We all have our secrets. Do we live with them? Do we speak of them openly? It's a difficult question, unique to each individual.
Redditor popcornkernels is responsible for today's burning question: "What's the most personal thing you're willing to share with us?"
Warning: Sensitive material ahead.
"I have no backup plan..."
I'm 3.5 years into the career I dreamed about as a child and I can't f**king stand it anymore. I have no backup plan and I feel guilty that so many people I cared about cheered me on to follow my dreams.
"People ask..."
People ask why I'm single and I tell them because I'm too busy or have no time, but the truth is, I don't know what a healthy relationship looks like. I always self sabotage and do something wrong when I start seeing someone and so it never really ends well all the time. I prefer to be alone since at least I don't get hurt.
"I was evicted..."
I was evicted from my childhood home when I was 15. My mom couldn't keep the place up by herself after my brother moved out. She didn't know what to tell me, so she didn't. She had me take a bag with me when we went to my stepdad's for a weekend over the summer. A weekend turned into two weeks, turned into a month and turned into the entire summer. Finally she told me what had happened and because she didn't know how to tell me, she chose not to. I lost everything, and slept on stepdad's living room sofa for 2.5 years.
It's one thing to have lost my material belongs that can be replaced like my computer, video game consoles and such but I lost irreplaceable things like the memory box I started when I was 7, my childhood photos and all the dolls my dad had given me throughout the years. My dad has been gone 5 years now, and those dolls are something I wish if nothing else, I could have saved.
"I didn't cry..."
I didn't cry when I found out one of my friends from high school killed himself. It was almost half a year ago and not one tear has leaked yet. I knew him for years, we took our black belt tests together, and I was the stage manager for the high school theatre and he did lighting. I had to break the news to so many people and yet I felt no sadness. As a guy who attempted the same thing not a year previously, I'm still frustrated at my lack of emotion towards it all, especially when I see my/our friends posting about how much they still miss him.
"My anxiety disorder..."
My anxiety disorder is more severe than I let on. When I am alone, it is pure hell.
"I never knew my father."
I never knew my father. My brother was always more upset about it than I was. The father guy ran away when I was less than a year old. He later killed someone, went to jail, and now is living in an Assisted living facility on parole. We did not know his real name until recently. My mother named my brother after him. So, we found out that the name was fake. But, my brothers middle name turns out to be my father's real name coincidentally. Could you imagine the dude's reaction when my mother suggested the middle name? That would have been funny to see.
"I've had nightmares..."
My mother, a schizophrenic drug addict, screamed "Help Me" before putting a revolver in her mouth and pulling the trigger. I was the only one home and wasn't able to dissuade her; I was a young child.
I've had nightmares every night since, for seventeen years. The only time I'm able to sleep soundly is when my partner is sleeping next to me. He unknowingly heals my worst trauma just by snoring and holding me close.
"I got a call..."
GiphyI got a call from Be the Match (the national bone marrow donor registry) on Friday. It seems I came up as a possible match for a 9 yr old boy with leukemia. I just finished signing consent forms and filling out the medical questionnaire today, and I have some further testing to confirm the match later this week.
"I found out..."
I found out my mom's cancer has spread to her bones today. I just want to make sure she's able to keep as much comfort and dignity as she can with the time she may have left.
"I'm finally..."
I'm finally facing the ugly truth of age and mortality. My parents and a few other relatives who are in their early 60's now are having a multitude of health complications from mental illness to cancer and its scaring the shit out of me.
I'm only 26, and I think back to when I was a kid and everyone was perfectly fine, just doesn't seem that long ago...
"My girlfriend since high school..."
My girlfriend since high school has schizophrenia, I love her with all my heart, but there are days when It's really hard. I am patient with her and try helping her and convincing her to take her meds. There have been months where she isn't herself and breaks up with me, that's the hardest cause even though I know she's doing it cause her condition I can't force her to be with me.
She has never been with other man. And damn she is the love of my life, she shines like no one else I've ever seen. My family and friends would prefer I left her, but they know I won't and they respect that which is nice, I guess.
We have been self-harming free for the last 3 months which is also nice.
"I'm having surgery..."
I'm having surgery Monday and I'm afraid I won't wake up. I have two kids and I don't want to be done watching them grow-up.
