Try as hard as we may, we can't always hide our identities. All these apps and websites we visit, we leave a print or an essence. We can come up with creative nom de plumes but once we start to let loose on some details or write in our usual styles, our voices will be recognized. And the internet doesn't have a communication violation.
People will blab...
Redditor u/Elijafir wanted to know about those times we've come to recognize a person whose secrets we know but only from a digital meet-up... what happens in an actual face to face or when you want to tell them but can't, oh the drama.... it was asked.... Have you ever read a story on Reddit and realized you know the person in real life? What happened?Polly?
parrot GIFGiphyOh man the first one of these I get to answer and it's so lame.
I sold a baby parrot I hand raised for work to a girl and later saw her post pictures of him in a parrot subreddit.
I Concur...
I posted snow conditions on popular local trail. Someone commented and said that they are there recently and agreed with my description.
It was my husband whom I did the hike with. Hahaha. We actually know each other's username. We just don't look at first. When I was in China, Reddit was the only western app that wasn't blocked (yet), so that was how we stayed in touch.
We stay out of each other's profiles because we know that we are boring people. Lol.
I think so....
About a month or so ago a guy posted a thing saying his girlfriend believes she is a cat. He went on to explain their relationship and all her quirks and whatnot. The more I read the more it sounded like this girl I had a really complicated relationship with some years ago. Everything matched, even her age.
At one point she said something about wanting to quit her job and live full time as a cat, and I swear to god this girl I knew once said the same thing to me. The girl I knew even used to meow and mew like a cat.
I reached out to OP to see if we lived in the same area, to find out if it was in fact her, because if so i was gonna warn him about the fact that she was very emotional abusive and manipulative, but he never answered. I'm still fairly certain it's her though.
"That was me!"
schitts creek hello GIF by CBCGiphyWe were telling our dog walker about this crazy story from Reddit of a guy who was in the big Boston blizzard that had just happened and ran out of this rare drug used to help with organ transplants, and someone on Reddit helped him by giving him some of their same rare organ transplant drug. And he was like, "That was me!"
you'er safe....
I chanced upon my partner's nephew's account last year. He was in his early teens and really socially awkward, and I always had a soft spot for him. I knew he wasn't popular at school and was dealing with some depression issues, and he wrote about that a bit on here.
I didn't tell anyone about the account because I didn't want him to lose the privacy of this kind of outlet, but I checked it every now and then to make sure he was OK. I've seen young people get quite candid about loneliness and depression on here, and I wanted to know that he was safe, at least.
I Know You
I'm like 95% sure I stumbled across my manager's reddit account a couple months ago. There were numerous points in a post I read that lined up perfectly with things he had been talking about at work for a couple of weeks before hand, and the word use and tone matched his speaking pretty perfectly, not to mention the account name was fitting. It was super weird reading through the post and having this slow realization that it was him. I didn't mention it to him, this kind of knowledge is too powerful.
I Remember Her
I told a story of when I broke my ankle skating and one of the other roller derby girls in my team commented! We used to chat through reddit a bit as I didn't skate anymore but then last year she died suddenly in her sleep. I still have her messages and I feel weird seeing all the comments and stuff she made knowing she's gone now. Just sad.
Hey Sis....
amy poehler dance GIFGiphyMy oldest sister. I asked her if she had a username based off of one of her favorite bands, specified the album her username referenced, she said "DAMN. HOW DID YOU FIND ME?!" Her dog was on the front page of Awwww.
Never really went through her post history, sometimes see her commenting on stuff. She gets an automatic upvote.
The Dancer
In the Houston subreddit someone posted a picture of a belly dancer at a Greek restaurant they went to. I think they were there for their anniversary, and they really enjoyed the restaurant food and entertainment. I looked closely at the picture, turned out I knew the dancer, we had taught at the same charter School about three years before. One of her first graders had been allowed by her mother to get ice cream every day before school at 7 a.m.
Every day she crossed a major thoroughfare in rush hour traffic with her older brother. One day she ran ahead, and was hit by a school bus that couldn't stop in time, and was killed instantly. My friend was devastated beyond belief and ended up leaving education.
Well that's not weird.... I suppose.
Cant Look GIF by Katelyn TarverGiphyThe reverse happened to me.
