Look, I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend a fair amount of my life grounded. Usually it was for totally BS stuff (which my parents now admit - they were WAY more strict on me than on either of my siblings and would often "ground" me from books or educational TV for seriously minor offenses in an attempt to force me to go outside... not the best tactic, but at least they can admit it.) There was once, though, that my grounding was deliciously deserved.
Middle school is the literal worst. Everyone is trying to figure themselves out, everyone is weird, nobody has any real maturity - it's a godforsaken Thunderdome out there. She - we won't name names - was terrible to me. She tormented me daily. I was too young, too short, too fat, had weird hair, etc.
I wasn't physically aggressive, but anyone who knows me will tell you I don't typically need to be. My words are - and have always been - cutting. I let her bully me through sixth grade and most of seventh without ever standing up for myself. Then one day she decided to stand behind me and crumple little bits of styrofoam beads into my hair. It took the whole day to get even half of them out of my very ethnic hair. It ruined the hairstyle my mother had carefully spent ages putting in. I got in trouble for it because my parents couldn't possibly believe that I didn't feel it and had nothing to do with it.
I stayed up late and wrote the girl a letter telling her everything I hated about her and how much I hoped she amounted to nothing. I went in. I told her about her big teeth, her crooked nose, the fact that she always smelled like food and feet, how her name was stupid, how her cousin (who she had a super deep familial rivalry with) was way prettier, smarter and nicer than she would ever be, etc.
This letter was PAGES long. I let our entire creative writing class read it before I gave it to her. She cried halfway through the first page but I cornered her and made her finish the whole thing, then when she was done and sobbing I stared her down and told her I hoped she got horse flu to match her horse face and to never come near me again.
Seventh grade savagery was real, folks.
She took the letter home and showed it to her parents, who honestly believed she was an angel and I was just some hateful sociopath. It took a conference with 4 teachers, my parents, her parents and our school bus driver for people to understand that this didn't come from nowhere.
I got SUPER grounded, of course, because I said some things I'm very not proud of and that rightfully horrified all the adults involved. She transferred classes, then left the school. I hadn't considered that letting everyone else read it would turn the tables and she would go from a major bully to the most bullied and mocked girl in the school. Or maybe I had and I figured it was just karma?
Who knows. Either way, I remember not regretting a single moment of my grounding. At all. I was forced to be outside (my least favorite thing ever, to this day) but I was a legend that summer. It was glorious. And that's the story of how I read a girl to filth so badly that she disappeared.
Reddit user I_feel_like_death asked:
What have you done that your parents punished you for, but it was totally worth the punishment?
Honestly, this thread was all kinds of magic, you guys. There may not be any real justice - but there is so much satisfaction.
Consequences!
One time, my younger brother told our mom I hit him. Just walked into my room and started screaming about me hitting him.
I hadn't even looked at him.
So of course, mom comes in, won't hear me AT ALL, and immediately grounds me. My younger brother has this grin on his face.
And I thought, "F--- it...I'm already getting punished for hitting him."
So mom's like, "You're grounded for hitting your brother."
I turned to him, and punched him as hard as I could in his sternum. He DROPPED.
Then I go, "Alright. I'm grounded." And walk away.
Oddly enough, mom didn't say anything at that point. I like to think she realized what was up.
Bonus: My brother never pulled that again.
Consequences!
GlueStick
GiphyMy grandpa was searching for chapstick all around the house and I ran up to him, handing him a glue stick. I thought he'd realize and laugh. He didn't realize. Not intended, but totally worth the grounding.
The Pants Incident
My friend had pantsed (pulling down someone's pants unexpectedly to reveal their underwear) me the day before and I was itching for the opportunity to get back at him. We had just finished PE class and were lining up for an assembly. He was wearing shorts, so it was the perfect moment.
I snuck up behind him and with one fluid motion pantsed him in front of everyone. I would say it was one of my best pantsings of all time, or at least in the top 10. He was thoroughly embarrassed, but that was the extent of it. I just did to him exactly what he did to me. This was just a weird thing we did in Junior High.
My gym teacher (who notoriously had it out for me the whole year) noticed all the commotion and asked what was going on.
Some kid piped up and snitched on me. She immediately told me to go to the principals office. "That's sexual harrassment.", she said. That was the first time I had even heard those words uttered. I had to go to the principle's office and explain what happened. They called my parents and slapped me with a 3 day suspension.
I came home and my parents were waiting for me in the living room. My dad was strict as hell, and I was constantly frightened of him. I sat down across from him (on the farthest seat across from him no less). He just stared at me, for what felt like hours, with his eyes burning black like the fires of hell. I was terrified.
"Stand up!" he then ordered. I had no idea what he was going to do. And then...he walked up...and in one fluid motion pantsed the living sh*t out of me. "YOU LIKE PULLING PEOPLE'S PANTS DOWN!? I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!!"
I burst into tears, with my pants hanging down by my ankles, in total embarrassment and humility. Talk about giving someone a taste of their own medicine.
The Concert In DC
I flew to Washington DC with some friends to see a concert. I told my parents I was at my friends for the weekend. I almost got away with it too, but I left my phone at the concert venue and someone was "nice enough" to look into it and dial the home number and let my parents know they found my phone in DC. This was back in the day when it was basically a flip phone so I would have preferred he stole it. Grounded for about 3 months, no phone, no computer, no tv.
I went to great lengths to hide the trip from my parents too. I switched my debit card to paperless (my dad was a snoop) The flight was really early in the morning, so for a week ahead of time I went to school early everyday and told my parents that I had a study group before class, so it wouldn't seem odd that I was leaving so early that one day. I hid my car in a college parking lot. All to be ruined by some guy trying to do a good thing.
