You never know when the spotlight is going to fall on you. Chances are, you might go your whole life without dozens, maybe hundreds, of people gazing at you all at once, waiting, expecting something to happen. Whether or not you're okay with that is one thing, but be prepared because sometimes that fame won't last long.
Let's take a look at those stories.
Reddit user, u/Internalgenius, wanted to hear the tale of:
What was your "15 minutes of fame?"
Paid Professionals Couldn't Have Done It Better
GiphyMy now ex-husband and I were on the front cover of a few tabloid magazines and interviewed on several radio stations across the US for an ad I placed to re-home our cat, that our son developed allergies to. It was something like:
Free to a good home, female cat or husband. Husband says either the cat goes or he goes. Cat fixed, husband isn't.
But Remember, It All Can All Be Taken Away So Quickly
It happened when I was 10. I was at a summer camp and we were having play fights and this one really tall dude, who everyone was scared of, tries to fight me. What he didn't know was that I had been taking martial arts classes ever since I was 5. I won and then everybody over there thought of me like someone who was really strong. And then like 15-20 minutes later, I slipped and fell on the floor which resulted in the end of my 15 minutes of fame and the start of my "1 week of shame."
Hopefully You Weren't Asked That Whoopee Question
I was on the Newlywed Game about 2 weeks after we got married. I think we got 2nd place (WASN'T MY FAULT) and got a cruise out if it ... A brunch cruise. One of the producers of the show ended up recognizing me at an art opening and I had a random, old acquaintance see us on tv.
Famous For Looking Ticked
People outside of the Uk might not know it but there's really big this show called match of the day that basically shows all of the football (soccer) highlights and a few years ago I went to a game and in the first like 10 minutes of the show when the hosts were talking about the first game before they showed it there was just me on the big screen behind them just sitting in the stands looking fed up and I went to school the next day semi-famous
"There's 104 days of summer vacation..."
When I was 7 years old, I went to comic con with my family because my dad, whos an animator, could get me and my younger sibling in for free. This was the year Phineas and Ferb Across the 2nd dimension came out. At comic con, they had a plat-a-bus and a karaoke booth. My sibling and I ended up taking control of the karaoke booth and sung half of the album from the first season. Us being 7 and 4, they let us. When we got home later, we saw that they had put both of us smack on the front cover of an Emagazine and a video of us singing. I'm sure it's still on the internet somewhere.
The Things We Do For Recognition
Some 15 years ago I lost a dispute and had to eat my tie. I ate it, cut in pieces, with an egg and some vegetables. my friend made photos of me and it was all over our national social network (a kind of local Facebook). That was pretty fun.
15 Minutes By 1 Degree Of Separation
A year or so ago, actress Kristen Bell was doing a campaign on Instagram called "10 Featured Teachers". She pick from a list of teachers that were submitted and send out their classroom Amazon wishlist to her followers. The idea was to help teachers supply their classrooms, since they usually have to do it out of their own pockets.
Well, my wife is an English teacher, and threw her name in the hat, and she got picked.
The response was amazing. She had books on her wishlist, since she teaches English, and we got hundreds in a few days. Really restored my faith in humanity for a bit.
I of course shared it on my Instagram as well, so I briefly became "the husband who's wife got picked by Kristen Bell".
Wow, A Major Throwback
In my final year of high school (2009), I won a competition for MySpace to 'crash my formal'.
I was shy and didn't want to tell the whole year at parade so i got a friend to do it. But everyone knew it was me.
Technically, It's 22 Minutes Minus The Commercials, But We'll Allow It
I was on Disney channel like 5 years ago if that counts.
YO THATS SO COOL I've always wanted to do that.
Girl meets world. Like season 2 I think
Encouraging Safety Is Always Cool
My face is on a billboard (for motorcycle safety) where I live. Was supposed to be for one year. They've been up for 8 or 9 years so I guess it's more than 15 minutes.... but I'm wearing a helmet and only my eyes are showing so tough to recognize.
