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Millennials Share What 'The Rest Of Us' Just Don't Understand

Millennials Share What 'The Rest Of Us' Just Don't Understand
quinntheislander / Pixabay

Blaming millennials for all of the world's ills is a popular pastime of late, but the reality is that we don't have that kind of power. If we did, we would have fixed all of the things people complain about by now.


Reddit user u/GreenShirt7 asked:

"Millennials, What is one thing that the rest of us just don't understand?"

50. The Avocados Are A Red Herring

Giphy

What it's like to have no capital in you're 30s, and now be too old to acquire any.

Not all of us like "smashed avocado toast" (I don't even like avocado).

We're not adverse to hard work, life isn't any easier than it was when you were my age, life isn't going to get any easier when you're my age.

kryten2k35

49. Hear Our Plea

The minimum wage has not been properly adjusted to inflation for years and as a result all of our wages are lower.

I only buy avocados when I make tacos, I don't go to Starbucks, and I don't own an iPhone. The system is broken guys...

doghouse45

48. Inaccessible Expectations

I'm the oldest on the millennial age spectrum, I was raised with strict rules and worked since I was 14 (THINK about it, boomer, I've already been working for 24 years now and I'm not even 40 yet). I moved out of the house with only enough to buy a bus pass, and paid rent with my first full time-job paycheck after crashing on friends' couches. I had one fork, and no knife, and when things hit the fan, food banks didn't give food to people with jobs back then so I had to call friends and ask them for help.

Skip forward to today: housing costs a fortune compared to before, taxes are incredibly high, wages have stagnated for I've now lost count of the number of years. What is my generation going to tell their children? That things will get better?

Boomers lucked out on the biggest economic boom this planet has ever seen, got good paying jobs with little experience and bought real-estate at affordable prices. They also taught their children, either directly or indirectly, that this was the norm. Turns out they were only living conditions by boomers for boomers.

I am not the care-free, spoiled and lazy persona you associate with the term « millennial ». Although at times I find myself really wishing I could be for once.

svmtl81

47. It's Snowing

Calling us snowflakes doesn't make us snowflakes. It makes you look like a snowflake. Back in the 20th century it was legal to discriminate against so many groups too many to name here. And you want to call millennials snowflakes lol

Spanking, yelling, and having no empathy towards children (or others for that matter) doesn't make you a giver of "tough love," it just makes you an jerk. We can look at studies — PEER-REVIEWED ONES — about how children who were abused verbally turned out.

A sub-2000-square foot house in my neighborhood costs an average of $1.4 million.

cracksilog

46. Just Exhausted, Babes.  So Exhausted.

If you ask us a question, you don't get to reject the answer. That's what you don't understand: We'll be honest, you'll say we're whining. We'll be bitter, you'll say we're entitled. If you already know the answer why did you ask? What answer were you expecting? I'm at the point where I no longer answer questions from generations older than me; I ask them what they think the answer is, or if they'd believe me if I told them?

Sometimes it actually helps. It snaps the conversation out of casual and into focus. It makes them realize they either didn't think critically about the question they asked, or that they had preconceptions about my response before I gave it. Or I'm just told im being disrespectful and given a platitude about waiting for good things on hollow promises.

Wishgabishgus

45. Boomers Love To Shirk

We have to be taught how to do things. When I was in my early teens, about 12-13, the dishwasher was full, so my parents told me to do the rest by hand, which I hadn't a clue where to even start, like I was unsure whether I fill up one side of the sink with soap and let it soak first or just apply the soap directly. I decided to ask my dad, since he was right there.

He went off explaining how I was lazy and and dumb for not knowing, when I had never been taught how. My parents constantly expected me to know how to do things without even pointing me in the right direction to start, or helping me get setup. I would understand if this was something that they had taught me before, but they hadn't. You can't just tell someone to do something they've never done before, expecting them to know how to do it and executing the task perfectly.

GhoulGirlBaylee

44. I Want To Sit

We should give Cashiers chairs. Them looking ''less professional'' will be GREATLY outclassed by the improved attitude of not standing for 8 hours.

LeratoNull

43. We're Trying To Do Better

Tired of older generations accusing us of coddling our kids or otherwise telling us that we're raising our children poorly. We were all but ignored by our parents and want to do better by our own.

"I never let my children talk at the dinner table"

OK great, I'm sure there's no correlation between that and the fact your kid blames you for everything that went wrong in their lives to their therapist.

noopibean

42. It Would Be Preferable

At 27, I've worked more then people i know in their 60s. I've worked 6-7 days a week. 12-14 hours a day for the last 7 years. I have medical bills from doing so that i now can't afford to pay, so i need to work more to pay it off. I'm so tired and burnt out, I don't have time to rest, relax, recharge, find a hobby, have friends or relationships. I just want death to come and save me.

zeamda

41. It's Always A Struggle

No mom. I can not secure a 150K job (that my dad got with a high school education) with my teaching degree, post-bac and Masters degree. No, not even if I really wanted to.

