Nostalgic People Tell Stories Of The One Stranger They’ll Never Forget
Nostalgic People Tell Stories Of The One Stranger They’ll Never Forget
[rebelmouse-image 18353195 is_animated_gif=_Life is an abundance of utter chaos. People fly in and out every other second. Many times we recognize the profound differences they make; like saving our lives when we're choking on meat or turning out to be our significant other. But 90% of the time we'll never know the people who float in and out of out lives. And that 90% can change it within the blink of an eye. _
_Redditor ___The_FunkyPigeon_askedpeople to share stories of the one stranger they'll never forget.
WHAT HAPPENS IN TAHOE.
A boy I met 30 years ago in Tahoe.
SOMETIMES LANGUAGE HAS NO BARRIERS.
[rebelmouse-image 18353196 is_animated_gif=Whenever I go to the airport, I think about that one girl I met when I was like 4, in Miami. She spoke Spanish and back then I only spoke French. Yet we managed to become bffs in a matter of minutes. She was so damn generous with all her toys and she drew me a picture as a parting gift. She was so nice. I wonder who she's become.
LOST IN THE CROWD.
[rebelmouse-image 18353197 is_animated_gif=When I was a very nervous 14 year old I saw a short blonde girl with a lip ring wearing an Atticus t-shirt at a local carnival. I thought she was beautiful, but when I attempted to approach her I lost her in the crowd. Whenever someone mentioned a carnival I thought of this girl, even during and after some serious relationships (note to self: no matter how close you and your s/o are, don't bring up this girl).
Now, I worked at a burger restaurant about a mile from the carnival site from when I was 16 until I was 18. When I was 17 I swear to god this same girl came in. I felt like a nervous 14 year old again. I wanted to approach, but she was eating with her mom and dad and I wasn't their server. They left when I was in the kitchen. It was a sad day.
THUMBS UP FRIEND!
[rebelmouse-image 18353198 is_animated_gif=There used to be a cheap, but tasty Shawarma place opened very close to where I lived back in uni. I used to visit there almost daily, every day, for a sandwich.
The shawarma guy was an old Turk that didn't speak any English. I had to do gestures to describe what I wanted on my sandwich. After a while tho, he'd recognize me. I'd nod, he'd nod, and he would know what I wanted. This went on for 5 years. We've established a strong relationship of sign language that, as far as I know, isn't recognized anywhere else.
The last day I visited was right when I graduated. I visited there, graduation hat on the table. He gestures to it, I smile and nod twice...and he grinned. The biggest grin I've seen a stranger show me. He was so happy for me. He gave me a thumbs up. I gave one back.
I went back home, many miles away, but I still think about that "friend".
SOMETIMES IT'S JUST ABOUT LISTENING.
[rebelmouse-image 18353199 is_animated_gif=When I was 15 years old I had some pretty dark thoughts. I was really lonely, had no friends, no idea of what I wanted to do after high school, I never felt so lost in my entire life. Depression was a new thing for me so I had no clue of how to deal with it in a healthy way, so I did what every depressed teenager does: I acted out. A lot. My grades were garbage, I started drinking, fighting all the time with my family. Then one day I was at school sitting by myself, listening to some music and minding my own business when this new teacher sat next to me and asked how I was doing.
I told him to shut up, he said "ok, I will, if you tell me how you're doing". He was so calm and kind that I felt bad for treating him that way, so I apologized and we started talking. For some reason I told him everything that was going on and he just sat there listening to me. Barely said anything, just listened. When I was done venting, he just said something along the lines "problems come and go, sometimes they feel like the end of the world, but you have to put up a fight cause that's how you become stronger for the next problem. It's okay to feel sad and angry, but eventually you have to stand up for yourself." I don't remember the exact words cause that was six or seven years ago, but in that moment, I decided not to harm myself. I never saw that teacher again, maybe he got fired or something, I really don't know. But since that day I've been punching depression in the face almost everyday. Life isn't the best right now, but I know it gets better eventually and it's worth the struggle =] And I'll always be thankful to that man.
LOVE IS IN THE EYES.
[rebelmouse-image 18353200 is_animated_gif=I was walking out of a store with my son who wasn't more than a couple months old. An older woman was walking behind me, and she said, "look at the way he looks at you! He loves you so much!" I don't know why that meant so much to me, but I think of her and those kind words often.
JUST KEEP BREATHING!
[rebelmouse-image 18346701 is_animated_gif=I called a suicide hotline one time about three years ago when I was seriously considering doing it. I was sixteen and crying alone and the woman was so kind and calmed me down. She asked me how I was gonna do it and when I told her I was going to take loads of pills she told me quite frankly that it wouldn't work, and I would just really damage my liver. She spoke to me for ages. She reminded me that I still a whole life that I could make as exciting as possible if I wanted it. I realized I did really want it.
