Now that school is starting back up, let's take a moment to think back on those glory days fondly... Just kidding. School is good for us, we know that, but some aspects of it are undeniably awful.
So in the spirit of camaraderie with a little bit of what students will be heading into this 2020/2021 school year, let's talk about some of the things that just plain suck.
One Reddit user asked:
What do/did you hate the most about school?
Time for a walk down traumatic school memory lane, folks!
Bathroom Breaks
monsters inc pee GIFGiphyWhen the teacher says you couldn't go to the bathroom because "bReAkTiMe WaS 5 mInS aGo!!" For literally any grade. It's doesn't make sense especially with younger grades. When a 6 year old says they need to go to the bathroom. It's not a question, it's a warning.
And then no one explaining that you don't need to ask to go to the bathroom in college!
With my social anxiety freshman year of college, I raised my hand and asked to go to the bathroom. Ahhhh, people laughed!!!! I felt so stupid. The teacher was like, "oh, you don't need to ask that here." I think I stayed in the bathroom till after the class ended. I couldn't go back in after that.
That always got me. Especially when your previous class is all the way across campus, you only get a couple of minutes to move between the classes and fight your way through hundreds of other students. Even if you tried to hit the bathroom then, there would be a line out the door. If you're late for the next class you're in trouble no matter what the excuse is.
I see so many teachers like that even in high school when they expect you to use the bathrooms between class periods but a) there's barely enough time to get to class and b) the boys' bathrooms are... indescribable, and not in any good way
Playing Catch Up
Being lost in a subject and not being able to catch back up.
- chasepna
Had that happen to me in algebra and it eventually got so horrible trying to keep up with the juniors and seniors (I was a freshman), i ended up just sleeping in that class and spending every night doing my homework three times over.
I can relate in elementary school. I had to take a sh*t while my math teacher was explaining long division.
Let me tell you I was lost when I came back. I sucked so hard at long division. Then something similar happened again in the 6th grade. When they were explaining two and multi step equations I had to go down to the office to get something and again I was totally lost. I got the hang of it tho - like 3 weeks later.
Seven Hours
The homework - because apparently 7 hours of school isn't enough.
Especially since results from countries that cut out or reduced homework showed marked improvements in outcomes. Turns out that they should be teaching you when you're in school and that personal free time is actually good for kids mental wellbeing. Who knew eh?
Especially when you reach high school and get hit with "I think an hour of homework a night is perfectly reasonable" multiplied by 5 other teachers all saying the exact same thing.
For some reason, my children have SO much more homework today than I had growing up. Society complains about kids being inside so much and not getting exercise, being on devices, etc., but look past the fact that they have to do 3 to 8 pages of (common core), math, read 20 pages and do a 5 paragraph essay, study for a test every night, and have to have a perfect wardrobe. Hell, I went to school in pajamas sometimes.
- Prolaeus
All For One
When teachers punish a whole class because of the actions of one /a few students. Just because the class idiot can't behave, it does not mean I should miss my break.
- hfhfhfrr
Had a teacher cancel movie day because of a few bad eggs, then pull me aside and tell me she wished there was a way she could have just punished the bad kids and let me and the other "good" kids watch the rest of the movie. Wow, such a shame that's totally impossible, right?
They're preparing you for the working world, where one person screws up and everyone else has to attend a damn meeting about why you shouldn't do what you weren't dumb enough to do in the first place.
You know why they do that? Someone admitted it to me my first year of high school. They do it so the other students get mad at you and isolate you. Your punishment isn't just missing break, it's social rejection. Ain't that a trick?
Health Snacks, Healthy Mind
Teacher here. The thing I hate the most is when kids come to school hungry, with dirty clothes, or on edge first thing in the morning because they've had a sh*tty night.
Breaks your heart. The best thing to do is greet every student, treat them with kindness (but not pity), and keep a good stash of healthy snacks in your classroom.