Also, I really cannot afford to stay at home with my kids as I have a mortgage.. and three kids. Enough said.

NicAtNight8

40. You Ruined Everything

Giphy

Before judging the economic behaviors of millennials or calling us spoiled and entitled, please remember: Baby Boomers inherited the greatest economy in the history of our species from their parents in the 1950s-1960s, decided it wasn't good enough, and mortgaged their children's futures to keep the party going longer.

Nerrolken

39. "I'm Not Stupid, I'm Broke."

We aren't stupid. I constantly dread the fact that I haven't started saving well for retirement, and I'm 27 y/o. Things are still on my mind even tho I haven't made any progress. But until I make some more money I'm lucky to have an emergency $1,000 lying around. So grandpa get off my back while I establish myself before judging me at thanksgiving for not having a , probably disastrous , 401k set up. I'm not stupid, I'm broke.

KingKillerTI

38. We Should Be So Lucky

Forget the jokes about us killing diamonds and Applebee's- it is NOT the case that we aren't interested in things like going to the theater, art movies, going to see live music, having a general practitioner(!?), going to museums- any time you hear someone older bemoan the fact that millennials "just aren't interested in" something that is a real cultural mainstay, it's NOT TRUE.

We have a wide body of interests and more exposure to high culture than any other generation, but on top of all our problems with wages and housing, it's SUPER expensive to regularly go out to cultural outlets. Yes, some places have low cost/free programming and we love that, but that might be one program a year.

theworldbystorm

37. The Insurance Problem

I didn't see any mention of US health insurance here. And if you have a family, a good portion of your check will easily go toward premiums and deductibles. Pay $4500 per year and another 15k out of pocket and then your insurance will finally cover something.

Meanwhile boomers have insurance they got when they were hired 30 years ago that covers everything and can't understand why we won't go to the doctor.

DoesntEvenMatter2me

36. Lied To

We entered the workforce during the Great Recession. It wasn't possible to just walk into a business, apply, and get a job. The generation before us got the benefits of the 90s boom, and the generation after us is entering the workforce in the middle of a decent economy. We were also told throughout the course of our lives to do what we love and that college was essential.

It's not whining about how hard life is, it's ventin about the bad time we had and the effects that will take years or decades to get through...like enormous student loans we couldn't pay because there were no jobs and we got stupid degrees.

I didn't go to college until recently and enlisted straight out of high school, but my generation got screwed over.

daeronryuujin

35. Feeling The Bad Stuff And Choosing To Live Anyway

Being vulnerable and honest with your feelings is a good thing. Vulnerability is super difficult and it's a strength, not a weakness. A whole lot of older folks just stuff down all their "bad" feelings and sweep them under the rug.

ayzosh

34. We're All Going To Die

That the baby boomers and older messed up life as we know it, but will never realize because its effects aren't instantaneous. The permanent results aren't likely to be seen for a few decades, but they are in fact there and will hit the world right around the time you all die out.

you'll die of old age, i'll die of climate change

KillerChicken48

33. The Economy Will Also Crash

I'm a teacher, my wife is a doctor. We still can't buy a house without help from her parents, despite having full time, good paying jobs.

I don't know who's buying boomer houses, but they're going to be in for some disappointment when they try to sell their 500K - 1M houses.

BriSnyScienceGuy

32. The New Ways To Meet People

Video games are absolutely a reasonable form of a social life. Just because I don't see these friends in person doesn't make the social aspect of our relationship any less real than that of someone I know irl.

emotionalrek

31. No More Oppression

There isn't as much of a rise in the occurrence of certain conditions (autism, anxiety, depression, etc.), it's that thanks to better access to information, we can see and analyze the symptoms and find out who to go to for help.

Same goes for the "surge" of LGBT+ culture that I hear my elders complain about. Young people these days can tap a screen or type on a keyboard and see that they aren't alone in feeling the way they do. They find community, they embrace it, and they understand that they are not alone in being "different."

The Information Age is a double aged sword for sure, but it's raised awareness of so many things that we used to just shut up about and pretend they didn't exist.

andyhinomiya

30. Rewind (Wind Wind)

Giphy

Most of us aren't entitled, most of us are very aware how extremely lucky we are to live in the time that we do. Previous generations worked hard to get us to this point in society and there's nothing that can take away from that. But why can't we improve upon what was built instead of just accepting things because "that's how it's always been". Or even worse, why does it seem like we are being forced to go backwards in terms of progress?

ManifestYourDreams

29. No Cheek Please

Registered Nurse Full time job 31yo After rent and bills I have 100£ a week to live on, fuel the car, feed my dogs and get groceries.

And my dad has the cheek to ask why I don't have 'savings.'

Llquinn

28. You're Letting Us Down

How much it totally ruins your reputation as hippies, punks, and rock icons to constantly complain about the way "the younger generation is ruining America." We might not say this often, but we looked up to previous generations - to the point of obsessively searching for nostalgia with our tastes in clothing, music and even in the resurrected ideology of past generations. Don't get a millennial started talking about vintage anything.

