School is a sort of weird microcosm of the way the world really works - and one of the lessons we get to learn pretty early on is that it's easy to earn a reputation for something that may or may not have anything to do with reality.
One Reddit user asked:
What were you known for in high/middle school?
And we're pretty sure the person who was known for having a good sneeze absolutely never self-identified as a particularly melodic sneezer, but like they said - people still bring it up years later.
That doesn't mean your rep is totally out of your control, though. Quite a few of the responses were from people who went out of their way to cultivate whatever weird thing they were known for. Shout out to the person who committed to a fake accent for a full year before dropping it the next school year to confuse everyone.
That's the kind of commitment that'll get you places in life. Maybe not great places, but places.
Lighthearted Parody
Starting a parody twitter account of the principal. It was pretty cool hearing people reading my tweets in class and no one knowing it was me, lol.
Got exposed later though; principal thought it was hilarious. I didn't say anything offensive. Yes, I made fun of them but it was all lighthearted. I wish I could go back and read the tweets, lol
Forgot To Be British
british crown GIF
Giphy
In the 7th grade I came from a school on the other side of town so nobody knew me. I faked a British accent for a whole year. Then 8th grade started and I forgot I did that and just talked normal and everyone was very confused.
I did the same thing but I went to a different school once a week for gifted kids and when I was there I pretended to be an Australian
- HadesHat
There was a girl in my freshman English class who rotated styles and accents daily. She had spent some time in England, so when she dressed like a catholic school girl she sounded British. Then the next day she was a goth and American. Then she'd dress like a tomboy and drop her voice.
She also sabotaged all our socratic seminars with politics and held me up against the wall by the throat despite me being far more heavily muscled than her, but that's another story.
- legittz
At What Cost?
In middle school I was the guy that combed my hair before/after every class.
I now have no hair.
- DonJovar
Perfect hair, but at what cost?
Excessive of anything is injurious.
Tennis
Well I hit a guy in the face with a tennis racquet in the middle of math class and almost got sent to the principal's office because of it.
We could choose tennis as one of our class periods, so those who did would need tennis racquets and often carried them to school. Our lockers didn't fit our tennis racquets, so we had to carry them around with us to classes.
We ended up dating, and people got scared every time they saw me swinging my racquet around.
I similarly hit a girl in the face with a tennis racquet and then we ended up dating. She was an innocent bystander, it was eighth grade and I threw it just for sh*ts and giggles. After much apologies, we realized we thought each other was cute, eighth grade, blah blah.
We ended up hooking up later in life as well so 🤷
At The Bar
I was the kid that could get into bars.
My older brother was in a band, and I would go with them to help set up gear before a show, as a "roadie". Most bars let me hang out side-stage to watch and then tear down at the end of the night. So I was the 15 year old going to bars each weekend.
My parents and even the teachers knew, but I wasn't drinking so it wasn't a big deal. But the other kids though it was nuts and always wanted me to "sneak them in too".
Best Sneeze
In 8th grade there is a superlatives page in the yearbook for certain things like "Most likely to become president" or "Most likely to win an Olympic medal" and the 2 people that are voted for the most are pictured in the yearbook under that phrase.
I got voted for "Best sneeze" with another girl at my school, as we both have incredibly high pitched sneezes. To this day people still bring it up, even years later.
Shh
Being quiet. Not school shooter type of quiet, just quiet.
Same here, at some point someone apparently thought I died? Nope, just sittin in the back.
Friends assume you as re too shy to even make a presentation in class, they get the surprised Pikachu face, like dude.... there's a difference between being quiet (sometimes even lacking social skills) and not giving a damn of your grades
Never The Right Fit
Middle school - being that big city kid who has nothing in common with the local small town boys.
High school - being that small town boy who has nothing in common with the big city kids.
My parents moved around for work, and I never fit in during school.
This was me. I was always "the new kid". Went to 4 different high schools in 3 different states.
- realravenbell
VooDoo Queen
My ex boyfriend and I broke up (on a Monday) and he started dating a frumpy freshman the very next day. They both tried rubbing it in my face lol but I didn't care and took the high road. That Friday I had a bonfire with my friends to burn his sh!t he refused to take back.
