fork to cut through it and make my own hamburger buns to eat the chicken patty with.
One day, when I was doing this, this fool snitches on me for it. There aren't even any rules on playing with your food! Luckily, the staff she told had common sense, and explained to her that innovation wasn't illegal. After reading some responses to this question, it doesn't seem too far-fetched for me to get in trouble for that. Luckily, my school had nice teachers and staff. IlluminachoXD
My reward was a hug.
In preschool, my mom gave me a book of math problems and said if I got them all done by the end of the day, I'd get a reward. I did the crap out of those math problems.
My reward was a hug. I felt like Patrick from the Valentine's episode of SpongeBob.
EDIT: I feel I should clarify my mom and I love each other very much, it's just when you're 5 and you hear the word "reward", you tend to have high expectations. kemosabi4
Being 9....
My mom finding a cigarette in the backyard, accusing me of having stolen a friend's mom's cigarettes to secretly smoke there and grounding me for it despite me not having done any such thing. I was like 9 at that time. Avocado_3492
Boxed Right.
GiphyWhen I was in kindergarten we had to that thing where you had a grid of boxes, and in each box was a word. You would have to cut out each box individually, then arrange the words in some order. After a few months of cutting out each box like we had been shown, I figured that cutting out the rows and putting them on top of each other so the boxes lined up, and cutting them out like that, would take a lot less time. My teacher saw me do this. I had to stay in at recess to cut them out the 'right' way. awoodchuckcanchuck2
"watch the rectory"
Was asked to "watch the rectory" on Friday nights so the priests could have a night off. I was 12 years old. My job basically was to accept food that was brought by parishioners for the priests and find a place for it in their jammed packed double glass door refrigerator that was as wide as two refrigerators (there were 4 priests at our tiny parish). I accepted fully cooked roasts, hams, casseroles and cakes. I was told NOT to eat anything!
A few months later I was made to clean the convent with a couple of the nuns as a punishment for talking too much in class (there were 23 nuns who lived on site and taught school). Their kitchen had a tiny refrigerator and when it was lunch time they opened a cupboard of expired canned goods. We had very old tomato soup for lunch with stale bread and milk made from powder. I asked them if they knew about the food over at the rectory and they said no.... femsci-nerd
Too Slow?
I was around 7-8. It was sports day in my school and i participated in pass the baton. I was enjoying myself and trying my hardest, but at the end of it my class teacher told my mum (in front of me) that i was too slow. Not sure why i took it to heart but i just felt disappointed and it made me lose confidence in sports. emptydumpling
so I started running again.
I was bullied a lot in elementary school. To be fair, I was a pretty easy target for the bullying, r/RoastMe would have a melt down not knowing where to start. So every day at lunch and recess I would get chased and harassed by 4 other boys. One day the teacher assigned to keep order on the playground grabbed me and told me to quit running. But of course, as soon as I did the 4 boys began pushing and taunting me... so I started running again.
Next thing I know the teacher grabs me by the arm and starts to paddle me (teachers could do that back then). She missed my butt and caught me in the back again, so I cussed at her. She sent me to the principle's office, and when I told him what had happened he just shook his head, then had me stand up to take 3 licks from his paddle. Fifth grade is when I learned the world was utter bull. billified
Teacher Yells....
GiphyWhen our teacher would yell at us if we asked to go to the bathroom at the beginning of class because we should've gone earlier, and then yell at us if we asked to go in the middle of class because we were interrupting, and then yell at us if we wanted to go at the end because we were trying to ditch since the class was almost over. eylc2
I was 12.
The first time I was followed by a couple of guys in a car. I was 12.
I ran to the nearest house for help. And I asked them if we should call the police.. and they said no. Looking back, I think they were wrong.
Edit: This happened in rural Illinois. Billie_needs_a_Mop
They asked:
"Native Americans of Reddit, what are your or your tribes ghost stories, legends, or supernatural occurrences?"
Here are some of the interesting legends and superstitions of North America's First Nations and Indigenous tribes.
Uktena
Brice Cooper on Unsplash
"Uktena. It's a legend about a horned snake in Tsalagi [Cherokee] legend. Uktena is said to be very large and round like a tree trunk, with horns on his head."
"The only way to wound him is to shoot at a singular spot on his forehead that emits bright light. It's similar to a diamond. If you defeat Uktena, you become a miracle worker."
"A great warrior. Yet, once you see the light of his forehead, you run toward it instead of trying to escape."
"Even to see Uktena sleeping is death. Not to the hunter, but to his family."