You're still setting an example, and the example you're setting now is "everyone turns into an old curmudgeon eventually."

featherthorn

27. They're Just Full Traitors

That everything that's said about us is EXACTLY what we grew up listening to our parents' generation say about Xers and now it feels really bad seeing them turn on us in exactly the same way.

Or maybe thinking about all the ways that the Xers and Boomers have pulled up the ladder that they climbed to their success and now we get sh*t on for being lazy or not caring enough.

CAAD10onAMission

26. Mesmerized

Not sure how to word this exactly- older generations seem to label us (perhaps rightly) as materialistic and media obsessed, but it was older generations that ceaselessly advertised all this stuff to us. It's like they spent all this time trying to brainwash us to make a buck and then got mad that it worked.

inxca

25. My Mittens Aren't Attached To My Coat

We are grown ups now, so please stop treating us like we are ten. We have degrees, careers, marriages, children, and houses. It's way past time to let us be part of the decision making.

(I have some family matriarchs trying to rule with an iron fist.)

etds3

24. Give Up The Power

9/11 happened as we were graduating. A lot of us enlisted, served and died. (Us being Millennials, I personally did not enlist.)

Then those that served come home wrecked and infantilized by the general public. (2 of my brothers in law and some friends and associates, for example.)

Also, as adults, we've never known a stable economy where we had the possibility to prosper.

Our parents raised us on McDonalds and Lunchables and never set aside a dime for college, but we're called lazy and financially irresponsible. When we focus on our kids, we're criticized for coddling them. When we focus on ourselves we're selfish. We focus on our pets we're frivolous.

We'll never gain foothold until the Boomers die or decide to listen.

Fullswell96

23. We're Not Gonna Take It

The fact that us US based Millennials grew up in the greatest country to ever exist in the 80's and 90's and we've watched greedy boomers suck the life out of it. We've watched everything we were promised get thrown out. Our bright, glimmering futures have been stolen from us by skyrocketing tuitions, medications, housing, etc. Then we get blamed for it.

GuyMansworth

22. Of Course What Really Matters Is The Blame

Telling us that we will be the ones to fix all the problems that the Baby Boomers caused.... Like you've left us barely anything to hold on to and you blame us for everything but Oh! We will fix everything ourselves... And we get blamed for why older people don't have jobs and that Millennials don't deserve jobs. I read that somewhere once in my emails and I was so livid. It isn't fair to us that we are blamed for things we can't control.

umeduskfox

21. Begone Ye Pestilence

It's not your religion that turned me off, it's the way your fellow adherents act in its name.

Deny science, spout hateful messages about gay people, or seriously claim a 12 year old assault victim has to carry a baby to term at peril to her life?

I don't want anything to do with such disgusting people.

Aarondhp24

20.

That it's hard, even in my early thirties with a good full time job, to afford rent and food and everything else. I wish I had been born in a time where working a job like I have now would pay for a three bedroom house and two cars. No, I'm not lazy. I just don't think I should have to work two full time jobs just to survive.

-Shadow-Company

Yes! And that most jobs aren't even full time. They're either contract full time or part time so that businesses don't have to pay benefits.

-sometimesiamdead

19.

Older generations: "Find what you love to do and do it!"

Also older generations: "No don't do that, you can't make a living off that."

-Phil-Michaels

18.

That if I fail to get a job from multiple different places it doesn't mean I'm not trying it means the place that I tried are just picky with who they hire.

-Thatboy_Dj

Can confirm. Recently moved states due to an emergency - put out over 40 applications in the span of a week, only received one callback and the job I did end up landing is only due to the fact that I knew someone working at the facility. :/ Looking for employment is an absolutely miserable process.


Edit: To add, I am more than qualified for the positions I applied for, but even with experience, it's just a really disheartening process.

-FuriousPancakes

17.

I'm the oldest millennial. I have worked ridiculously hard, with no end in sight, to make the same money my dad, with no degree or specialized training, made and makes to this day.

-MsTomHardy

I actually earn more than my dad does today.

I can't buy his house at its current price, though, whereas he did it on a single income (he started a new business) while supporting a a wife and one (eventually two) children. I'm single.

Not that this matters, because my job is hundreds of miles from his house. I can't afford houses here either.

-vzzzbux

16.

"I paid my way through law school with a night job"

Yeah, and your law school was $450 per semester, Dennis

-snora41

15.

The whole "I had my house paid by the time i was 25" from old people.

Houses cost a whole lot less then, Barbara.

-plagueisthedumb

14.

That nearly every place you apply wants you to do it online. No, going in will not help you get your foot in the door. More often than not it's just going to annoy them. Also - super annoying when people don't believe you about this so they go in and ask for an application and are told to apply online. Like..I legit could have told you this would happen.

I was at target, working behind the counter at the customer service desk, saw a guy walk in and INSIST on applying in person.