She told me if I called back within the next two hours she would still be there and she would be waiting for my call. My family came back home and I got distracted and never got the chance to call her back and tell her I was okay. I hope I didn't worry her and that she's alright. I wish I could tell her that I'm still alive and doing great. She honestly saved my life and pulled me back from the darkest hour ever. I think about her around this time of year a lot.
ANGELS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING.
[rebelmouse-image 18978781 is_animated_gif=My best friend died from cancer when I was 19. I had just started an internship in Boston at the time and had to fly back home to Illinois to attend the funeral. While at the airport waiting to board my flight, I was on the phone with someone. I don't remember who it was as I had to make so many phone calls during that period of time to friends and family to inform people of what happened. After I hung up the phone a woman, probably in her mid 30's, who had been sitting near me came over and said she had overheard me on the phone. This didn't surprise me, as basically every phone call I had to make had me nearly in tears (if not actually in tears). She went on to say that she couldn't even imagine going through something like that at 19, and how maturely I was handling it.
I thanked her, and went back to making phone calls. The next time I looked around, which couldn't have been more than a few minutes later, she was gone. It has always stuck with me, and I will never forget it. Just those small words of kindness meant so much to me at that moment.
ALWAYS LISTEN TO THE DOC.
[rebelmouse-image 18978782 is_animated_gif=I was a total screw up in high school. Almost got expelled, eventually dropped out, ended up with a GED. In my 20s I finally decided to do something with my life and went to community college. Did well, but didn't take it seriously enough. Applied to graduate school for a career that would boost me out of the poverty I grew up in. Got accepted by a program before I finished the pre-requisites for that program. I was supposed to complete the last few pre-requisites in spring quarter and start grad school three weeks later in summer.
First day of spring quarter I was too busy hooking up with this woman and forgot to pay my tuition, so the computer system automatically booted me from all my courses. I was able to salvage all of them except one advanced microbiology course because they always have a wait list and immediately filled up. I was literally screwing myself out of grad school and a better life. I had my first and only panic attack in the counselor's office when she wouldn't give me an override and said I had to plead my case to the professor, who I'd never met.
I went to talk to the professor, a crusty retired veterinarian who glowered at me as I told him how I'd gotten into graduate school and would literally be kicked out before I even started if I didn't complete his course that quarter. He stared at me for a while and said, "you ever going to f--- up that bad over something so important again?" I said, "not this badly." He smiled and gave me an override, I went to grad school and got my doctorate. I make a comfortable living, have a kid that I never worry about providing for or feeding. And I have never screwed up that badly again. All thanks to Doc.
IN THE LONELY HOUR.
[rebelmouse-image 18978784 is_animated_gif=I met a woman my age in an elevator in my 20s. She asked how old I was, and commented that we were the same age, and that while I was an MD, all she had done in her life was get married and have kids. I was coming off call after some 36 hours in the hospital, in my intern year, lonely, miserable, and exhausted. I just looked at her and thought about how strange it was that we both wanted what the other had.
IT GETS BETTER
[rebelmouse-image 18978785 is_animated_gif=This dude came up to me in public and said "it will get better, I promise" when I was at my absolute lowest and couldn't talk about it with anyone. No one else around me noticed how depressed I was but this random stranger saw it.
GARY THE BABY BOOMER IS A HERO!
[rebelmouse-image 18978786 is_animated_gif=Last year I went out to eat with a couple of my friends and they were standing outside of my car when I parked. As soon as I opened the door they started making conversation with me, so I got distracted and left my keys in the car. My friends and I got to work on trying to somehow open the door. We were struggling with a hanger until an old man came up to us and asked if he could try. He bent up the hanger in a way that my friends and I hadn't even thought of, and within like 5 minutes he managed to get the door open with a little of my help. I still remember him telling me "Tell your parents that a baby boomer named Gary helped you out." Thanks old man :)
REDDIT BRINGS US TOGETHER.
[rebelmouse-image 18978787 is_animated_gif=We were similarly aged, and played Diablo 1 waaaaaay back in the day. Always a blast to talk to, and we kept up for the longest time on ICQ. She was just a really genuine, fun person. And then, as internet folk do, she moved on and we never talked again._
It'd be cool to see how she's doing, but I've made peace with the fact that I'll never hear from her again.