~ Faith-Hope-TacoBell
Dog Tails or Why They Sniff Each Other
gotdaflow on Unsplash
"Lenni Lenape story about why dogs sniff each other's butts."
"When the humans slept, dogs would get together and party, but not before taking their tails off. They'd dance the entire night, put their tails back on and return home."
"But one time a wolf found them and all the dogs had to scramble away to their homes for safety, but a lot of them grabbed the wrong tail."
"They never danced again at night because they were afraid of the wolf, so they were stuck with weird mismatched tails for the rest of their lives."
"This is the reason that dogs sniff each other's butts; to see if the other dog has their tail."
~ ChurroChick
Haida Raven Brings Light to the Earth
Cristina Glebova on Unsplash
"In the beginning there was no light in the world, because an old magician kept it hidden in a box inside his house. Raven, who was always hungry, didn't like the darkness because it was difficult to find food."
"One day he was looking for food near the old magician's house. He heard a voice saying, 'I have a box, and inside this box is another box, and inside this there is another box, and inside the smallest box is all the light in the world'."
"Raven decided to steal the light."
"Raven waited until the old man's daughter went down to the river to collect water. Just as she was dipping her basket into the river, he changed himself into a hemlock needle."
"The needle floated into her basket. When the girl drank some water, she swallowed Raven too."
"Inside the girl's belly Raven took the form of a human baby. He grew and grew, and in time she gave birth to a funny looking child with black eyes and a big nose."
"The old man loved his grandson so much that he gave in to the child's every wish. Raven became spoilt and greedy. He was bored with all his toys, and wanted to play with the box that held the light."
"Finally the grandfather opened the box and tossed the glowing ball of light to Raven."
"As soon as Raven caught the light, he immediately changed into his bird form. Holding the light in his beak, he flew up the chimney hole into the dark world."
"The magician was angry. He wanted to get the light back into his box."
"He flew after Raven."
"The light was heavy in Raven's beak, and he was getting tired. The magician was coming closer."
"Raven broke off some pieces of the light and threw them into the sky. They became the stars."
"The magician was still coming closer, so Raven broke off another piece of the light and threw it into the sky. It became the moon."
"Finally Raven became so tired that he tossed the last and biggest piece of the light into the sky. It became the sun; and that is how daylight came to the world."
~ deviety
Nakani
Oliver Roos on Unsplash
"Dené from northern British Columbia here, my mom used to always tell me stories of the Nehgunni [Nakani], or bushmen/wild-men when I was young."
"They were people who lived in the forest and took away people who wandered too far out, specifically children."
"I always figured these stories were created by my people to serve two purposes, first to teach young children to not wander far off, and second to give explanations to kidnappings or missing people."
~ spanishLION
See-at-coh
green trees near lake under blue sky during daytimePhoto by Jasper Gronewold on Unsplash"See-at-coh (don't know the translation in English) is a Cowlitz legend. Lived at this lake and it was his spot."
"We DO NOT go there or he will kill you. Used to have nightmares about him based on what I was taught as a kid."
"Like how you could stand at the edge of the water and be looking in and he would come out of it and just grab you. No whistling at night and keep windows covered."
"But then the mountain blew up [Mt. Saint Helen] and filled in the lake so don't know if he's still around or not."
~ kalimah1
Nahual of Mexico
Joshua Wilking on Unsplash
"I live in rural Mexico. There are many, many different Indigenous peoples in what's now Mexico."
"The ones who settled here speak Nahuatl—the language of the Aztecs. This legend took place in the early 1900's."
"One of my favourite Nahuatl myths is the Nahual."
"Some people were thought to be able to turn into an animal. Most of them could only turn into one, but the most powerful Nahual could turn into different animals."
"There was a man who owned a hacienda where my town is, and he had a sort of overseer that everyone was afraid of."
"Said overseer could take a message all the way to the next state (think hundreds of miles) and bring back a sealed response in a single day."
"He also seemed to know everything everyone did, all the time. He was rumoured to be a Nahual that could turn into a coyote and an eagle."
"His quarters were heavily warded in his absence, which only added fuel to the rumor. You can only kill a Nahual if you find the human skin he sheds to transform and burn said skin."
~ CTalina78
Yamǫ́rıa & Yamǫǫ̀zha
Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
"Yamǫ́rıa & Yamǫǫ̀zha—the giant twins [of the Dené]."
"There are landmarks all around the territory I live in that is exhibited as 'proof' they were alive."
"In the middle of the Mackenzie river( biggest river in the NorthWest Territories) there is a large stone sticking out of the river which looks like the petrified guts of a beaver, there is a giant branchless, leafless tree sticking out of the top of this stone."