They found him a physical application and once he left they threw it in the trash. That was one of the managers who did that by the way.

Update : For clarification He walked in, asked for a physical copy, said he couldn't put in online because he didn't have a computer, the network for the store was down - He was friendly, shook hands, and had decent qualifications. They didn't care.

No, I don't find it shocking that you, your son/daughter, or your family pet got a job walking in some place. Not everyone's experience is the same. Every time I've followed up on an application, went in person, or tried to see a manager I get told to leave and that they will contact me when ready. At two places, they even put me on hold for half an hour before hanging up when I tried to follow up on an application. Call backs were rejected. Every job I've gotten involved either a phone interview followed by a start day, an online interview followed by a start day, or getting called to meet HR.

Target was just the most overt example, but nowhere I've worked has ever accepted walk-ins, taken physical anything, or let people talk to the manager about employment. For reference, I've worked big-box-store jobs, factory work, and non-chain stores. Your experience may differ, but you are the exception, not the rule. Even my local generic corner store and a new-age accessories shop want online apps, and my neighborhood family-owned pizza place has a detailed website.

-WakeYourGhost

13.

that the average millennial is 30 years old, not a teenybopper or college kid.

-Hrekires

Most people don't know the age of millennials....

To them, a millennial is someone that they hate and happens to be younger than them.

-deadlyrabbits

Can confirm. I saw a lady on Facebook who essentially trashed millenials in one paragraph and in the next bragged about her daughter being in a high level position at her company and working very hard after finishing college. She was convinced her daughter wasn't a millennial, even when people showed her the ranges. The discussion devolved into an argument about what the year range was.

-SpeedDemon020

12.

Every time I read a thread about being a millennial, it just ends in depression.

That's the legacy our parents' generations have left us — depression and anxiety.

-cmdrrockawesome

11.

How to rotate a damn PDF.

-dealiftsandcoffee

CTRL + SHIFT + [Plus]

There are a lot of hotkey combinations where CTRL + [Key] is different from CTRL + SHIFT + [Key].

Some useful info: https://turbofuture.com/computers/keyboard-shortcut-keys

-funkme1ster

10.

We didn't give ourselves participation trophies.

-irishcolts

To put it a little more directly for anyone who doesn't understand: Criticizing the way someone was raised is a criticism of the people who raised them, not the children who had no say in the matter.

-DarthCorleone

In addition, no kid ever got a participation trophy and thought "oh, this is amazing, I'm a winner!". You either didn't care about it at all or realized how much of a symbol of losing it was.

-blumberg49

Everytime you bash millenials for taking participation ribbons remember who came up with that stupid idea. Here is a clue: it wasn't us.

-Xazier

9.

Most things millennials gripe about aren't just whiny child BS, they're legitimate issues.

Unaffordable housing

Lower wages

Employers requiring more experience for "entry level" positions

Unreal student loan debt

These are real issues. Since the average retirement age keeps increasing, these issues will only get worse.

-bluthco

8.

We got some really bad advice, did everything we were asked to do, and when it didn't work we got yelled at for not doing it hard enough.

-EvilCoyote

I think this is really the big one. They complain about Millennials making bad decisions and doing things wrong when they did...EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE TOLD TO!

Boomers: Do your homework! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Study hard in school! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Get into a good college! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Go to class! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Boomers: Get your degree! You don't want to be flipping burgers the rest of your life!
Millenial: "Wait, I worked my butt off did all of this! WHY THE HELL AM I FLIPPING BURGERS for a living?!?!?"
Boomer: "Are you complaining about flipping burgers?!?!?!? Your generation is so ENTITLED!"

-Cyberhwk

7.

I think we are the only gen to have grown up in both the pre-internet and internet era.

I remember growing up with VCRs and Walkman's. I remember dial-up internet when the internet was still a gimmick and not all that interesting. I remember growing up in a state of constant change. Both socially, politically and technologically.

I think this state of constant change and constant adaptation is why we do so well with technology, when our parents, just one gen earlier, grew up with a mostly analogue world, and that's why it's so hard for them to change with the world.

For better or worse, we have been given a unique way of growing up, and we are the only generation to have grown up in both 'eras' of history.

-Safe_Ladder

6.

Labor jobs are not shameful and you can actually earn good money doing it. Trades are dying because we were told to go to college and then get a desk job because it's better than what mom or dad does now.

-epona111

I make more money now as a 23 y/o millennial in a labor job than my parents made combined when I was growing up. But they had a large 2 story house in the burbs when I grew up and now that I make such good money they can't fathom how I still can't afford to get my own house or why I still have to drive an old beat up truck rather than have a newer vehicle and park out in a garage of a nice house. Probably because y'all screwed up the housing market and economy so bad that making 80k a year I still can barely afford to support my wife (who also works) and son (the freeloading 2 y/o that just refuses to get a job geez).

-jrhocke

5.

The reason older people can get away with "not being a computer/ technology person" is NOT because they are unnecessary. It's because you have your kids and grandkids to do that stuff for you. Stop putting down technology and maybe just say thank you to them.

