Top Stories
Confused man

The Most Annoying Myths People Still Cling To

Person with "Kick Me" sign secretly taped to their back

Regrets Of Parents Who Raised Jerks

Angry kid wearing a hoodie

People Reveal How The Troubled Kid From School Ended Up Making It Big

man and woman together with boy and girl looking at green trees during day

Things Parents Do That Unknowingly Screw Their Children Over

People Break Down The Worst Double Standards

People Break Down The Worst Double Standards

People Explain Which Things Should Be Normalized In Today's Educational System

People Explain Which Things Should Be Normalized In Today's Educational System
Image by Juraj Varga from Pixabay

Not everyone has fond memories of their school days.

While you can go back and pinpoint fun times hidden in your time in the classroom, there are definitely bad spots scattered throughout. Sometimes it can be connected to your classmates, but mostly it falls with the education system itself. Your bad days at school are the result of choices made long ago that are still affecting students today, and it's not only you. There needs to be a change.

Reddit user, u/Stindo, wanted to hear what shouldn't be considered outside the box thinking when they asked:

What should be normalized in today's educational system?

There's key skills we should be teaching in school that are sorely lacking. We need a serious change and some of it can start with the curriculum.

Think Beyond The Obvious

"Critical thinking instead of school being a test prep factory that's designed to get kids into the workforce"

PoopBandit420

Let Them Be Who They Are

"Showing emotions. I was never allowed to show any negative emotion as a child because I "was just being a brat." No, I was a child who, instead of learning how to deal with her emotions now just bottles them up until it gets to be too much and I self harm."

QueefOnAYogaBall

Teach Them How It Works

"Proper sex education, and start it earlier."

Herogamer555

"nine of the top ten states in the country with the highest rates of teen pregnancy per capita are states with abstinence only education. the tenth is D.C., but since that's not a state (yet), all of the actual states with the most teen pregnancies are those that tell kids to just wait until marriage."

McCainOffensive

Make It Matter, Not Pointless

"No homework. Kids need a break from school at the end of the day."

CuteBrick1

"It's an American thing.

I studied at a (good) private school in India; no homework.

My child goes to a (good) public school in the US; I'm just astonished at what he has do back home. It's like they want it to be a full time job or something."

Flfkfkd

A Relic From A Bygone Era

"I like how many schools are starting to do this, but it does need to be more commonplace: stop starting schools so early. Some especially high schools and some middle schools can start as early as 7 a.m., which studies have repeatedly shown that is way too early for many developing teenagers to focus and learn, they need their sleep.

Like I said some schools are going to later starting times for middle and high schools are going to after 8:30/9:00 a.m., but I'd like to see this normalized systemwide."

llcucf80

Best Excuses For Late Assignments That Were Actually True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

A Tricky Situation

"being allowed to be able to leave in the middle of a class or lecture to go to the bathroom or attend to an emergency. its wrong to make someone wait especially if they really need to go and can't hold it in. also anyone with periods cant control their period and if it starts to leak or their period unexpectedly starts they should be able to get to the bathroom as fast as possible to get a new pad or tampon. you shouldn't be forced to sit and wait in your own blood. if you say you need to go to the bathroom teachers should let you go and not question you about it."

ravenpotter3

Let Them Do Learn The True Skills For Life

"Letting high school students fill their core and elective hours with classes that teach content they'll actually use. Plan to become a journalist and don't need Algebra II or Trig? Fine. Take courses in Logic and Argumentation instead. Don't need a whole semester just to learn Office? Perfectly reasonable. How about a class that teaches spreadsheets through real-life budget-keeping?"

"Ethical, fact-driven, wholly informative health and sexual education. What's that? Teaching something you know doesn't work to impressionable kids is unethical? Abstinence education is a joke. Teach kids about contraceptives. Rather than just grossing them out with photos of heavily progressed STIs, tell them the statistics about comorbidities, financial cost of treatments, etc. Also, LBGTQ+ sexual safety."

"Civics classes that build upon valid debate techniques and teach people to spot possible misinformation. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't make them evil; often, it could be the case that they don't have access to the same information sources, or their own villainize it."

MemeScrollingMaths

Then there's those changes which would completely rework the entire education system. These changes aren't small, nor are they easy to implement, but if they do then they'd be able to make a real difference.