Damn These Child Actors!
I was only a little baby, my parents were on holiday to sea world and they sat me on a chair eating a banana, apparently the big screen kept cutting to me and the audience going "awwww"
Life Getting In The Way Of Creative Pursuits
GiphyI wrote three decently popular young adult novels while in college, then decided I should try my hand at more serious writing and haven't been able to replicate it since.
Then sh-t got weird for me and I can barely write at all.
Edit: No, I'm not gonna give you the titles, lol. They were published between 2000 and 2004, and like I said, they were only decently popular, nothing special and probably nothing you've read.
We'll Play Anywhere Anytime
Me and a couple buddies decided to play a show in the walmart bathroom of our town, published a Facebook event for it and got around 800 responses, they talked about it on a local radio station, and we were offered to do a news interview about it, but sadly could not make the interview due to timing...
Also, after we actually played the show, we landed an interview on a local college radio station where we talked about the bathroom show and some of the other music related shenanigans we like to get up to. I've done a lot of local shows as musician, but this is by far the one i recieved the most attention for
Steal The Spotlight From The True Professionals
Went to a show of my fave youtuber's tour and got on stage with him and a few other fans to play a nintendo game. It was a Harry Potter wand duel game and I got super into it and unleashed my inner theatre kid. Had about 2000 people chanting my name. It was awesome. And yes, I did win 😁
As Long As Some People Stick Around, That's What Counts
...Around 5 or so years ago, Gerard Way, lead singer of My Chemical Romance, tweeted me 'Good morning.' It was the highlight of my month. I got so many new (and temporary) followers haha.
Anyone Else Picturing The Opening Scene From "The Lion King?"
A couple years ago I was at a very crowded amusement park with my gf and a couple of friends and we found a crying kid who had lost his parents. So I lifted him on my shoulders and started shouting "LOST CHILD ! WHO HAS LOST A CHILD?" and the panicked mom was found in less than 15 seconds. Hundreds of people started clapping and cheering, and a stranger offered me a drink lol. Was fun.
Clearly The Winner Of The Game. Right?
Entire neighborhood came to the house to see why an ambulance arrived. It was just me stuck in the washing machine during a competitive game of hide and seek.
Famous For Your Health And Safety
Does infamy count?
I was on the news when I fell down a ravine and had to be rescued. News stations, helicopters, the whole shebang.
Are you Baby Jessica?
Younglin here, who was baby jessica?
She was this toddler that fell down a pipe years back and it was hell getting her out of there as she was in a awkward position. Took a long time and multiple emergency crews. Bunch of news crews showed up to and it just turned into a big deal. Which it was.
Barely Knew Them
My neighbor stabbed his mom to death and they interviewed me about it. I had recently moved from the country to the city and I looked and sounded like a total hick.
Famous Or Not Wanting To Get In Trouble?
I live in a major city and the main newspaper wrote an article about lack of after school programs and how it was failing inner city kids. Well they were interviewing my guidance counselor and I just happened to be there signing up on his door for an appointment to talk about college advice, not after school programs. The photographer took my photo as I was writing on the door.
Cut to weeks later teachers in the hallway saying hi to me and asking how things were going for me. It was all very strange and Twilight Zone-y especially since I am a very shy and quiet person.
In the middle of class, my guidance counselor was standing outside, and called me into the hallway. Apparently a higher up from the city school board told him to reach out to me to see if I had everything I needed, etc.
I later found out about the article, which was published in the big Sunday edition, and they used my photo. It made it appear as if I was signing up for programs or something and all the teachers read the newspaper and recognized me. I think I managed to find a copy and save it somewhere but it was definitely weird to be recognized and not know why. Social media wasn't a thing back then.
And to randomly tie it back to another story on this thread, I was named after Baby Jessica who fell down the well in 1987.
Anyone Following Me, This One Wins.
GiphyWas once number one in the world on an app called QuizUp in The Simpson's category.
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.