-CaptainTrips1919

4.

Millennials are not one homogenous group.

Some are successful, some are struggling.

Some are urban, some are rural.

Some have college education, some do not.

Some live with their parents, some live alone.

Some have marriage and kids, some are single.

Generalizing an entire generation makes it an "us vs them" argument, that you assume everyone is on one side or the other. Don't fall for this bs.

If someone is an entitled person, it's not because they're a millennial, it's because they're an entitled. It's not a generational thing.

Stop projecting societal frustrations on people who happened to be born in a different year than you, and realize that if you accept and address the real issues of societal change, we're all better off.

-Mazzicc

3.

Burnout. You can't forget burnout, it's basically the millennial condition.

We work because we need to. We get tired of working. But we get paid jack and our benefits are we have a 50/50 chance of our two weeks notice turning into immediate termination. We can't stop because something like 40% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck to the point where they'd struggle to come up with $200 in an emergency.

Minimum wage hasn't increased in decades, college tuition and textbook price increases have increased wildly, and when it's all said and done older generations call us lazy and greedy for wanting any part of the American dream because the whole thing is only attainable by the rich who are taxed lower than ever.

-Istalriblaka

2.

The economy is growing but our paychecks are not.

Economists will tell you that wages generally increase with productivity – that you're paid in line with the value of what you do.

-zxkool

Related to this, that a $20K salary today is not equal to a $20K salary decades ago.

-ProtoMan94

This is so important. I had a VP laugh when I told them we needed to pay someone $60k minimum for a position I was tasked with replacing that had previously been budgeted at $42k. I had to work with the CFO and fight tooth and nail, and they finally asked our payroll company to estimate the job value. When it came back $72k, they immediately approved $60k with benefits without question.

We had a really awkward situation hiring last year where every applicant for a junior position were requesting $10-15k more than the manager that was hiring the position. They ultimately had to opt to go with a 22 year old straight out of college to get the rate. She's a rockstar, but that incident kicked off a huge company salary assessment.

-brenton07

1.

MS Word is not a design program and shouldn't be used as one.

-TheJadedSF

Also, powerpoint is also not a design program.

And if you’re going to use powerpoint as a design program, please at least export it as a pdf.

-hey_sjay

People Describe The Creepiest Things They Ever Witnessed As A Kid

"Reddit user -2sweetcaramel- asked: 'What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?'"

Four mistreated baby dolls are hung by barb wire
Photo by J Lopez

For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.

Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.

The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.

Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:

"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"

Serious Danger

"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."

"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."

oofboof2020

Waiting for Food

"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."

"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."

nowhereboy1964

Captain Hobo to the Rescue

"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."

"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"

"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."

FartAttack911

Survival

tsunami GIF Giphy

"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."

faithfulpoo

These Tsunami stories are just tragic.

On the Sand

Scared The Launch GIF by CTV Giphy

"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."

oyloff

Be Clever

"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."

OstneyPiz

Bad Jokes

"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."

Alegan239

YOU

Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN Giphy

"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"

PrettyLola2004

Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.

No one should talk to others in the dark though.

Woman stressed at work
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

When we hear about other people's jobs, we've surely all done that thing where we make assumptions about the work they do and maybe even judge them for having such an easy or unimportant job.

But some jobs are much harder than they look.

Redditor CeleryLover4U asked:

"What's a job or profession that seems easy but is incredibly challenging?"

Customer Service

"Anything customer-facing. The public is dumb and horrendous."

- gwarrior5

"My go-to explanation is, 'Anyone can do it, but few can do it for long.'"

- Conscious_Camel4830

"The further I get in my corporate career, the less I believe I will ever again be capable of working a public-facing job. I don’t know how I did it in the past. I couldn’t handle it in the present."

"I know people are only getting worse about how they treat workers. It is disturbing, embarrassing, and draining for everyone."

- First-Combination-12

High Stakes

"A pharmacist."

"You face the public. Your mistake can literally kill someone."

- VaeSapiens

"Yes, Pharmacist. So many people think their job is essentially the same as any other kind of retail worker and they just prepare prescriptions written by a doctor without having to know anything about them."

"They are very highly trained in, well, pharmacology; and it's not uncommon for a pharmacist to notice things like potentially dangerous drug interactions that the doctor hadn't."

- Worth_University_884

Teaching Woes

"Two nuggets of wisdom from my mentor teacher when I was younger:"

"'Teaching is the easiest job to do poorly and the hardest job to do well,' and 'You get to choose two of the following three: Friends, family, or being a good teacher. You don't have enough time to do all three.'"

"We all know colleagues or remember teachers who were lazy and chose the easy route, but any teacher who is trying to be a good teacher has probably sacrificed their friends and their sleep for little pay and a stressful work environment. There's a reason something like half quit the profession within the first five years."