THE BABY WHISPERER
[rebelmouse-image 18978788 is_animated_gif=I used to work checkout at a grocery store. One day, this woman comes up to my line with her baby sitting in the top part of the cart. The woman was calm, at ease, carefree. But she had an aura that she was a genuinely good person. Her baby starts screaming at the top of its lungs. Most parents I know would reach to their kid and pick them up to calm them down, yell, get embarrassed, all that. But this woman, without it being a big deal, just looked at her kid with the kindest face, and without words comforted her child. And her kid stopped crying instantly. And I think about how one person could so simply listen and communicate back love in such a meaningful way, I sometimes think about her and how to be someone like that.
DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK.
[rebelmouse-image 18978789 is_animated_gif=The dude who mugged me. I've moved countries since then, but I still get the feeling he's lurking around nearby whenever I go for a walk.
FRIENDS KEEP FRIENDS WARM.
[rebelmouse-image 18978790 is_animated_gif=I must have been around 10 years old and was skiing with my parents. The temperature dropped, and my toes were killing me, so we went into a cafeteria located midway up the mountain. My mom took off my boots and was trying to warm up my frozen toes with her hands. A random stranger walked by, took pity on me, reached into his jacket, and handed me two boot warmers. Since then, I've always carried extra boot warmers in case I see a miserable kid on the mountain. Still hoping to pay it forward one day.
ANIMALS FIRST, ALWAYS.
[rebelmouse-image 18978791 is_animated_gif=When I was a young child my dog got sick. We took her to the vet. She had a problem with her leg. To help her the vet had to move her leg and it put her in a significant amount of pain. Seeing my dog in pain made me cry so one of my parents took me out of the room. The receptionist saw me crying, gave me a lollipop and comforted me. Thanks receptionist lady for making young me feel less traumatized.
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES.
[rebelmouse-image 18352758 is_animated_gif=I was once at the Museum of Play in Rochester, and they have a set of giant foam lego type blocks for building structures. This little boy no older than 4 or 5 was sitting all alone, holding a block like a rifle and halfheartedly pointing it around him. I lead a pretty lonely childhood, so i ran over and picked up a block and had a mock shootout with the little guy, complete with a scarface style bullet barrage death on my end, I've never felt more fulfilled than when he ran over to his dad and shouted "I got him!" I cant wait to have kids of my own.
NEVER FORGET OUR VETERANS.
[rebelmouse-image 18978792 is_animated_gif=When I was in the Navy, stationed in San Diego, I got rolled out in town for about $160...all the money I had. Hitched a ride toward the base and caught a ride with this old guy who let me crash at his place overnight until he could take me back to the base before muster. I'm sure he's dead by now but he kept me out of a lot of trouble.
HOW DID WE LIVE BEFORE TECHNOLOGY TOOK OVER?
[rebelmouse-image 18346382 is_animated_gif=Meet a pretty girl from France in a tiny village in Romania as I was traveling. Got her contacts but lost the note at the train station. This was before the age of smartphones.
YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERY LIFE, BUT YOU CAN TRY.
[rebelmouse-image 18978793 is_animated_gif=I don't know if this counts as a stranger but.... I'm a nursing student and while on placement in a psychiatric facility i was responsible for this 18 year old guy who had tried to kill himself. I ended up spending quite a bit of time with him, chatting about anything from Rick and Morty to his deeper issues. I was due to leave the ward after working with him for 3 days. I think of him most weeks.
H/T : REDDIT
People Explain Which Things Blew Their Minds Once They Realized Them
"Reddit User r3tr0gam3r83 asked: 'What is something that blew your mind once you realized it?'"
Every moment we breathe is a moment to learn something new.
What's funny is the more we learn, the more we're shocked.
Some knowledge is so obvious it's stunning how oblivious we are.
Like, "How did I not know this sooner?'
And no matter what I can still be shocked.
Redditor r3tr0gam3r83 wanted to hear about which realizations in life have left people SHOOK, so they asked:
"What is something that blew your mind once you realized it?"
Avocados are not vegetables.
They're fruits, berries to be exact.
Like what?!?!
Colleagues
GIF by Bud LightGiphy"Sometimes it is more important to like your colleagues than the actual job."
"I had shi**y jobs with the most amazing colleagues and had shi**y colleagues and the most amazing job. I'd pick the first every time."
chr989
Star Trekking
"That you could legitimately travel at warp speed through the center of galaxies and never run any real risk of hitting a star. That’s how spread out space really is."
justanotherguyhere16
"Also, galaxies, stars, and even the Universe is constantly moving. I think time travel has been invented, but they can’t figure out the 'space' part of it.
"Yes, they can travel back in time, but relatively speaking, they can’t figure out how to navigate to the part of the planet they want to reach. So when they travel back in time, it’s relative to where they currently are, and end up not moving through space, thus ending up in the middle of an empty vacuum."
theknights-whosay-Ni
Jaws is Old
"That sharks predated the rings of Saturn."