Gather Your Mental Fortitude Before You Go

"I personally think taking a gap year before finishing highschool should be normalized. I was lucky enough to choose the right study that I love but a lot of my friends and people I talk to had to switch bachelors due to a wrong choice. Taking some time to figure out what it is you want to do is fine imo, but my parents and for a lot of other people want you going into to college a soon as possible."

Messirius_the_first

Emphasize Health Over Goals

"Teaching individual fitness for long term health, rather than just team sports. I would have greatly benefited from learning how to weight lift and work out on my own VS playing team sports. I was a super shy kid, got bullied because I was bigger and HATED gym class, because it was all team based stuff. Would have been really cool to learn yoga, Pilates, etc. Anything individual."

lkulch

Be Honest And Speak To Kids Truthfully

"Truth about drugs:

"Yes, they're bad, but saying a joint will cause psychosis or kill you after smoking one, only leads to the young smoking a joint thinking 'this is great, and I'm not dead' instant mistrust of personal and educational superiors. Dilutes warnings of drugs which can actually kill when used once."

"Respect youths with facts. Data. Talks from real recovering drug addicts, telling truths of their choices and the impact it had on their lives."

"Solution to problems like these should be battled at the beginning of a journey, not the middle."

YouCanNeverBe2Casual

A Vicious Cycle

"Better teachers.

Which, of course, can only be achieved with higher wages. Right now we're in a negative cycle of 'low wage' -> 'competent ppl choose other jobs' -> 'worse teachers' -> 'justification for low wage' -> repeat"

Im_Not_Sleeping

We Grow, We Learn, We Gain Knowledge

"A growth mindset amongst students - students that are performing significantly worse than others in school/in a particular subject often think that just because they're not gifted at the said subject, they can't really get better. That type of mindset's more detrimental to their performance than their actual intelligence/existing skillset."

Heeseol

Let Them Learn How To Recover

"Probably cliche but failing at something.

The system strives to produce an appearance of perfection which is really producing risk aversion and lack of critical thinking."

One-Statistician4885

"As a teacher who teaches mastery over simple obedience, this is an uphill battle for so many kids. They'll fail at something, and then get all sad like they're a bad person or something. When I tell them failure is how we grow and that they can try again, they just can't even understand the words coming out of my mouth.

The fact that this is shocking to parents and even many fellow teachers is proof of how far we need to go. How the f-ck do people think it's okay to expect perfection from literal children?"

ThePhiff

Post-Pandemic, Please Make This Mandatory.

"Staying home when you're sick"

VictoriousDishwasher

"Back in 8th grade a girl had a slight fever but her mom sent her to school anyway because attendance was important. Fast forward to a week later when EVERYBODY including me has chicken pox."

trashylad69

Taking Care Of Your Mind

"Mental health help/ education

Interactive learning

Less homework, less focus on exams, preferably no standardized tests"

reddipp

At the end of the day we all want the best for our kids. Sometimes that means addressing a system that's been less than ideal from the start. Real change happens when everyone takes action, and hopefully kids will one day be that motivating factor.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

People Break Down What The Wealthiest Person They Know Does For A Living

"Reddit user h3llofaRide asked: 'What does the wealthiest person you know do for work?'"

A young man with orange tinted sunglasses fans out a large amount of one hundred dollar bills
Photo by Shane

Who among us hasn't wondered about how our rich buddies have made their fortunes?

Some people work really hard actually.

They're in an office or in the field all day and night.

They have their noses to the grind.

And yes some people just collect an inheritance.

That's ok too, but how do you make it bigger?

Redditor h3llofaRide wanted to hear about how the rich make a living, so they asked:

"What does the wealthiest person you know do for work?"

My rich friends are all investment people.

They know when to buy and sell.

It's a gift.

Fancy Services

Coding Looney Tunes GIF by Looney Tunes World of MayhemGiphy

"The wealthiest person I know (and hang out with regularly) built a company (IT services) and then sold it for several hundred million dollars."

"He now runs a company that does the same kind of IT services in a different field. (He figured out a winning business formula and is just repeating it in a different market)."

omniumoptimus

Name It

"A family friend retired after being a COBOL programmer for 30 years. About 2 years after his retirement, a company came to him and said 'Name your salary' and he requested around $1.5 million/year. He was hired on the spot and still works there."

bbbbbthatsfivebees

"A family member worked at various companies, he told me this is very common. It's not obscure programming languages, just that they know what's going on. And don't let anyone else near it or something."

chabybaloo

Oink Oink

"Pig farmer. I kid you not. He's my father's old friend. I visited him once when my father and I were passing through the state. He lives in a modest classic farmhouse with his wife, both in their seventies. I mentioned I was starting a school in West Africa as we were catching up."