- bq87

Creativity Is "Easy"

"Some creative professions, such as designers, are often perceived as 'easy' due to their creative nature. However, they may face the constant need to find inspiration, deal with criticism, and meet deadlines."

- rubberduckyis

"EVERYBODY thinks they are a designer, up until the point of having to do the work. But come critique time, mysteriously, EVERYBODY IS A F**KING DESIGNER AGAIN."

"The most important skill to have as a designer is THICK SKIN."

- whitepepper

Care Fatigue Is Real

"Care work."

"I wish it could be taken for granted that no one thinks it's easy. But unfortunately, many people still see it as an unskilled job and have no idea of the many emotional complexities, or of how much empathy, all the time, is needed to form the sorts of relationships with service users that they really need."

- MangoMatiLemonMelon

Physical Labor Generally Wins

"I’m going to say most types of unskilled labor and that’s because there’s such little (visible) reward and such a huge amount of bulls**t. I’ve done customer service, barista, sales, serving, etc; and it was all much harder than my cushy desk job that actually can be considered life or death."

- anachronistika

Their Memory Banks Must Be Wild

"I don't know if I'd call it incredibly challenging, but being one of those old school taxi drivers who know the city like the back of his hand and can literally just drive wherever being told nothing but an address is pretty impressively skilled."

"Not sure if it's still like this, but British cabbies used to be legendary for this. I'm 40 and I don't think most young people appreciate how much the quality of cab service has gone down since the advent of things like Uber."

"Nowadays it's just kind of expected that a rideshare/cab driver doesn't know exactly where you're trying to get and has to rely on GPS directions that they often f up. Back when I was in college, cabbies were complete experts on their city."

"More even than knowing how to get somewhere, they could also give you advice. You could just generally describe a type of bar/club/business you're looking for, and they'll take you right to one that was spot on. Especially in really big cities like NYC."

- Yak-Mak-5000

Professional Cooking

"Being a chef."

- Canadian_bro7

"I would love to meet the person who thinks being a chef is easy! I cook my own food and it’s not only OK to eat but I make a batch of it so I have some for later. So, to make food that is above good and portion it correctly many times a day and do it consistently with minimal wastage (so they make a profit), strikes me as extremely difficult."

- ChuckDeBongo

Team Leading, Oof

"Anything that involves a lot of people skills and socializing. I thought these positions were just the bulls**t of sitting in meetings all day and not a lot of work happening but having to be the one leading those meetings and doing public speaking is taxing in a way I didn’t realize."

- Counterboudd

Not a Pet Sitter At All

"Veterinary Technician."

"Do the job of an RN, anesthesiology tech, dental hygienist, radiology tech, phlebotomist, lab tech, and CNA, but probably don’t make a living wage and have people undervalue your career because you 'play with puppies and kittens all day.'"

- forthegoddessathena

Harder Than It Looks!

"Sometimes, when my brain is fried from thinking and my ego is shot from not fixing the problem, I want to be a garbage man... not a ton of thinking, just put the trash in the truck, and a lot of them have trucks that do it for you!"

"But if the robot either doesn't work or you don't have one on your truck, it smells really bad, the pay isn't what it used to be, you might find a dead body and certainly find dead animal carcasses... and people are id**ts, overfilling their bags, just to have them fall apart before you get to the truck, not putting their trash out and then blaming you, making you come back out."

"Your body probably is sore every day, and you have to take two baths before you can kiss your wife..."

"Ehh, maybe things are not so bad where I am."

- Joebroni1414

Twiddling Thumbs and Listening

"Therapist here. I’ve always said that it’s pretty easy to be an okay therapist—as in, it’s not that hard to listen to people’s problems and say, 'Oh wow, that’s so hard, poor you.'"

"But to be a good therapist? To know when your client is getting stuck in the same patterns, or to notice what your client isn’t saying? To realize that they’re only ever saying how amazing their spouse is, and to think, 'Hmm, nobody’s marriage is perfect, something’s going on there'?"

"To be able to ask questions like, 'Hey, we’ve been talking a lot about your job, but what’s going on with your family?' And then to be able to call them on their s**t, but with kindness and empathy? Balancing that s**t is hard."

"Anybody can have empathy, but knowing when to use empathy and when and how to challenge someone is so much harder. And that’s only one dimension of what makes being a therapist challenging."

- mylovelanguageiswine

Constant Updates

​"For the most part, my job is really easy (marketing tech). But having to constantly stay on top of new platforms, new tech, updates, etc etc is exhausting and overwhelming and I really hate it."

"Also, the constant responsibility to locate and execute opportunities to optimize things and increase value for higher-ups. Nobody in corporate roles can ever just reach a point of being 'good enough.' More and better is always required."

"Just some of the big reasons I’m considering a career change."

- GlizzyMcGuire_

Performing Is Not Easy

"Performing arts and other types of art. People think it’s a cakewalk or 'not a real job,' not realizing the literal lifetime of training, rejection, and perseverance that it takes to reach a professional level and how insanely competitive those spaces are."