They weren't worried at all. They were pissed lol I had talked to them a few times during that weekend. They were very protective, especially since I'm a girl, so I always "checked in." They were able to get a hold of me right away because I was with the same friend who they thought I was at her house. She answered the phone and acted like I had just left her house, we were at the DC airport on the way home. My dad replied "I know you're in DC, give my daughter the phone."
I saw the immediate fear in my friend's face. I was the one who was scared sh*tless. lol
Good thing that came out of this though, they started loosening up. They saw that I could take care of myself and started to let me travel/roadtrip with my friends as long as I told them first.
Croquet And The Bloody Nose
At my 11th birthday party, my step sisters son (who was also 11) hit me in the back if the head with a croquet ball. On purpose. Once I stopped crying, I punched him in the face hard enough to bloody his nose. My mom spanked me for it. No regrets. He was a mean little sh*t who was always doing stuff then blaming it on me. After I fought back, he pretty much left me alone. And no, he didn't get in trouble for hitting me with the ball.
- katgib13
Gmail
Changed my dad's gmail name to "d*ckface" He couldn't change it back for months. I'm sure doing business was nearly impossible, but it was hilarious.
I was banned from all computers for a year and never allowed the Netflix password (It's not stopping me, by the way.)
The Best Start
My mom was always very strict about my curfew. When a girl from work asked me out for ice cream after the late shift I couldn't refuse. I called my mom told her I was going on a date and I would be home later. She wasn't very happy but I went anyway. That date was the start of one of my best relationships.
Shoplifting
I had a, fortunately short-lived, shoplifting phase when I was 8. I would often steal gum and candy from stores and got away with it for weeks. It came to an end when I got cocky and tried shoving a giant bag of gummies in my pocket.
A man caught me, and he looked me with a concerned face, asking "Are you really going to do that?" He didn't seem like he was going to snitch on me, but he didn't need to.
He scared me so much that I put it back and my mom caught me pulling it out of my pockets. She finally realized why I kept having candy when before she accused my grandma of buying me excessive candy in secret.
I was not allowed to watch TV, play video games, nor go to any friend's house for a month.
I learned to never steal again. It was worth it in that the lesson I learned was valuable.
The Candy Scheme
GiphyCandy.
My brother and I were very smart kids. (He still is, I've settled around average.) We came up with a plan to get candy, so much candy. I think we were around 10 at this point.
Our parents would habitually go grocery shopping, and they would take us with them. We were both quite well behaved, and polite, so it wasn't a big deal to bring us along.
Dad usually beelines for the butcher section, while Mom putters around the produce. Dad would pick up something, and hand it to one of us. "Go put this in the cart." This was a weekly thing. (Can you see where this is going?)
My brother and I realize that Mom doesn't question when we put things in on Dad's request. Dad doesn't questions things on the conveyor belt, because Mom must have okayed it.
We got so much candy.
Remember Baby Bottle Pops?
We had, like, 2 packages of them. Gushers. Gummy bears. Chocolate bars. Caramels. Those dip sticks that you lick and stick in powder that changes the colour of your tongue and has the consistency of chalk.
Oh God, it was glorious.
We get in the car, giddy to go home. Mom grumpily says to Dad: "I can't believe you let them buy that much candy."
Dad: "Me? You let them get it!"
There was a pregnant pause as they both turned around in their seats and looked at us.
"Guys. Seriously?"
So we didn't get the candy.They didn't return it, though.
We were grounded for a month, and everything we brought to the shopping cart was now scrutinized.
But it so worth it because about 6 months later we got to eat the candy. Now that we're adults, my Dad still thinks that was one of the most clever things we've ever done.
- Dante_
Laundry
I let a friend do 4 loads of laundry in our basement while my parents weren't home because her family's washer and drier broke and they had 5 kids and no clean clothes. I didn't want my best friend to have to go to school in dirty clothes when I could help her.
My family was not poor by any means and we do laundry constantly so I didn't think there would be any problem with it. We had already finished and just folding the last load of clothes and putting it into her hamper bag when my parents got home.
They waited until she left to yell at me and then 'grounded' me, taking the door off of my room and removing all the 'fun' stuff from my room (books, art supplies, ect) and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere but school for 3 months. My parents are borderline narcissist, this wasn't an unusual punishment or behavior for them. This was just one time where there was a clear reason for their bullshit
They were being selfish assholes and I continued to help my friend do laundry, we just made sure to limit it to 2 loads and made sure she was gone before they were home. Helping her was worth it.
I'd Do It Again
My mom was drunk when my 8 year old little sister told her that she wanted to do some acting in a school play. My sister was notoriously shy and my f*cking mother sat there and told an eight year old that "I don't think you can do it, you're too nervous."
I lost my shit (I was fifteen), all I said was "I can't believe you just told your daughter you don't believe in her!" I got grounded and I'd do it again every day.
Defending Mom's Honor
Aunt of mine on my dad's side used to bully my mother a lot, very condescending and belittling so much so that I recognized this as a young child. My dad would put a stop to it when he was around but he worked a lot... one day this aunt was in the kitchen on the phone and I burst in, wearing full plastic armor, helmet, shield and sword - and stabbed her right in the ass.
She was heavily overweight and I managing to really jam it in there for full effect; bending the sword just above the handle and I believe I managed a slight ass punch too.
She jumped up a remarkable height considering her bulk and let out a Wilhelm scream to rival any.
I was punished, grounded, scolded and told to apologize. But after she left I wasn't grounded and I heard my parents laughing about it when I was in bed.
My aunt is a much nicer person now (she still fears me) but she really was a horrible person back then, bitter and cruel. My mother was never good enough, despite raising 4 kids vs 0 by my aunt and living far away from her own siblings. I think my dad put her straight and told her don't come back until you've sorted your shit out. Worth it.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.