BeardedDominant
"Sharks also developed the immune system that ended up in both dinosaurs/birds and mammals."
csiz
"We don’t know that. We can’t say for certain that the rings are only 100 million years old. It’s still debated."
The_Kek_5000
"I'm pretty sure that sharks are older than trees."
Cayderent
From the Trees
"One day I sat on a tram, passing a river. There was a duck in a tree. I realized I'd never seen ducks in trees. No one else seemed to notice, but I was puzzled. Now whenever I come across something that seems intuitive but I have never considered I call it a duck in a tree."
Ol_Pasta
"This realization happened to me this past year. We apparently have a family of wood ducks in one of the big trees in our yard. Our neighbor said she has seen a duck walking around on a branch. I made it 37 years without knowing some ducks can roost in trees. My wife caught a video of the mama leading like eight ducks into the field next to our house. We aren't even near water."
jwbourne
Artistic Timeline
Confused Eminem GIFGiphy"Pablo Picasso and Eminem were both alive at the same time."
leebon427
"I’d bet a lot of people think Picasso is a Renaissance artist."
editormatt
I admit it. I'm one of those people. Pablo and Marshall, in one lifetime.
New facts are fun.
The New World
Design Loop GIF by xponentialdesignGiphy"They were colonizing the Wild West at the same time as they were building skyscrapers in Manhattan. I always think of them taking place eighty to a hundred years apart. It's wild."
Emilayday
Oh the Power
"Nuclear power plants are just steam power plants that use nuclear reactions to heat the water. There's no fancy magic extracting energy directly from nuclear material. They just boil water and spin a turbine."
RenaKunisaki
"Most electrical generation is spinning a turbine. Photovoltaic solar power is pretty much the only exception, and it's not the only form of solar power. There's solar thermal power, which uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate the heat of the sun to make steam and turn a turbine."
Brawndo91
The Empire
"The Roman Empire fully fell less than 50 years before the discovery of the new world."
South-by-north
"The Romans also had copper wire, magnets, and battery acid. They could have invented electricity hundreds of years before it was actually discovered. But they didn't. The wire was used for jewelry, the magnets as lodestones, and the battery acid was used to clean the rust off of swords."
Kahzgul
"RIP Byzantine Empire. 1453 never forget."
crossbowman44
The Witness
"Owl‘s silent flight. I mean I always knew that but a while ago was the first time I actually witnessed it. Owl came flying towards me and landed only a few feet away and you couldn‘t hear anything. Crazy."
Zealousideal-You-324
"I saw a barn owl swoop down and catch a mouse while hiking at night, and the whole thing happened in complete silence. It gave me a deep sense of unease because it was literally like someone hit the mute button on life."
VulcanVisions
Bad Kermit
Kermit The Frog Meme GIF by IdentityGiphy"Poison dart frogs aren't poisonous in captivity."
"I own 5 of them and anytime I tell someone I own some I always get 'Do you ever lick them' or 'Can you go kill someone with them.' But yeah they get their poison from what they eat, and all I give them is fruit flies."
JMfury
Poison frogs?
That sounds like something Rose would have a story about on 'The Golden Girls.'
Romantic relationships are great. They are full of excitement, fun, and even some stress, though it's mostly good stress (yes, that exists).
However, not all romances are meant to last. Whether it's because you grew apart or you realized the person you were with wasn't who you thought they were, a relationship can end.
Sometimes, those relationships are something you can look back on fondly as you move forward. Other times, they are relationships you regret.
Redditors know a lot about the second type, and are ready to share their stories.
It all started when Redditor Ingenuiie asked:
"What are your dating regrets?"
You Must Matter
"Dont get hung up on someone who doesnt give a f*ck"
– Speedy-Thunder
"Never make someone a priority who only makes you an option."
"Someone said it first. Probably Abe Lincoln"
– snarfdarb
"Don’t set yourself on fire to keep them warm"
– Stalkz_YT
Just Chill
"Getting so caught up in the fun early stages of the relationship and planning activities for dates that I forgot to just relax and be myself, take it a week at a time and see how things went. Pretty sure it made me seem too pushy, so things didn’t end very well for me. Lesson learned: chill tf out lmao"
– Spectronautic1
"That's me. I still struggle with it now tbh. Although I'm trying to keep a lid on it and just be chill."
– layinwitme-
End It
"I regret not ending relationships I was unhappy in sooner (like years sooner)"
– Zestyclose-Chef5215
"I'm in the middle of this right now. I knew 3 years ago but I convinced myself that maybe I was wrong and that things would change. We're still together, and I'll always love her, but I'm not happy, and I don't think I will be until the relationship ends. I can't let this go on much longer. Cheers."