"A few weeks later I got a text asking how much it would cost. I told him 40k, thinking it was really nice of him if he wanted to send a few dollars."

"I got a check for 40k. I thought it would take me years to raise that. I'm typing this from Sierra Leone because he also paid for the house I thought would take years to raise funds for."

LadyCordeliaStuart

That Dude

"It's a guy I work with. He started with one Jimmy John's franchise and turned it into 10 franchises. Ran them for 10 years then sold them all and dumped the money into the stock market and real estate. He did this all while working as an airline pilot, currently still working at the airline. This dude owns and flies his own private jet on top of all that."

OT-35

Every day...

Proliferate Charlie Chaplin GIF by nounish ⌐◨-◨Giphy

"Inherited a small factory from his father. Developed it into a huge nationwide company. Still goes to work there everyday despite being worth hundreds of millions."

ShipJust

Factory work. That is where so much greatness begins.

On the Road

Happy Go Crazy GIF by DAF Trucks NVGiphy

"Truck driver. Starting his own trucking company."

Apprehensive-Crow-96

"Tons of money in the trucking business. An owner of one in my city drives a Porsche 918."

ForgottenPercentage

In the End

"Own their own conveyor belt business. Makes almost 2 mil a year after it’s all said and done."

TakeMe_To_Eisengard

"I was a control systems engineer who started contracting on the side. Now I build out crazy manufacturing systems like this. All it takes is getting one project to build a conveyor system and if you end up good at it then boom, you build conveyor systems for the rest of your life. Conveyor systems are actually really expensive and complex in the manufacturing world."

PleasantProgram7572

Life-Changing

"Both in tech. A friend is in a company about to IPO and is VP level so will do well there. Her husband just sold his company (gaming company) to the biggest gaming company in China for, as she put it 'life-changing money.' Both are very intelligent, super nice, and crazy hard-working. They worked for it, and it couldn't happen to nicer people."

​BonePGH

The Little Things

"I was a fly fishing guide for many years, and one of my regular clients year after year owned a factory on the East Coast that is one of the top suppliers of O-rings and small plastic machine parts in the world. I never asked how much they made obviously out of respect. But they always tipped absurd amounts ($1500 was my biggest tip for 3 days) they flew private and drank and shared $600 bottles of wine like they were nothing."

​The_Kinetic_Esthetic

Let's Play

gamer GIF by TotorialGiphy

"He's the founder and CEO of a very successful games company. I met him over a decade ago when the company was successful but nowhere near what it is now. He's also one of the most approachable and friendly people I've ever met, to the extent that it sometimes feels like an act."

Lauantaina

Games and gaming.

Who knew?

Can I count all of my hours of Nintendo for tax exemptions?

making money

Once Popular TV Tropes That Are No Longer Acceptable Today

Person scrolling through streaming options
Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash

Content Warning: alcoholism, sexual assault, harassment, and violence against women in entertainment

The entertainment industry is constantly changing and generally reflects what the public finds interesting and believes in.

Fortunately, this means that some problematic tropes, storylines, and messages are being retired from the writers' room, and viewers are embracing the more inclusive characters and stories they're seeing on screen.

Redditor midnightsonofab***h asked:

"What TV trope was common in the not-so-distant past but is completely unacceptable today?"

Connected At All Times

"Misunderstandings that can now be cleared up by a text or cell phone call. Entire episodes used to be built around people not being able to find or communicate with each other and just having to figure stuff out."

- OccasionallyWright

"I read a story from a horror writer and he said cell phones changed how they have to write because 99% of the stuck-in-a-murder town or house situations would be solved by phones now."

- Cleets11

"Oh yeah, for sure! I write thrillers for a living, and the idea of a 'MacGuffin' that is hidden is a lot harder to pull off when the now-dead character hiding it could've just called the right people and told them, or sent them the data in an email, etc."

"I have a very good editor (he's BAFTA nominated) and had this exact one in my latest story outline, with them 'finding' a report he's hidden. But... he could've just sent it to his daughter by email."

"As I'm older, I have to adjust my mindset constantly to deal with stuff like that."

- jloome

Security Before Love

"Running through the airport to confess one's love for the protagonist. Or the 'Home Alone' premises. These wouldn't happen today with current security measures."