- ThrowRA1r3a5

All About Perception

"I suspect everything fits this. Consider that someone whose job is stacking boxes in a warehouse has to know how to lift boxes, how many can be stacked, know if certain ones must be easily accessible, know how to use any equipment that is used to move boxes around."

"Not to mention if some have hazardous or fragile materials inside, if some HAVE to be stacked on the bottom, if a mistake is made and all the boxes have to be restacked, etc."

"But everyone else is like, 'They're just stacking boxes.'"

- DrHugh

It's easy to make assumptions about someone else's work and responsibilities when we haven't lived with performing those tasks ourselves.

This gave us some things to think about, and it certainly reminded us that nothing good comes of making assumptions, especially when it minimizes someone else's experiences.

Left-handed person holding a Sharpie
Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

Many of us who are right-handed never even think about how the world is designed to cater to us.

It probably doesn't even cross your mind that 10% of the world's population is left-handed.

Because of this, there tends to be a stigma for being left-handed since society tends to associate the left with negative things.

For example, the phrase "two left feet" applies to those who are clumsy and therefore, incapable of dancing.

Curious to hear more about the challenges facing those with the other dominant hand, Redditor johnnyportillo95 asked:

"What’s something left-handed people have to deal with that right-handed people wouldn’t even think about?"

If only manufacturers appealed to an ambidextrous world.

Furniture Obstacle

"Those desks or couch chairs that have a small desk attached. They do make left handed/sided ones but they are few and far between."

– Prussian__Princess

"And they’re only on one side of the lecture hall, and it’s never a good seat. There is ONE front row, lefty desk in the entire room and it’s in the far corner, obscured by an ancient overhead projector."

– earwighoney

Everyday Objects For Everyday People

"as a left-handed person myself, one thing we often deal with is finding left-handed tools or equipment. many everyday objects, like scissors or can openers, are designed with right-handed people in mind, which can make certain tasks a bit more challenging for us lefties. we also have to adapt to a right-handed world when it comes to writing on whiteboards or using certain computer mice."

– J0rdan_24

Dangerous Tools

"The biggest risk is power tools. I taught myself to use all power tools right handed because of risks using them left handed."

"Trivial, I love dry boards but they are super hard to write on."

– diegojones4

It's hard to play when you're born with a physical disadvantage.

Sports Disadvantage

"Allright, Sports when you are young. Every demonstration from PE teachers are right handed. You cant just copy the movements they teach you you need to flip them and your tiny brain struggoes to process it. As well, 98% of the cheap sports equipment the school uses is right handed."

– AjCheeze

No Future In Softball

"I tried to bat right handed for so long in gym class growing up because the gym teacher never asked me what my dominant side was and the thought never occurred to me as a child to mention it! Needless to say I never became a softball star."

– Leftover-Cheese

Find A Glove That Fits

"In softball and baseball we need a specific glove for our right hand that's often impossible to find unless you own one, and we have to bat on the other side of the plate."

– BowlerSea1569

"I was one of two left-handers in a 4-team Little League in the 1980s. Nobody could pitch to me. I got a lot of "hit by pitch" walks out of it."

– Jef_Wheaton

These examples are understandably annoying.

Shocking Observation

"Having right handed people make comments whenever they see us write, like we’re some kind of alien."

– UsefulIdiot85

"'Woah! You're left-handed????'"

"I find myself noticing when someone is a lefty, and sometimes I comment on it, but I try not to. I'm primarily left-handed (im a right handed wroter but do everything else left), and every single time I go to eat with my family, someone says, "Oh hey, give SilverGladiolus22 the left hand spot, they're left-handed," and inevitably someone says, 'Wait, really?' Lol."

– SilverGladiolus22

Can't Admire The Mug

"We never get to look at the cute graphics on coffee mugs while we’re drinking from them."

– vanetti

"I just realized…I always thought the graphics were made so someone else could read them while you drink. Hmmm."

– Bubbly-Anteater7345

"I'm right-handed and I often wondered why the graphics were turned towards the drinker instead of out for others to see."

– Material-Imagination

The Writing On The Wall

"Writing on whiteboards is a nightmare. I have to float my hand, which tires out my arm quickly, and I can't see what I've already written to keep the line straight."

– darkjedi39

"Also as a teacher, it means I'm standing to the left of where I'm writing, so I'm blocking everything I write. I have to frequently finish writing, then step out of the way so people can see, instead of just being able to stand on the right side the whole time."

– dancingbanana123

Immeasurable

"Rulers."

"How the f'k is no one talking about rulers? It's from 30cm to 0 cm to me, or I have to twist my arms to know the measure I want to trace over it."

– fourangers

Just Can't Win

"EVERYTHING. The world has always been based around people being right handed. As a Chef, my knife skills SUCKED until I worked with a Left Handed Chef. Then it all made sense."

"Literally, everything we do must be observed, then flipped around in our heads, then executed. This is why Lefties die sooner, on average, than Righties."