– moniqer
This Is Me
"That I hid some of my hobbies and interests because I was scared they looked dorky."
"As soon as I stopped hiding it I met my partner."
"(Model railways ftw)."
– Singingmute
"Never be ashamed of your hobbies. It may make you look like a nerd or a dork but you don't need the kind of people who would make fun of them."
– aris_ada
"My SO loves the fact that I'm into model trains (her words, not mine.)"
"She laid it out for me when we first started dating: I'm handy around the house - I can tackle carpentry, electrical work, and have general knowledge about how to troubleshoot/fix things."
"It's a combo of artistry, technology, and history/research so there are always things to learn. It's a generally wholesome hobby that also promotes patience and working towards something over a long period of time instead of rewarding instant gratification."
"It's a fun hobby that I balance with other interests that we do together (outdoorsy stuff, board games, being history nerds.) We love each other for all of who we are, not just parts of who we are, and we wouldn't want the other person to change."
– dualsusser
Sometimes, Alone Is Better
"I should not have settled for someone I wasn't super compatible with just because I was lonely"
– Feline_is_kat
"This happened to me when I moved to a new city."
"It was great at first because I instantly had fairly large friend group and such but I realized years later just how much I had actually passed up on and compromised on."
"Still not sure I recognize myself anymore."
– nelsonalgrencametome
Love That Lets Go
"Always being the last to let go, and never letting go easy."
"Edit- the never letting go easy is the part I wish I could change."
– forex_1911
"Sometimes it’s just who you are as a person. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all have our personality traits that make life easier/harder for certain scenarios."
– ChlamydiaDonations4U
"That’s the best explanation for me because I certainly can’t seem to learn from previous mistakes no matter how many times I make them."
"To learn from them would mean to stop trying to date entirely"
– TuesdayNightMassacre
Take A Chance
"Not taking chances with various girls/ women throughout my life when I had the opportunities to."
– apG_13
"Honestly, this is why I (female) started asking men out. I was doing inventory in the supply closet when I heard my crush and several of his friends talking about me and wondering who I was dating. Because apparently I had to already be dating someone. One of the guys asked my crush if he'd ask me out, the guy laughed and said he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell, so he'd skip the humiliation. The other dudes agreed with him."
"And... I was just sitting there on the other side of the wall with my clipboard and a box of junk going... WTF?!? I started paying a little more attention and realized I got talked about a lot. It was infuriating. How could my dating life be utterly non-existent while guys were having those sorts of conversation about me?"
"So... A couple months later, I walked up to my crush on new year's eve at midnight, kissed him, and told him we should go out. I know I went a bit too far in the other direction from passive behavior, but it worked. He wasn't really coherent for the next half hour, just smiling and staring at me, but we were officially dating the next week."
"Being proactive was generally a very positive thing for me. Men were almost always absolutely thrilled to be asked out, picked up, and taken on a date..."
– LostDogBoulderUtah
"YES. This is exactly it. I wish all women knew this. I do the exact same thing and it works like a charm, men love being hit on and asked out! Women, they LOVE it do not be afraid. My boyfriend raves about how I flirted with him so obviously and kind of teased him and then asked him out lol. And I have done exactly that in probably 75% of the relationship I have had. Men like when you pick them and have a lot of confidence and just make it really fun for them to be hit on, and you don't have to be self-conscious about it bc believe me they love it. They hardly ever have this happen to them, usually they have to do the work. And it also just sets a really good tone for the relationship because you're going to ask for the things you want, overall."
– Subject-Hedgehog6278
Romantic Intelligence
"That I didn’t try to date more in my early 20s. Now I’m in my mid 30s with a combined relationship experience of a little over a year."
"I basically have the romantic intelligence of a 16-year-old."
– ThrowawayOfALoserr
"Looking at this thread, I'm seeing the regrets swing from "I dated even though I didn't like the person/people and they messed me up for future dates." to "I didn't date enough and now I'm not experienced enough for future dates.""
"I'm starting to think this "romantic intelligence" thing isn't about experience so much as self-love and self-confidence which can be found with or without romantic relationships. Plus a little bit of finding the right person."
– 11Buckwheat11
Rip Off The Band-Aid
"Oh damn my first relationship was this gradual shift from we're in a relationship to we're kinda in a relationship but figuring things out but she still wanted all the things I was doing for her, to we're definitely not in a relationship but still talking regularly, it was months."
"Had I just stepped up and said "okay, this is either a yes or a no, there's no middle ground here, if we're a couple we're a couple but if we aren't, I can't have you in my life right now", it would have spared me QUITE a bit of pain."