"I was beaten..."
I was beaten to the point of miscarriage when I was seventeen. I now cannot have children.
I was recently diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's.
Expand your skills in communication
"One phrase in many languages."
"I used to know 'Where's the bathroom?' and 'More water please' in 16 different languages."- shaka_sulu
"Sign language"- Billie_Goat_Eilish
"Use Duolingo to learn a new language."
"Before you know it, you've learned phrases like "''m crying on the floor and eating bread'," and you'll soon be ready for your breakdown in multiple languages."-
Talk Talking GIF by WikipediaGiphyImpress your inner circle
"Memorize obscure poetry."- GodsCasino
Before there was Wordle...
"Crossword really expands your vocabulary and gives you some useless knowledge."
"You never know when you will need to know who was the first president of Serbia."- Much_Committee_9355
Work those abs!
"Clench your ab muscles."
"'Tuck your tummy in' anytime the train stops at a station."
"Hold them clenched until the train starts up again."
"We used to do this as kids when the car was stopped at a red light."
"It sounds silly, but it's a surprisingly strenuous workout for your core!"- AirborneRodent
Working Out Sit Up GIF by jecamartinezGiphyYou never know when it will come in handy.
'Learning how to tie knots."
"I highly recommend the app Knots 3D.'
"It provides a history of the knot being displayed, its intended use case, strength, reliability, and its structure."
'It's a wonderfully useful and easy to learn skill to have."- Nobodythrowout
You'll have a blanket in no time!
"Knitting/crocheting?"- _austinm
sudoku GIF by AARPTake your pick, challenge yourself!
"Online chess."
"Learn a language."
"Write a story."- camelfarmer1
Next time you're on your way to work, and think about all the things you wish you could do, maybe try doing them?
Who knows, you might end up seeing your fellow passengers reading the book you started riding the train...
We all can use as much advice as possible when it comes to cleaning. So let's listen up.
Red Matters
Brea Grant Movie GIF by Signature EntertainmentGiphy"Peroxide gets fresh blood out of clothes/linens if applied ASAP."
aaronkellysbones
"If it's your blood, your own spit also begins the breakdown process!!!"
littlegingerfae
Mix 10:1...
"Tri-sodoum-phosphate is my go to for anything oil/fat based. Get it in the painting prep supplies at the hardware store. It just melts though grease. You only need a tiny bit for a stain. Mix a few tbsp into your bucket for cleaning around the kitchen."
"Mix 10:1 with water to clean really really greasy messes, like between the stove and the cupboards in a new rental or to strip waxed floors. Keep the stripping ability in mind if you're cleaning anything wood, you can take off the finish if it's a strong mix or sits too long."
"Only reason it's not in all cleaning products like it used to be was overuse was causing problems with algae growth in waterways (phosphates). It's not a problem to use a bit there and there, it's more a problem if every single load of laundry done by everyone has phosphates."
Wtrset
Get the Gunk
"Former cleaning tech here. Get a scrub daddy and some bar keeper’s friend. Literally the best stuff I’ve ever used to get any sort of gunk or residue off of any surface."
alteredsauce
"Not a cleaning professional (and God bless all of you, you should be paid a hell of a lot more than you already are, no f**king joke), but barkeeper's friend, a scrub daddy, some steel wool, rubbing alcohol, vinegar, baking soda makes a hell of a cleaning kit. There are few household messes you can't fix with them."
DeepStateofAffairs
Efficiency
"Make sure the mops and brooms are long enough so you don’t have to bend. That increases your efficiency and you don’t get tired easily."
femoric9
"Man. I'm entirely freaking convinced that no mop or broom is made for people over 5'8". TF am i supposed to do when I'm holding the top of the broom at my waist? I'm disabled. Slightly bending over to do housework is the greatest source of rage (and pain) in my life and I hate it."
Original_name18
To Dust
Cleaning Tidying GIF by The Addams FamilyGiphy"Use an old pillowcase to dust ceiling fan blades, it contains the dust so you don't get the dreaded allergy ash cloud."
HauntedButtCheeks
I hate dust. And I hate ceiling fans. So good to know.
