People Reveal Their Craziest "I Survived?" Moments
That was a close call!
Life is rife with drama every second of every day and most of the time we're never aware of it. We wander about as if we're not innocent lambs being led to the slaughter. Maybe that's a tad dramatic, but not by much. There are so many close calls that we tend to lose count. A quick car swerve here, a walk down a different street there can lead to an entirely life saving outcome with seconds to spare. And when they occur and you realize it, you can't help but feel like Rocky when he survived a bout with Apollo.
Redditor u/J_A_A-2703 wanted everyone to share... People of reddit, what's your "I survived" moment?
Hide those life insurance policies!
During our divorce, my ex-wife cut the brake cables on my bicycle. I figured it out before I went out into traffic. Didn't die.
Didn't you see the movie?!
When I was 5, we moved into a house where a massive oleander bush was growing over the fence. Oleander flowers littered the lawn. I played with them and then went inside, had something to eat, and played with my sisters for a bit.
Next thing I remember, I'm in a doctor's office. I'm shivering and I ask for a blanket. The doctor puts a sheet of the paper that they use to cover the bed over me. They explain to my parents that I'm going to be fine and I can be taken home.
When I was a bit older (10 yrs), my mother told me that I had been telling her that my chest hurt and I couldn't breathe, and she grew concerned enough to take me to the ER. I had fallen asleep in the car and stayed asleep until waking up in the doc's office.
I googled it and read that Oleander is incredibly poisonous and works by paralyzing the respiratory system. Just one oleander flower can kill a horse. People have died from using oleander branches to roast food when camping. I had gotten pretty severally poisoned just by eating food with oleander residue on my hands. If I had bitten or eaten just a bit of the flower (which I very easily could have done since I was a dumba** that often ate random things), I would have died pretty quickly.
Chew slowly...
I got to work before anyone else was there. I started eating a corn muffin and a huge chunk got caught in my throat. I couldn't breathe and was choking to death. I finally dislodged it by ramming my body against a chest height counter over and over again until it popped out.
Stick to Cheerios!
I almost choked to death on a square of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Just talking about videogames with my older brother while scarfing down some cereal and suddenly I can't breathe and he is doing back blows on me. I spit it into my bowl, thanked him, and then ate the square again.
Thank you Honda...
1996. Had just come out of a tunnel midnight Saturday night/ Easter Sunday. Four of us in a 1988ish Honda Accord, I was riding shotgun and the girls in back were asleep. The driver did not know if she should take an off ramp so pulled off and put the car in Park to check the map. Yes, hindsight not smart but the roads were dead, it was so weird for NYC.
A drunk driver rear ended us going at what the cops estimated was 70 mph and hit us repeatedly, bouncing us 100 yards down the road. There were no skid marks from him trying to brake. The car must have bunny hopped 3 or 4 times before it stopped. All the doors were jammed and only 1 window would roll down, so that's how we got out. It was totaled. The frame was twisted and trunk was literally compressed flush up to the rear window, but no broken windows.
The police were surprised no one was seriously injured, because no one was hurt. I had a very mild backstrain from twisting during the crash to look at the girls in back that woke up screaming.. it cleared right up after a hot shower.
I'll always be so very grateful to the nice Jewish couple that stopped and let us pile in their car to keep warm until the police came. They were so sweet, offering us water and matzo bread to help as the adrenaline wore off.
We were so lucky. 1980s Honda Accords were tanks.
Never trust wine!
Not glamorous or heroic at all, but I got completely trashed on wine one night and woke up lying on my back covered in vomit. It terrifies me to think I could have asphyxiated in my sleep.
Get glasses friend...
I grabbed my mother in law's butt in the kitchen, mistaking her for my wife. Somehow, I was not murdered.
Oh Mickey you're so fine!
Had a knife pulled out on me by a group of 4/5 guys while walking to a friend's place after being out the night before, I didn't realize I could run so fast let alone with a terrible hangover!