– 1CEninja
Location, Location, Location
"So far my biggest regret was moving half way across the country with someone and when I was struggling to adjust to that location they refused to move a few hours for me to a different location. That really hurt. Felt like I gave up so much for them and it turns out they wouldn't do the same for me. I'll never move for love again."
– Barkingcat29
Keep Some Eggs
"Despite many warnings from people trying to help me, I put all my eggs in the same basket. Married young and devoted myself to someone thinking that devotion would always be reciprocated, but apparently people change even if you don't. Always be prepared for the other shoe to drop, I guess is my advice. Kinda cynical, I know, but recent experiences taught me a lesson I never wanted to learn."
– Silk_Song_
Ouch! That's a lot of regret. But I hold out hope.
Just remember, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince (or princess)!
People Explain Which Things They Thought Everyone Was Exaggerating About Until They Experienced Them
Life lessons are forged in experience.
So many of us love to think we know what another person is feeling, and their reactions are just emotional.
Or what they're saying about what they're going through feels a bit over the top.
So many people are just dramatic, right?
Wrong.
Until we walk in those shoes, we'll never know.
Redditor rentinghappiness wanted to hear about the things everyone really didn't know anything about until it happened to them, so they asked:
"What is something you used to think people were over-exaggerating about until you experienced it yourself?"
We never really know anything about anything until we try it for ourselves.
Mouth Issues
Dentist GIFGiphy"Dentist chiming in… tooth pain. I knew academically how painful they could be until it happened to me."
juneburger
"You know the pain is serious when you start looking forward to the inevitable root canal."
HailMari248
Wonders of Nature
"Giant sequoia trees. When I finally saw them in person, they looked fake. I could not comprehend a tree of that size."
schaefer001
"And we may have lost 15-20% of the remaining trees during some big fires in 2020 and 2021. A 2011 estimate puts it that there were only 80,000 remainings. They truly are wondrous organisms that I feel like everyone should have the chance to experience if they can."
"I'm a big believer in doing everything we can to protect and preserve these silent giants. It's really sad that so many were cut down by loggers when the wood is such poor quality for human purposes, to begin with. Such an utter and sad waste."
this_is_poorly_done
Just Me
"Loneliness."
Fried__SoapI
"I'm with you. Put all my cards into a girl who went suddenly cold and dark on me. Now I'm alone at rock bottom figuring out my next moves. You know, the smartest people in the world and also the happiest people in the world can be the loneliest?"
"I was only recently informed it's okay to talk to myself and hype myself. Enjoy my own company. I'm absolutely going to learn to do that. I'm thinking of painting, walking, and weekend trips out on a bus. Would be nice if you could have joined me even if we sat in silence."
Roofdragon
The Years Gone By...
"The physical pain of getting older. Damn."
marklikeadawg
"The emotional pain too. I get so nostalgic and teary over the past and how much has changed. It's a weird grieving process over losing your youth and the way things were."
heethersmeether
"On my 35th birthday, my wife woke me up with a cupcake and a candle, sang me 'Happy Birthday' and then congratulated me on being '15 from 50'... that really hit me hard. The other day I turned 45 and she said '5 from 50' and that hit me so hard, I just wanted to stay in bed all day. I still feel like an irresponsible teen but I'm pushing 50. Insane."
Opa_Kalaka
It's Hazy
Confused Always Sunny GIF by It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaGiphy"Brain fog. I had an alcohol withdrawal seizure in March. My short-term memory and sense of time are absolutely sh*t right now. On the plus side, I haven't had a drink in over 90 days and I don't want one."
Sideshow_Bob_Ross
Oh the wonders of the brain.
What a mess.
Scorched
Menopause Hot Flashes GIF by Kino LorberGiphy"Hot Flashes. I didn’t think they were this bad. I’m a 31-year-old man who took Wellbutrin for the past month and hot flashes are a side effect."
"I thought you just thought you were hot. No motherf**ker you are. You’re super hot legitimately, and you have to do something about it or you’ll go insane. It’s not in your head. It’s your brain raising your temps until you can’t focus on anything else."
_PswayZ_
Everlasting
"Chronic illness, there is absolutely no way you can truly understand the impact unless you experience it."
Disastrous-Phase-979
"Just that idea of always being sick and you will NEVER not be sick again."
"AND you're expected to participate in society just the same as everyone else. It's deeply f**ked up."
Farisr9k
"I like the part where I've been in pain for 25 years so I can kind of still function even when it's really bad."
"And then I try to get an ambulance guy or an admin assistant in a hospital to believe that I'm having an emergency and they're like 'You seem fine, take some Tylenol and go home' until I finally get a blood test, and then the doctor goes 'Holy crap, you're about to die, why didn't you come to the ER sooner.'"
"Like, listen up MF, I had to take a go**amn Uber to get here and then argue with reception for an hour."