- flawedmentalist69_

Women's Panic Attacks

"Not really TV trope but slapping women that were supposedly having a panic attack was almost a trope in westerns and noire movies."

- Sufficient-Eye-8883

Unresolved Amnesia

"People walking around with amnesia."

"Every freaking show, someone hit their head and had amnesia and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Like, hello, brain injury?"

- darkmatternot

Stalking Love

"Stalking a woman long enough and constantly will eventually make her fall for you."

- SuvenPan

"This was probably the most confusing thing growing up in the late 80s and early 90s."

"This odd thing was sold to both genders: the guy was supposed to keep on going after being told to be uninteresting. This led to guys thinking 'no means ask again' and girls saying 'no' to guys that they were interested in, but thought this is how the game was played in real life."

"Even in my early 20s, I saw girls in my party crew doing this, quite often harshly rejecting a drop-dead handsome guy, then being all p**sy about it when the guy just f**ked off as being told to and didn't instead start the rom-com mating ritual."

- aamurusko79

Voyeurism Was Not Okay

​"Spying on naked women or women changing clothes as an innocent boy or teen rite of passage."

- coagulatedfat

"'It’s Always Sunny' does a great episode called 'The Gang Hits the Slopes' or something. They go to a ski resort and live out 80s tropes from their childhood before realizing how f**ked up it all was, including spying on women and skiing without helmets."

- tman291

Homophobia "Humor"

​"Gay panic. I love 'Friends,' but how often the joke was AT any of the guys doing anything feminine?"

- HazeAbove

"The flamboyant gay character whose sexuality is either intended for the audience to laugh and make fun of or becomes a joke with other characters."

- DimesyEvans92

"Or in the case of 'Friends,' the straight character who everybody thinks is gay and is the butt (pun intended) of the joke."

- Friesenplatz

The Dark Side of the Town Drunk

"Comedic town drunk. Think Otis from 'The Andy Griffith Show.'"

- dominationnation

"I think part of the problem is the 'comedic town drunk' is something so many people can relate to because every small town seems to have one."

"My town growing up certainly did. His name was Silas. He drove a lawnmower everywhere because he lost his license, and would shout, 'Yee-Haw!' when it reached max speed. The man could consume an impossible quantity of alcohol and just as quickly piss it all out."

"He was homeless and on a first-name basis with every police officer in the county. He could tell the funniest, dirtiest jokes, and in late autumn would commit some minor harmless crime to spend the winter in jail (where he'd put on a lot of weight) instead of spending it in his tent."

"He was also a very reliable handyman, our family hired him a few times to remove massive trees, and he'd drop them right where he said he would."

"But that's where the comedy and trope end. I've referred to him in the past tense because he died of liver failure."

"He was ill with an addiction and desperately needed help to get past it, and that's what the TV tropes fail to discuss. Consequently, it's funny to the audience because it conveniently ignores the harsh reality of the situation."

- Kent_Knifen

Smoking Bans

"'Mind if I smoke?' in places where people would instantly object today, like cars, airplanes, spaceships, the baby's nursery, etc."

- crooked-v

​Anti-Tomboy and Androgyny 

"'Fixing' the 'tomboy' who likes to wear boys' clothes, no makeup, and do boy things."

"There's an 'Andy Griffith Show' episode that would be considered an over-the-top parody if it came out now."

- Visible_Scallion_489

No Locked Doors

"People living in NYC and L.A. who never lock the front door."

- KAG25

"Pretty sure 'Friends' lampshade this with an episode where they all get locked out and Monica even asks, 'Who locked the door? That door is never locked!'"

- rhapsody98

Questionable Family Dynamics

"An overweight, lazy husband with a smoking hot, nagging wife. Add in one rebellious teen and one nerdy kid and boom. The family sitcom recipe."

- chewedupshoes

The Hate for Wives

"The running joke in sitcoms is that every average American man hates their wife and is always complaining about her 'nagging' and just wants to hang with the boys and dreams about the single life or having more freedom but he’s a dad now."

"I think too many are sick of seeing that. It wasn’t really funny in the first place. And now society is trying to push many to see marriage as the ultimate goal anyway and vilifies people for wanting to be single."

- BellaBlue06

Minorities As Targets

"Black dude dies first. It's basically never done nowadays and the trope is almost always pointed out if there's even the possibility of it happening."