I remember after one particular bad series of days, I came into my first period English class pretty late, still dirty from a soccer game the night before, hungry, and completely exhausted. My teacher, who was sick of my constant tardiness, absolutely laid into me. I broke down crying, and she knew something was up because that was highly out of character for me.
Her whole demeanor shifted. She told me to go into her office. She put on the Count of Monte Cristo movie for the class and came back to speak to me. I told her everything that was going on in my life, and she was super compassionate. She gave me some clothes that her son had left in her office, told me to go shower and change in the locker room, and when I came back she had a whole breakfast laid out for me in her office. I cried again because I had honestly forgotten what genuine compassion felt like.
I'd say that moment saved me from going to a very very dark place mentally at far too young of an age. She changed my life.
Hours
clock GIFGiphyThe amount of hours I'm expected to put into it and still have time for extracurricular activities AND 8 hours of sleep -and the backlash I get when that didn't happen.
Like I'm sorry; it's not my fault that after 7 hours of school all 8 of my teachers expect me to set aside an hour for their subject alone after I get home, since to each of them no other subject is nearly as important or matters at all. It doesn't matter that I don't even get home until 6pm or even 8:30 pm on certain days of the week since I need to represent the school in academics, athletics, and the arts, and that once I do get home I have two dogs and two siblings to care for and help with their school work before I can even do my own and care for my own body, before finally getting to bed and starting the day again.
I APOLOGIZE for finally getting to bed around 4am and not getting 8 hours asleep, I've been a bit busy trying to not flunk out of high school, please my parents and colleges, and taking care of the people and pets in my life that can't take care of themselves on their own. My bad, my bad.
Teach To The Test
I hated being forced to learn things just for tests. I loved learning about stuff, but I felt like I was only being taught so that I could pass the tests.
All through school, I'd go home, skip my homework, read about physics and space and watch science documentaries. This resulted in me getting horrible grades in high school, and that was extremely harmful to my self esteem. I wanted to major in physics, but I didn't think I was smart enough, so I majored in engineering in community college because I wasn't accepted anywhere else.
Then I transferred to a major university, and I immediately started doing horribly because more engineering specific courses were suddenly really boring to me. And then one of my friends convinced me to switch to physics, and I figured, "what have I got to lose?" Now I'm a senior in physics, and my grades are higher than they've ever been in my life.
Seriously, fck grade school. It has the worst setup it could possibly have. It's demotivating, harmful, and teaches people that learning is nothing more that a forced chore. Learning is so important, and grades can destroy our desire to learn.
And it was pretty much an endless series of tests. So once you got done learning stuff for one test, you'd pretty much forget most of it so you could study for the next test. It was a horrible way to learn things and actually test someone's knowledge.
The dumb rules to "test" you on things. Like why do I need to memorize these huge formulas when in the real world, I'll be allowed to use a reference book? As long as I know when and how to use the formulas should be good enough right? I shouldn't need to have them memorized.
I took a class where all of our grades were paper and project based, no quizzes or tests at all (not even a final exam), and I loved it so much and I did very well in that class, AND I learned a lot from it too. Not having to memorize a bunch of bullshit meant I had more time to really explore the material in depth.
Life Decisions About Bathrooms
How you're expected to make major life changing decisions but still need to ask for permission to use the bathroom.
A 16 year old is allowed to drive a car but can't use the bathroom unless they ask, and a lot of teachers only allow you to use the bathroom 3 times per term. going to the bathroom is a very dangerous act
Bullying
The fact they claimed to be no tolerance against bullying. Was bullied everyday from the age of 8 to 16. No matter how many times I told someone the only responses I got were
"Just ignore them"
"Don't react and they'll get bored"
"Have you tried making friends with them?"
And my all time favourite....
"Maybe they have a crush on you??"
At 26 I haven't recovered the confidence, the self-esteem, the happiness, the person that I could have been if the school had just helped.
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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.