"I had to learn how to be ambidextrous, just to complete basic tasks (sports, driving a manual, using scissors, etc). I am used to it now, and do many things right handed out of necessity, as wall as parents and teachers 'forcing' it upon me."

"But, at least we are not put to death anymore, simply for using the wrong hand (look it up, it happened)."

"Ole Righty, always keeping us down."

– igenus44

The world doesn't need another demographic to feel "othered" for being different.

But if you're right-handed and tend to make assumptions about left-handed people, you may want to observe the following.

Ronald Yeo, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin told CNN:

"We shouldn’t assume much about people’s personalities or health just because of the hand they write with."
"And we certainly shouldn’t worry about lefties’ chances of success: After all (as of 2015), five of our last seven U.S. presidents have been either left- or mixed-handed."

Word.

Dog lying down on a bed
Photo by Conner Baker on Unsplash

Not all pet owners have the same relationship with their pets.

While anyone who decides to become a pet owner, or pet parent as some say, love their pets equally, some never ever let them leave their side.

Taking their pet with them to work, running errands, even on vacations.

Many pet parents even allow their pets to share their bed with them when going to sleep.

For others though, this is where a line is finally drawn.

Redditor Piggythelavasurfer was curious to hear whether pet owners allowed their pets to share their bed with them, as well as the reasons why they do/don't, leading them to ask:

"Do you let your pet sleep in your bed? Why/why not?"

The Tiny Issue Of Water...

"Absolutely not."

"I have fish."- Senior-Meal3649

Everyone Gets Lonely Eventually...

"I adopted an eleven year old cat the day before Halloween."

"She has mostly lived in my closet since I got her, and she hasn’t been too interested in coming out."

"Last night, she came out of my closet and jumped up on my bed, and crawled under my covers and curled up by my feet to sleep."

"I was so happy!"- YellowBeastJeep

The Comforting Reminder That You're Not Alone...

"I recently lost my Greyhound but I used to let him sleep on my bed with me."

"The company was nice and he was no trouble to have on my bed."- HoodedMenace3

Hungry Cookie GIF by De Graafschap Dierenartsen Giphy

What Do You Mean Allow?

"I have no choice."

"She is a cat, cats do whatever they want."- Small_cat1412

"He lets me sleep in my bed."- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle

Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

"I carry my old boy upstairs to bed every night."- worst_in_show

Hug GIF by The BarkPost Giphy

Who Needs An Alarm Clock?

"I let my two cats sleep with me."

"They're so full of love and just want cuddles all the time."

"And so do I."

"We've all developed a lil routine."

"Get to bed, oldest sleeps on my feet to keep them warm, youngest lies in my arm while I lie on my side (she the little spoon), then when I snooze my alarm for work in the morning the youngest paws at my face and meeps loudly to wake me up."- GhostofaFlea_

Whose Bed Is It Anyway?

"Yes."

"They're also kind enough to let me squeeze into whatever space they've left for me."

"Although I do get a few dirty looks off them."- Therealkaylor

"I found this tiny kitten screaming her head off under a car."

"Would not come out."

"Got some food and some water in dishes."

"I stood by the tire so she couldn't see my feet."

"She got curious about the food and water and started gobbling it down."

"I thought she would bolt when I squatted down."

"She was too busy eating."

"I grabbed her by the nape of the neck and all four legs went straight out and she tried to scratch me to death."

"I got her in the door and tossed her toward the couch."

"She ricocheted off the couch as if she was a ping pong off a table and I lost sight of her."

"I put out food and water and a sandbox and did not see that kitten for three days."

"On the third day, I came home and she was on my bed pillow."

"I thought she would bolt when I came near, but she didn't."

"I wanted to sleep so I tried to scoot her little butt off my pillow."

"She would not go."

"I put my head down to sleep and that is the way it was from then on."

"She ran the roost."- Logical_Cherry_7588

sleepy kitten GIF Giphy

Sleeping Is A Prerequisite...

"No, he's a cat and he cannot keep still during the night."

"He walks across the headboard, opens the closet doors, jumps into the windows and rustles the blinds, etc."

"If he would sleep he could stay, but alas, he's a ramblin' man."- Spong_Durnflungle

Saying No Just Isn't An Option...

"'Let'."

"Lol."

"It's a cat's world and I'm happy to be on her good side."- milaren

Felines Only!

"The cat does, the dog doesn't and the horse certainly does not either."- Xcrowzz

Angry Tom And Jerry GIF by Boomerang Official Giphy

Is That My Hair On That Pillow?

"My dog is perfect."

"She comes up, cuddles til we start to fall asleep, then gets down to sleep on her bed so she doesn't get too hot."

"Jumps back up in the early morning for wake up cuddles."

"The hair everywhere is the only downside but she is so cozy, what can you do."- HoodieWinchester

It is easy to understand how some people are able to fall asleep more easily knowing their friend and protector is there, in bed, with them.

Though we can't blame others who don't want to run the risk of being scratched or bitten in the middle of the night either...