While I was burning the last bit of stuff one of my field hockey teammates called me and told me the frumpy freshman got ran over by a car while making out with my ex. Apparently the girls sister was backing out of a parking spot and cut the wheel too sharp and dragged the girl under the tires while they were still embraced. It was such a mess.
Anyway, that's how I acquired the name 'voodoo queen'. But all three of those bastards harassed me all week leading up to that night and even afterwards. In my opinion, they all got what karma they deserved.
Ex also tried to get back with me numerous times after that since his new girlfriend was wheelchair bound and he didn't wanna deal with it. He was and still is a piece of sh*t.
I Was An Idiot
Had a fast loud car and always dressed up for every event/sporting game we went to. 1985 Camaro, graduated in 2011. Lots of burnouts and donuts. I essentially worked in high school to put money into that thing!
Everyone knew who I was and my sisters constantly got the "oh, he is your brother? You guys are so lucky". They were not lucky, I was an idiot.
- k666busa
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I miss people being sane. Though that maybe election cycle issues not COVID. We'll never know.
I thought I was Alone...
Black Friday Nbc GIF by SuperstoreGiphy"Being able to grocery shop after 11 pm."
Reading_Rainboner
"Hell yes. I miss the days where the Walmart across the street was open 24 hours."
Small_Tax_9432
let's just go...
"I miss spontaneity... everything now seems to have a barrier of difficulty."
iidosee
"I live very close to Disneyland so I have an annual pass. My friends and I would just go there after work and hang out and grab a bite to eat."
"Now, we have to reserve a day to go. And most of the time, the days are at 'full' capacity so we couldn't even reserve. I don't want to schedule to hang out at Disneyland for a couple hours for July. So yeah, I definitely miss the 'lets go eat at Disneyland tonight?' texts."
mymymissmai
Not til 24-25
"Functioning global supply chains. Ah, the product you want has got microchips in it? 9 month wait."
richard-king
"Minimum, I'd been saying for a while now that I wouldn't expect a true return to normalcy in terms of electronics prices till 2024-2025. Although Crypto crashing through the floor really took some of the pressure off graphics cards which I really appreciate."
statiiic
WTF?!?!
"How affordable everything was!"
Disastrous_Hour_6776
"Yep. Today I was bagging up my things at the grocery store and I heard the cashier say to the lady behind me 'thats $78.12.' She had -- 2 boxes of Kellogg's corn flakes, a carton of 12 eggs, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, a small cheese cake, English muffins, coffee, and a small whole frozen chicken that could maybe feed 3 people if the meat portioning was small."
SnowyInuk
Sushi
sushi GIFGiphy"My favorite sushi place. It was good quality, close by, kid-friendly, and not too expensive."
InannasPocket
All of this... it was a simpler time.
NASTY
Janet Jackson Reaction GIFGiphy"As a retail worker, just how f**king NASTY some people have gotten."
DmitriPetrov*itch
"They applauded you for being an essential worker but won’t vote for policies that’ll raise minimum wage while insisting a wage cap for heavily paid employees."
sketchysketchist
CHANGES your DNA...
"Some of the people closest to me became very bitter and petty over the last 2 years. So many people have the 'crazy eyes' now."
__--__7
"So true and holidays with the family is like who has the biggest tinfoil hat building contest. How many jumps does your brain have to go through to think that the Covid vaccine CHANGES your DNA into the patented DNA so that the government now controls your body."
"So like vaccinated people now have a singular DNA set. I feel like I still have a chunk of my brain just broken off due to that comment alone. I was also told by same family member that I could never donate blood again due to the vaccine. I guess it is so my patented DNA doesn't affect people?? FYI my vaccinated butt just donated today fine and multiple other times after the vaccine."
tyreka13
Homeward Bound
"House prices."
adrianinked
"I'm resigned to never thinking I have a chance on owning property where I live. I'm 30 and just can't imagine it anymore. And I don't want to live anywhere else so, whatever."