About two years ago I was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells in my cervix, which simply put translates to I didn't have cancer yet but was going to if it wasn't handled. Thank God they found it early. I posted on reddit for a while during the whole ordeal because I wanted to reach out to others who had gone through the same thing and learn more about the procedures, etc.
Anyway, one day a friend came over and randomly asked me about it. Immediately I was confused because I hadn't told anyone about it other than my mom and SO. He kind of laughed, kind of apologized, and said he had found my reddit and read my posts about the whole thing. Like, even my replies to comments and stuff. Lots of honest and detailed things.
I mean, it wasn't a huge deal, but it was a little awkward at the time.
Shroomed...
I was browsing the sub for my city and saw an interesting post, I looked at the username and recognized it as an ex-coworker because the username is the same one they use on Instagram. Out of curiosity I looked to see what else they have posted and found out that they are really into taking shrooms. Never would have guessed it. This person was so straight laced and by the book when we worked together, I was really surprised!
Downsized...
weight loss fitness GIFGiphyI came across someone I knew from high school. We weren't friends or anything, but he was a nice enough guy. Him and his wife had lost something like 100 lbs. combined. I was happy for him.
Ups and Down
Yeah I saw someone I knew on r/RoastMe and it was so awkward. I started stalking their profile only to find that they posted various memes on depression and how even though they were extremely depressed they were also very determined and wanted to live. It was a mixture of inspiring and depressing since their posts were all over the place.
Get Out
I was the opposite, I posted about my (now ex) husband and he found it. I talked about his abuse and my fears about leaving with the children, I talked about him gaslighting me and being physically abusive. He called my very Catholic dad to tell him I was considering divorce (which was advised to me by redditors and my friends) and my dad called me and told me to make the marriage work (meanwhile my dad had divorced my mom when I was 4).
I said forget this and left his butt. Best thing I ever did and regret 0% of it. Met now husband on Reddit and am happier than ever.
Leave that fool and find your true happiness (even if it means being alone).
"where's his arms"
Saw a screenshot of this tweet and in the photo was this guy I recognized as a customer from the arcade I used to work at. He has no arms (this is relevant) and was decked out in sonic clothes i think his t-shirt said something like sonic for women's rights maybe? Everyone I worked with knew him he was really nice and amazing at playing guitar hero with his feet. All the comments were saying "where's his arms" and making fun of the sonic outfit. Made me sad cuz he's so nice.
"hey, that was me"
mindy kaling GIFGiphyIn my town a toddler escaped from his day care and was wandering down the middle of a busy road. He was found by a local worker, after hearing multiple people honking as they drove around the kid.
I posted to my town subreddit asking what the hell was wrong with our town that no one stopped. I got a beer with another dad and he brought up the story he read in reddit, which I had posted.
I said "hey, that was me" but the conversation just kept going. I don't think he heard.
Idiot Profile
Yeah some idiot that I was seeing briefly years ago kept mentioning reddit and certain subs so I started browsing because it sounded interesting. Came across a post that was undoubtedly him, had his car in it and wording only he'd use. I was just about to text him "found your reddit profile!" when I clicked on his username just to find a post complaining about my leg hair and saying that I don't shut up quickly enough when he interrupts me. I shut up real quick when he never heard from me again.
Are We Open?
Im only on reddit because my ex kept telling me to go on it. I was on the relationship advice page and someone had posted about being in an open relationship with (my age f) and (her age f) saying that he'd dumped one because this girl stopped wanting the open relationship and all he could think about was wanting her back, the other girl being boring and missing his now ex. Well I'm his now ex and I split with him because I found out he had another girlfriend in another city.
The Nutty One
I recently discovered an ex's reddit (we dated in 2004) and it was interesting to see his comments and posts but eventually they just stopped. Then a few months later I learned he had died. Life is short.
edit: https://www.reddit.com/user/BigGayMusic
He was a nut in 2004 - only got nuttier with time. He did a lot for me and I wish I could tell him that!
The Wholesome One
lost and found flirt GIF by Lost & Found Music StudiosGiphySoon after a wedding where I was in the wedding party (and knew the wife waaaay better than I knew the husband), I found the husband on reddit.
He was so wholesome.
I knew I liked him (and that they were a good match) but that was just an extra layer of being happy for the wife for finding someone like that to be in her life.
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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.