- CoolGuy69MLG

When we look through this thread, we can all think of examples of these old tropes, from smoking to consent, and fortunately, most of these shows are older.

As terrible as it might be that these tropes were once popular, it's at least refreshing to see that we are learning, that the entertainment industry is reflecting that, and some of these tropes are fading away.

tv shows

People Explain Which Things Tourists Should Never Do While Visiting Their Country

Family taking a picture in front of the Arc de Triomphe
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

When visiting a foreign country, many people like to hide the fact that they are tourists, and make every effort to blend in with the locals.

Even so, most tourists can't help but do a few things that locals seldom or never do, such as taking selfies in front of historic monuments, buying cheesy hats and T-shirts, or going to notoriously crowded places.

If doing these things will more than likely make them stick out like a sore thumb, it also won't exactly put them in harm or danger, as most tourists at least have the good sense to read a blog or guidebook instructing them on how to stay safe while traveling.

The most savvy travelers know that the best place to get advice on what not to do when traveling abroad is not online or in a book, but directly from the locals.

Redditor PM_ME_UR_DOGS_FEET was eager to hear the opinions of people around the world as to what tourists should avoid doing when visiting their country, leading them to ask:

"What should people absolutely not do when visiting your country?"

Moo!

"If you are hiking through the Austrian mountains with a dog, put it on a leash."

"The cows will hurt you if they feel threatened."

"In general, don't disturb the cows and keep away from them."- annadaso

Cows Alps GIF by MeinMontafonGiphy

Not All Creatures Are Cute And Cuddly...

"Approach wildlife, especially when they’re with their offspring."

"The amount of idiot tourists I’ve seen outside their cars within mauling distance of a bear or moose is mind boggling."-GingerMeTimberMate

"Do not touch the bison."

"I don’t care that they’re herbivores and look fluffy."

"They are incredibly strong and will kill you if they’re in a bad mood."- hartywhalers

Bison Yellowstone GIF by Nat Geo WildGiphy

No One Needs To Blend In That Much!

"I live in Barbados."

"Don't wear camouflage."

"It's illegal unless you're a part of the Defense Force."- durants

They Call It The Outback For A Reason

"Don't go for a drive in the outback without making sure you're properly prepared if you get stuck."

"There's a reason you see so many abandoned cars on the highways out there."- thethreekittycats

Back Of The Line!

"UK here."

"Always queue."

"Even if there isn’t a queue, just look around politely and ask whoever’s around if they’re queueing."

"I know this reads like a joke but it really isn’t."

"There’s always a queue, and tourists always ignore it, and that’s usually why tourists get a bad rap in the UK."-fearthe0cean

Literal Red Flag Alert!

"If you're not a strong swimmer, please don't wade out into our ocean expecting that you'll be okay."

"If you want to swim at our beaches, stay between the flags where there are lifeguards on duty."- nightlightened

"Don't swim outside the flags on the beach."- strayainind·

The Beach Summer GIFGiphy

That Some People Would Actually Need A Warning...

"Don't do the Nazi greeting."

"In fact, just don't do it anywhere."

"But especially not in my country."

"Police will arrest you for it."- Mad_Moodin

Or Stand Still In Them For That Matter...

"Don't walk the bicycle lanes."- valthorgallifrey

Be Selective When Sight Seeing

"Don't go to Hollywood expecting something."

"Also, don't spend tons of money just to see famous people's homes on one of those bus tours."

"You should go to all the cool museums around LA though, those are pretty neat."

"And the beaches aren't too bad either."- jgeradsfdh

hollywood GIF by American IdolGiphy

It's Just Plain Rude

"Don't touch the King's guard."- EmperorOfNipples

Or Any Busy Street Anywhere...

"If you’re visiting Brazil, specially a big city, avoid using your smartphone while walking on the streets, as you become more prone to being robbed."- DistantLandscapes

Not the Most PC Name If You Really Think About It

"Order an ‘Irish Car Bomb’ shot."

"Doesn’t exist here, and the name has roots in The Troubles, a dark time in our history that people north and south of the border who are still alive lost people to."- TheIrishninjas

Irish Cream Beer GIF by DrSquatchSoapCoGiphy

Not All Canadians Are So Friendly...

"If you come across Canada, don't ever dare touching our geese, thanks."- ClickWorthy69420

Many tourists enjoy going off the beaten path and veering from the most famous and heavily visited places.