BlahBlahILoveToast
Stoned
"How much a kidney stone hurts."
SpiritusSanctu
"Most people expect it to hurt the most when passing a stone through the urethra. Nothing prepared me for the pain as it passed through my kidney/ureter."
"One second I would be fine, carrying on conversations, prancing around nimbly-nimbly. The next second I would be keeled over, crying in agony, losing my lunch due to the sudden onset of crippling pain. 0/10 ... Would not recommend it."
King_of_Lunch223
Close Your Eyes
"Insomnia."
Successful_Fall7801
"Oh, what I would give to not have insomnia! I go through periods of sleeping more or less normal, and then for seemingly no reason, I’ll have weeks on end where a good night of sleep is IMPOSSIBLE. I’ll get 2-4 hours of sleep despite pills, tea, baths, white noise, meditation - everything."
"I’ll spend my days so deeply, utterly exhausted that I can barely think, and my whole body feels heavy, lifeless. It’s hard to feel any kind of emotion, let alone happiness or contentedness. Just existing as a human-shaped puddle until the time when I can go to bed and hope to god that tonight will be different for some unknown reason."
"Insomnia is a real bi*ch. It will tank your mental health and send you spiraling really fast."
thesmallshadows
Beep
Meme Reaction GIF by TravisGiphy"Tinnitus. It’s torture."
DissidentBliss
"I don't mind it much 'cause I've had it since I was born. That means I don't know what proper silence is."
77x5ghost
"Me too, they thought I had hearing issues when I was young because I couldn’t really hear some of the beeps well because they matched the pitch of the ringing."
ehter13
Don't judge another until you lace up their shoes and walk a mile in them!
Do you have anything else to share? Let us know in the comments.
Stuffies, plushies, stuffed animals, or plush toys; whatever you might call them, we likely all can remember a fluffy friend we had in our childhood.
But some adults might have carried their childhood friend into adulthood, or even made others along the way, and they might even still go to sleep with them at night, too.
Redditor Old-Horse1185 asked:
"34 percent of adults sleep with a stuffed animal or other sentimental objects."
"Are you one of these people? What do you sleep with?"
The Twin Bond
"My twin sister died when I was 18. Ten years later, I still sleep with her unicorn pillow pet, she gets a nice spot on the bed, and I'd never be with someone who made me feel bad about having it. Only my girlfriend is trusted enough to give pillow pet a bath."
- insomniacinsanity
"My twin brother died when we were seven, and I used to have a specific stuffie that was given to him by an American lady who worked in the hospital he was in, but it got damaged in a house move when I was a teenager and was unsalvageable."
"It was a limited-run stuffie that you could only get in a specific American store in the 90s, so it was basically irreplaceable. My husband, 10+ years later and without letting on, tracked one down and paid a silly amount of money to have it shipped to the UK and gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago."
"I sleep with it every d**n night. I'm mid-30s, and I'll never stop."
- beesandsids
Keeping Them Close
"My partner passed away a few weeks ago, and I now cuddle his shirts that still have his scent. When my son spends the night with his grandparents, I also cuddle w his blanket or the pillow he sleeps on."
- anonmomanonnin
Cuddles and Fidgets
"My grandma made me a pillow when I was born. She sewed the pillow together and the pillow case, which had kittens all over it."
"I’m 33 years now she passed when I was 31, and I sleep with the same pillow in my arms every night."
"The pillow case is worn to bits because I guess I use it as a fidget thing I rub in between my fingers. Yes, I’m weird."
- Valuable_Panda_4228
From the Beyond
"I bought my wife a big stuffed seal for our first Valentine's Day. This seal has a slight green tint to it, so we named him Sealo Green. She had Sealo for a couple of years before she passed away."
"I hug Seal-o every night and pray to my wife, tell her about my day, things coming up, etc. I'll start using her perfume on Sealo soon, so I can smell her while I pray to her. My heart can't take it right now."
- Cubbycupcake-Uther
A Gift from Grandma
"I am one. My grandma gave all the grandkids a cat plush. A cat food brand had a promotion, if you bought enough cat food you'd get a free plushie. With 14 grandkids, a lot of food was bought to get there. Her cats didn't complain though, lol (laughing out loud)."
"I still sleep with it, it's a feeling of comfort, safety, and home."
- DavyJonesLocker2
An Evolving Friendship
"Stuffed dog I've had since my mom was squeezing him while giving birth to me. That dog has seen some s**t."
"He's a 'Sad Sam,' and his eyes used to break my heart when I was a kid, so I buried him under other stuffed animals or made him face the wall so I wouldn't have to look at him."
"Then I felt really guilty because I didn't want him to feel punished when all he wanted was to be loved. So I've been sleeping with him for almost 40 years now."