Osdab2daf
"That didn’t happen because of the pandemic. That was already happening regardless."
CH11DW
Oh Mickey
"All Day Breakfast at McDonalds."
hutch2522
"It was honestly hell to do, and not very popular. ITs margins aren't anywhere dinner and lunch specials. ON top of that, the temperatures are such that They require its own grill, meaning that if you have 2 grills in shop, you are down 50% of lunch capacity."
Freyas_Follower
Way back when...
Season 5 Friends Tv Show GIF by FriendsGiphy"Hanging out with friends. And I mean waaaaaay before Covid. Like 2006 back when I had some friends."
LoocsinatasYT
I miss the old days. Maybe we'll get back there.
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I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
Role Playing Reaction GIF by Hyper RPGGiphy"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
Happy GIFGiphy"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
Bored Episode 15 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphy"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
Circle Of Life Loop GIFGiphy"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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I feel like this article can go on forever. Let's get some highlights.
Wasted Time
Nbc Im Done GIF by SuperstoreGiphy"Meetings that could and should have been an email."
Sirena609
Lotto People
"Getting stuck behind people playing the lottery at a corner store."
thenuggetlover
"I also used to work in a gas station and you’re SO right. I f**king hated the lottery people. Especially since my store had a small staff and there was usually only one of us working at a time, which meant that I couldn’t get any of my other work done as long as they were there."
"And you’re right, it’s also pretty sad to watch. I had one lady who used to come in every day and spent hundreds and HUNDREDS of dollars on scratch tickets. One day, she won $200 after spending probably around $600 and she was so excited and saying she can 'finally pay her bills.'"
i-am-your-god-now
Aware...
"No situational awareness. Job, home, shopping, driving. Think for one minute and go about. OBSERVE!!"
Dizzy-Foundation8122
"My mom is one of those people who leave the shopping cart in the middle of the damn aisle and proceed to walk twenty feet away. After correcting her a million times to no effect I just walk away now so people don’t know I’m with her."
OutrageousEvent
Shut Up!
"Endless barking in the middle of the night, I love animals but that sh*t I can't stand."
Acceptable-Lemon2924
"Endless barking in general drives me up a wall. One of my friends dogs was barking almost an entire gaming session the other day. I wanted to reach through the computer and smack him for letting it go on."
bangersnmash13
Kindness
customer service waiter GIFGiphy"People being mean to service workers, especially if the workers are very young."'
scaryboilednoodles
All of these things. I hate them all.
Admit It
Admit It Tell The Truth GIF by TV LandGiphy"People who never accept fault when they mess something up. Like, why blame a million people when it was clearly you who did it???"
Quirky-Area-8978
From Above
"My upstairs neighbors."
lutzow89
"I had terrible neighbors at my previous apartment. It was a one person studio for students, but her boyfriend was clearly living with her illegally and he was loud."
"One night we knocked n the door at 3 AM because of the loud music and an unknown girl opened the door. I just thought they were having a little party. But the next door I saw the girl living there come home with a suitcase after having been away for the weekend... Her BF was cheating on her in her own apartment."
Th3_Accountant
Move Away
"People who sit directly next to me at the airport, movie theater, any other place where you can choose a seat when there is PLENTY of other seating."
BacardiPardy33
"I can’t YES this enough and the ones who can’t park for crap so they park so close you can’t open doors on one side of the car or the ones who park directly behind when you pulled through so the door won’t open to load groceries."
BacardiPardy33
It's Over
"People who try to restart old drama. Like I'm done with you, just leave me alone."
Tired_Potatos
"Yep, half the reason I've basically quit playing one of my favorite online video games. People keep bringing old crap up or sh*tting on on someone who used to be our friend. I got tired of it so I just ejected the game out of me."
CaucasianHumus
AHHHHH!!!
move leading GIFGiphy"People walking too slow in front of me with no way to get around them. It’s even worse if it’s a couple or group taking up the whole sidewalk. HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!"
_-v0x-_
Life in general pisses me off. I'm easy.
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