"It is said that Yamǫǫ̀zha had hunted a giant beaver and gutted him there in the river. He used his spear to anchor down the cuts so fish may feed on them. They are still there to this day."
"Yamǫ́rıa's body can be seen laying down, it is essentially a mountain range that looks like a giant human laying on his back, completely with face and feet. This can be seen from the peak of the hill as you enter a town called Ft. Liard, the southwestern most town in the NWT."
Walking Sam of the Pine Ridge Reservation
Boston Public Library on Unsplash
"'Walking Sam' skulks in the shadows of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and convinces people to take their own lives, especially young people."
"He's 7 feet tall, very thin and has no mouth. When he stretches out his long arms, nooses hang down with Lakota children hanging from them."
"Walking Sam finds you when you're alone and puts thoughts in your head until you feel worthless and kill yourself.
"Sometimes Walking Sam is depicted looking like Abraham Lincoln, complete with the stovepipe hat. 'Walking Sam', 'Uncle Sam', I don't know if that's where the name came from."
"But Walking Sam is an evil infected upon the people when the Oceti Sakowin were forced onto the reservations; he isn't a legend of the people before Pine Ridge Reservation existed."
"Lincoln was President when the Lakota were being forced onto reservations. Lincoln also ordered the execution of 38 Lakota men the day after Christmas in 1862. It's the largest mass execution in U.S. history."
"I always thought Walking Sam was Lincoln. They carved his face onto Ŝa´kpe Tuŋkaŋŝi (Mount Rushmore was called Six Grandfathers) in the Paha Sa´pa (Black Hills)
"My Father attended Holy Rosary boarding school at Pine Ridge in the 1940s & 1950s, but our people didn't live on the reservation. My Grandmother said evil stalked the people there."
"My Father never wanted us to ever even visit any of our cousins or his Uncles there."
~ LakotaGrl
Este Lopocke or Este Lubutke
Morgane Perraud on Unsplash
"Miccosukee [Seminole] tribal member here (South Florida) and for us it's the little people."
"Essentially really small people (like barbie doll sized and smaller) that live in the trees. They play jokes and stuff mainly, unless you piss them off."
"Had family members get tricks played on them that couldn't be explained."
"And then we have our fair share of stories that circulate our reservation like a tribal member being taken by the little people."
"All on the reservation in the Everglades (like 40 mins west of Miami)."
~ SSBMBabyCakes
Haudenosaunee Rules
Chris Chow on Unsplash
"I know the Haudenosaunee [Iroquois Confederacy] rules."
"1. If you hear someone you know calling your name, but you also know they are not supposed to be there, DON'T respond. Especially if they are out of sight and insisting you come to them."
"2. Always play group games in counter-clockwise order, otherwise your playing with the dead."
"3. Also don't eat in the dark, this is considered inviting the dead to eat with you. If you can extend your hand all the way out and still see it clearly then your fine."
"4. Don't play card games past midnight. If you do, and someone knocks at the door, don't answer it."
"5. Try not to drop your cards, if you do then don't bend down to pick them up, or you will see hooves under the table. That's bad."
"6. Say thank you after meals, even if you're the one that made it. Even better if you say it in native tongue."
"7. If someone finishes their meal and says thank you, you say 'you're welcome', even if you didn't give it to them. Even better in native tongue."
"8. After someone dies, you should gather family as quickly as possible to have feasts for 10 days. The first dinner is large, then every meal after that is a smaller feast meant for portions of the family to come at different times to help.
"The last feast on the 10th day is the closing dinner, which is the largest, with the entire family expected to show up and help. For every meal of these 10 days, put out a plate of the deceased's favorite foods first."
"Contrary to rule 6, you do not say thank you at any time during these 10 days. This is because it is believed that it takes the dead 10 days to relive their lives before they pass on, so this is your last chance to eat with them."
"Saying 'Thank you' during this time will make them stop before they're done because you're saying you're done. This will have bad consequences."
"9. Don't try to contact spirits, especially with board games. This is not a tribe custom, it's more of an unspoken common sense among the Rez people."
"10. If a bird flies into your house, someone's going to die."
"11. Pregnant woman should not hold any child that isn't theirs."
"12. It's accepted that if you actually try to curse someone, literally going through all of the steps with the intention of harm, not accidentally wishing them bad luck, then your family will also be cursed horribly."
"13. If you play with fire you'll wet the bed."
~ kinda-always-hungry
To learn more general information about Indigenous mythology of the United States, visit the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian website.
For Canada, visit the First Nations in Canada website.
For information about specific tribes, visit their tribal government website for recommended resources.