Genius
Lets Go Dancing GIF by Rosanna PansinoGiphy"Vacuum your way out of a room to not leave footprints. Incredibly satisfying work."
Mellokins
Slow Down
"Learned this one from a janitor. Don't scrub right away when you're mopping a floor. First get the whole floor soaked (kind of like soaking a dish with dried on food), then go back to the beginning. Anything that was stuck to the floor will be easier to clean with less work."
audiomechanic
Hot Pour
"(Restaurant janitor) Pouring Hot coffee and letting it sit for a while paired with a good follow up scrub for some reason is good at removing grease stains, I was shown this and never looked further into the why it works but it does!"
thetwin22
"Might be because coffee is slightly acidic! Really good tip as long as you clean the coffee off properly."
Fun-Calligrapher980
Relax
matt smith newspaper GIF by HULUGiphy"If you show up to a job and find out that the building was unused that day then make sure the garbages are empty then go find a quiet place to read for 8 hours."
Pay Attention
"Former custodian here. Trash bags don't need to have all that air surrounding them, wasting space in the can and making trash bounce back out, and it's surprisingly easy to get out."
"- Unfurl the bag and get some air in it, so it's not stuck to itself."
"- Shake the air out. Yes, this may sound like extra work, but the next part is cool."
"- Fling the bag, bottom-first, into the trash can, holding onto the top so it doesn't just crumple up at the bottom."
"- Blow into the bag from a foot away. The Bernoulli Effect fills the bag AND pushes out all the air around the bag."
"Now the bag fills the trash can and has its full capacity ready to use. You can even add a knot to hold the bag in place if you want, but I've found it's not needed if done right."
DuplexFields
Maybe now I can keep my house clean. Maybe...
I barely wonder into the backyard. Last time I was there, there were snakes. Hell no.
A Few Sips
Cardi B Drink GIF by MOODMANGiphy"Solo camp in the middle of nowhere. When I woke up in the morning someone had made a cup of tea and partially drunk it in the middle of the night. No sign of anyone anywhere."
Magnus_40
Four Spots
"Camping with my kids in the woods for the first time. They were very nervous, but I assured them that nothing was out there to be afraid. Immediately after one of my assurances, we heard something moving outside of the tent. They started crying a bit, and I said it was either the wind or maybe a racoon a little bit away. At that moment, something came down on the top of the tent... something pushing in at four spots. They lost their minds with terror... even I screamed."
"It was our cat. My wife had let him outside, and he made his way down in the woods to see us. He was young and had never seen a tent before and jumped on top of it right above us. This was a few years ago, and my kids still bring up how scary it was and how daddy screamed."
joeltheconner
Alone
"I went camping alone (female) with only my son who was about four at the time. When setting up in a fairly remote place, there was a guy who just stood watching us from about 100 metres away (his tent was all set up). During the night, we heard footsteps walking around our tent for about half an hour. No other noises."
"I sat up with a mallet in my hands for the rest of the night. When it got light, I went outside and saw hundreds of emu tracks all over our campsite and a friendly camper neighbour congratulating me on getting the tent up by myself because he wasn't sure I could do it but didn't want to intrude."
essentialpuzzle
Food Hunt
"Sheer terror when I was a kid at boy scout summer camp. One kid left a couple airheads out on the picnic table. Everyone woke up in the middle of the night to, no joke 30+ raccoons fighting over airheads and going into tents looking for more food. If you've never heard that many hissing and growling raccoons at the same time good for you."
pirate737
Staring Out
Tired Over It GIFGiphy"Camping in the Serengeti with Masai tribe men as guards. Sitting around the fire when suddenly the Masi looks out into the pitch blackness, turns the flashlight on illuminating The eyes of a lion 40 yards out. Just staring at us. I never heard a thing."
pamacdon
Now why do people do this to themselves? When there are lovely Marriots.
Under the Stars
scared bear GIFGiphy"I was about 8, I didn't want to sleep in the tent with my sister so I slept on a cot under the stars."
"Woke up to a bear sniffing my head/neck. I was basically paralyzed with fear, the bear left me and went to sniff around for snacks. It made enough noise to wake my parents who then scared it away. I moved my cot into my sister's tent immediately after."
___okaythen___
"why, what happened?"