But before straying from the path, it couldn't hurt to get advice from a local on just how far to stray.

tourists

People Break Down How They Realized Their True Sexual Orientation

Group hug with people holding rainbow flags
Janosch Lino/Unsplash

Everyone has a different journey on their road to self-discovery.

Especially when it comes to their sexual identity, many young adults struggle with not fitting in and wondering where they belong in social situations.

It's common for many of these individuals to be ashamed and suppress their identity for fear of being judged or ridiculed, while others have a support system at home or among close friends.

Curious to hear how people arrived at their moments of self-discovery, Redditor TheGreek1asked:

"What made you realize your true sexual orientation?"

Exposure to media helped these Redditors with their epiphany.

The Guy On TV

"So one day I saw a tv show, and there was a gay guy in some part of it, so I thought to myself, am I gay? And I came to the conclusion that I am in fact, straight."

– ShapeShiftingBruh

"Same! Or you may see a good looking guy but it doesn’t feel the same way as seeing a good looking woman. I hope that makes sense."

– gomeazy

Erotic Magazine

"I stumbled upon a stack of old playboys when I was 7 actually. I was very very intrigued. Before that I thought boys and girls both had penises lmaoo."

– 335i_lyfe

'Cuz Ya Gotta Have Faith

"I’m dating myself here but George Michael’s video for 'Faith.' At the beginning there is a hot girl in high heels leaning against a jukebox on one side and he’s on the other side. My eyes went to him. I thought, maybe I just want some jeans like that. Naw. I wanted what was IN the jeans."

– shakycam3

Some experimented to determine their sexuality.

Trying Oral

"Honestly? I had some doubts at first. So I let a guy go down on me during a 3some with his girlfriend. He was a freshman psychology student and had just learned about Kinsey and was making a big long speech about how sexuality is a spectrum, and nobody is truly 100% straight, and you know what? It was kind of compelling. So there I am, getting what was probably the third blowjob of my life, and I just can't stay hard. This dude was motivated, and no matter what he did... I think I was every bit as surprised as he was."

– porn0please

Best Buddy Hook-Up

"Same here. I thought, 'let’s try men, see how it goes!' Found myself hooking up with a close male friend who is, by all means, a f'kin smoke show."

"It was a safe space. I felt comfortable. And I learned - at most I’m a Kinsey 1 maybe. Maybe a Kinsey 0.5."

"If I die without ever being with another man, all good."

– astoneworthskipping

Those who were acquainted with or related to these Redditors tried to convince them of their sexuality.

Recognizing Beauty, Not Acting On It

"My sister in law was trying to convince me I was 'bisexual with a preference for men.' She wouldn’t let it go, all because I can appreciate when a woman is beautiful. I told her that I can see when a woman is beautiful, but it doesn’t mean I’m attracted to them."

– Saint_Galahad

Little Closeted

"My best friend in high school was a lesbian, and was always trying to convince me that I was bi. I was like, 'lol no, I'm straight af.' Well, one night with my guy of many years, we were opening up about our kinks and- I don't know, I guess I just finally felt safe enough- but I realized I'd always kept a door closed inside of me where I knew I was also attracted to women."

"I've had way too many bad experiences in the past with female friends (who I think were actually crushes) to actually ever think about dating a woman, but I'm definitely also sexually attracted to them."

– Dizzy_Duck5436

Impressions made from a certain age can't be forgotten.

Kindergarten Crush

"When I went to kindergarten round-up when i was 5, I remember seeing two very pretty girls and thinking I would like to kiss them. To be honest, 35 years later those two women are still very pretty and I would still like very much like to kiss them."

– 2aboveaverage

The Handsy Child

"I remember falling in love with my first grade teacher. Ms. Florence. It has always been ladies for me. I read these modern discussions where people are debating sexuality, and it just doesn’t compute. My Grandpa told stories about me putting my hands down women’s shirts at age two/three."

– momentum_1999

My elementary teacher's assistant was a high school student named Randy.

He was the first guy I couldn't take my eyes off of.

He was a redhead, had freckles, and stunning green eyes that looked deep back into mine whenever I pretended I had a question for him but fumbled with my attempt at small talk.

I recognized him as a beautiful man but I didn't understand why I gravitated toward him as I was years from having any kind of sexual comprehension or awakening as a ten-year-old.

But I know for certain that was when I realized I was "different" when I pined for him and wanted to be near him every time I went to school.

I wonder what Randy is up to now?

Do you sometimes think about the people from your past you've had crushes on?

identity