"I recently bought an original one off eBay to see the comparison and man, I have loved the daylights out of that dog!"
- dumdadumdumAHHH
A Special Bond
"I now sleep with my girlfriend's stuffed bunny she has had since birth. He’s my best friend now! I love you, Bootstin!!"
- silversauce
"Aww, that's awesome. My partner is the only person I've ever been with who didn't make me feel like crap for still having my blanket. When I travel, I leave it with them, and I think they probably cuddle up with it as much as I do after a rough day."
- the_Ozz
Keeping a Partner Close
"Sometimes when I take a nap and my wife doesn't, I'll take her pillow to sleep with because I like the smell."
"It smells like baby powder, vanilla, and her."
- TrailerParkPrepper
Very Considerate
"Huge jellycat bears. I don’t even wanna, but I’m just afraid I’ll hurt their feelings if I don’t."
- CommonAd9606
"As a kid, I routinely slept with a zillion stuffed animals on the bed because I didn’t want any of them to feel left out."
- PumaGranite
"As a kid? I'm 26 and still have to hug them all as I go to sleep or they'll feel left out!"
- Scymber
Lower Back Pain
"I sleep with a body pillow (plain cover). Doctor recommended it a few years ago to help with my lower back pain and it really does help."
- HappyTimeHollis
"I sleep with a body pillow but it's an alligator. My grandparents gave it to me when I was 11 years old. It has a huge open mouth you can put your arm through or use to prop your phone. Had it 24 years. Love it to death."
- smoretank
Full Body Support
"Squishmallows. I have sciatica and they're great for when I go to bed. I put one between my knees at night (side sleeper) and I snuggle up with one."
- Raging_Utahn
Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty
"I'm not one to sleep with plushies, but my cat likes to snuggle up to me and sleep with his fluffy little head on my shoulder."
- imaybeacatIRL
"Cats have to count. My previous cat actually slept as the little spoon, snuggled in my arms."
- disapprovingfox
The Long-Distance Relationship
"I am a guy, I recently got to sleep with a stuffed animal for a week, I won't go into the details as to why or how, just know that I lovvveeeed it. I would get called a weirdo if I confess to this to the world, so I have kept this to myself and my bestie only."
"The stuffed animal was a large teddy bear, since then it has been taken away and now it is placed in the living room, my bedroom has one small stuffed toy that I sleep with, it's not super large and not as comfortable as the teddy but it works."
"It makes me feel good and less alone, the closest person in the world to me is 700km away, what I'm about to say is weird but hugging the teddy and pretending it's her makes me calm and makes me want to sleep."
- uninformed-but-smart
Build a Friend... with IKEA
"Ikea Hippo, Ikea Elephant. The Ikea bigs are the superior sleep companion. I also have the shark, but he is not right for my shoulder when cuddling so he guards."
- pm-me-neckbeards
"I also keep my Ikea shark on guard at night! The Ikea octopus is the guard when I sleep at my boyfriend’s house."
- jeff-buckleys-teeth
A Comfort Become Real
"When I was a toddler, I got a stuffed animal as a present from my uncle. It was a light brown rabbit with button eyes and ears with rainbow stripes on the inside. I'm unsure of when I got it, but I was either one to two years old or four years old."
"I don't know how or why, but it had a distinct scent, not particularly noticeable unless you shoved your face in its fur, like I did, haha. As I grew up, I needed to have this rabbit with me or I would not be able to sleep. I remember this one time when I couldn't find it in time for bed, and I was so distressed trying to fall asleep that I started hallucinating."
"Over time she lost an eye, her ears became frayed, her fur fell out in patches, and she looks like a well-loved creature (because she is) or hot garbage, depending on who you ask."
" Even in my rebellious teen years, I couldn't pretend to dislike her because the scent and texture of her fur gave me a feeling of comfort and safety, even when it felt like everyone was against me."
"I live by myself now at age 34 and you better believe I still keep her in my bed. The scent is gone but sometimes I can trick my brain into thinking it's still there, and when I touch the texture of her fur, I will still get a wave of comfort and reassurance the same way I did as a child."
"It's amazing not only how humans will bond with anything, but also the effect these things will have on a person."
"This got sappy, my apologies."
"PS: Her name is Ninni."
- Mwuuh
"'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'"
"I'm reminded of this quote from 'The Velveteen Rabbit.'"
- tinycole2971
While everyone might feel a little silly about their sleeping arrangements, most of those who still sleep with a cuddly friend have spent a great deal of their life with their companion already.
From sentimental reasons to physical needs, everyone needs comforted from time to time, and there's nothing quite like the unconditional love of a favorite stuffie friend.