"I was camping in Zion National Park in late August 1992. The campground was almost empty by then. At 3:30 in the morning I woke up in midair. You know those dreams where that happens? I figured that's what it was... then I hit the ground. Earthquake. Then I was hearing cracking sounds, a few small thuds, then thud."
"Little bits of the cliff face had sheared off. Thankfully the campground was far enough from there that no one was injured. Had that happened in the daytime there's a good chance that a number of people would have been killed. The park was closed for a few days after that, and you couldn't get in or out for much of that day, as one entrance road was just gone, and the other one a boulder the size of a car had fallen on it."
"That one they got open that day and they kicked everyone out of the park. Anyhow I called home to say I was OK, everyone was like 'Why, what happened?' It hadn't made the news or anything, fortunately it was relatively mild, just some local destruction."
drebinf
Mama...
"I was tent camping in Arkansas around 2003-04, and The Blair Witch project was still fresh on my mind. I was about 20 years old at the time. Around 2-3 in the morning we’re woken up by what sounds like a small child running around our tent crying and trying to get in. I was thoroughly freaked out."
"Finally decided to open the tent and there was a kid that couldn’t have been more than 3 years old scared half to death and only wearing a diaper. I had lots of thought going through my head, but mostly - how the hell do I handle this. I can’t really go campsite to campsite, the ranger office is closed and I’m standing there in the middle of the night holding a child that isn’t mine."
"We had decided to call the cops, figuring it was the safest thing to do, just then a lady walks down the trail and is like ‘how did you get out?’ The kid was saying ‘mama, mama…’ and went straight to her. She nonchalantly said thank you and walked away. Now as a parent, I can’t imagine how much more that would freak me out if it were my kid."
khoelzeman
Lake Chelan
"I went on a road trip with some friends to Lake Chelan. We left late and got lost (this was before cell phones, we didn’t have a map and trusted my friends memory). So we pull off the road and decide to camp for the night at a grassy area. We have limited lights and quickly make our tent."
"We’re woken in the morning by someone hitting the tent and screaming to get off his property. We’d inadvertently camped on some poor guys lawn. We were just dumb 18 year old kids but have never packed up camp that quickly before!"
TuesdayWednesdayMe
Woof
wild dogs puppies GIF by Nat Geo Wild Giphy"Thought our tent was being attacked by 3 bears. Turns out someone's dogs just got loose and the light outside made them look gigantic."
mentallydistressed1
And this is why I only sleep in actual beds. Inside.
'B and D are interchangeable, aren't they?"
"Supposedly/supposably."- MuluLizidrummer
Hearing this is FRUSTRATING!
"Fustrated."- WYWH13
"My coworker adds some extra syllables to frustrated."
"She says fer-ust-er-at-ed."
"Or maybe I've been pronouncing it wrong my whole life."- MarvellouslyChaotic
Fran Healy Reaction GIF by TravisGiphyMight want to pay a visit to learn how to pronounce it properly...
"'Li-BERRY'"
"It is LIBRARY!"- F*ckBradfordPears
Understandable, but still wrong
"Expresso."
"Ecsetera."- FormalWare
All the time he spent in front of one makes this especially surprising...
"I used to have a help-desk guy who pronounced 'Console', the thing you use to control an old computer, as 'council'."
"And he used the word ALL THE TIME when doing phone support, and it drove me absolutely over the edge."- GuruBuckaroo
video game lol GIF by Robbie CobbGiphyNot "exactly"...
"This is very specific to my aunt."
"She pronounces 'exactly' as “ezacly'."
"I can’t stand it."- antisocial_moth2
One "X" lead to another...
"EKscape for escape."
"My boyfriend did that and now he’s my Eks-boyfriend."- just_some_australian
Too many to name!!!
"Instead of saying shoes, my friend would say shoosh."
"Another one is when people say sammich instead of sandwich."
"It bothers the heeeeeeeck out of me."- HuntridgeHuntridge
Oh Brother Ugh GIF by Hey ArnoldGiphyOf all the words to mispronounce...
“Mispronounciation”- AllPointless
Should you not be certain how to pronounce any word, people are always willing to help those who ask.
And tend to be even more inclined those "aksing" for help.