I'm not sure if they genuinely thought I was someone else that they had a grudge against but they where calling me Mick and apparently they thought I was him, they really did seem like they wanted to do some damage as well, sometimes I think about if Mick is a real person and if these guys actually did ever get around to stabbing him.
That sucks...
I got "sucked under" or whatever in the little Tennessee river at a common swimming spot, and couldn't find my way up and kept rolling. I eventually went limp and popped up a little ways down the river and got to the bank and walked back and no one was the wiser.
Everybody falls sometimes...
I fell into a very, very cold creek when I was 12, wearing a winter coat and insulated boots (which get really heavy when wet, it turns out). The water was up to my neck before I started treading water. It took me 3 tries to find a branch that wasn't rotted so I could pull myself out.
I very easily could have drowned or succumbed to hypothermia. And the only thing I could think was: my mom is going to be so pissed.
I climbed up the bank, facing my aunt's house but on the wrong side of the creek, and clumsily went into the building behind me. I thought it was a rec center, but it turned out to be a fire station. They got me some dry sweats and called my mom's cell (which my aunt happened to have). She called my uncle, who is a drama king and freaked out, screaming for my mother at the top of his lungs (which got her freaked out). Then they drove out of the subdivision to pick me up.
When they arrived, they informed me that the fireman told my aunt they had rescued me from the creek. I was pissed. My 12YO butt had pulled MYSELF out of the creek. Bastards, trying to steal my thunder.
I still get made fun of for falling in.
Traveling and seeing new places and cultures should be on everyone's bucket list, but like every other experience, there are going to be some disappointing ones.
Some travel destinations are so disappointing, however, that people vow to never visit them again.
Ironically, many of those locations are dedicated travel destinations!
Redditor Gourmet-Guy asked:
"Which city are you NOT going to visit ever again, and why?"
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
"Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Devastating, hopeless, traumatizing, soul-crushing poverty that gets me emotional when I think back on it. The things I saw there… words fail to describe."
- MPD1987
"I was checking my watch every few minutes counting down the days and hours until I could leave. It was a scary place where even those that are supposed to protect you are open to attacking and robbing/kidnapping/murdering you."
- rayrayrayray
Birmingham, Alabama
"Birmingham, Alabama. My wife was almost kidnapped right in front of me while I was holding our infant. Luckily she’s scrappier than she looks and they gave up when they couldn’t quickly shove her in the car."
- starwestsky
Cairo, Egypt
"Cairo. I've seen everything I wanted to see there, but would never return. Tourists are treated like cattle there, by those involved in the tourist trade, much to the embarrassment of the many good Egyptian people who live in the city."
- kublakhan1977
"We hired a dedicated driver and tour guide for a couple of days so didn't feel like cattle. That said, the number of people harassing us to try to get money was obnoxious. When our guide was with us, they stayed back, but the second he gave us some time to explore, they were horrible."
"Plus, seeing military personnel with assault rifles everywhere was a bit unsettling..."
"This was like a month before the coup, and we could sense something was off, as well."
"That said, our guide was awesome."
- fezmid
"Cairo... My god... I have said this before but... the pollution, the people asking you for money everywhere you go, the mistreatment of animals... I wish I could say that the historical side of the city makes up for it but... nope."
- udontnowme
Marrakesh, Morocco
"Marrakesh, Morocco. The only place I’ve ever been that I’ve sworn I’d never go back to."
"After two days of walking around, followed by groups of men and boys trying to touch my wife (who was dressed modestly with legs and shoulders covered), followed by aggression when either she or I voiced our displeasure with this, we gave up trying to sight-see and spent the rest of our vacation in the hotel."
- ItsSupperHans
Bradford, UK
"It just doesn't have a lot going for it, unfortunately. The sort of place where when people find out you are from out of town, they ask what you are doing there, but not in a sort of cheery, 'Oh, what are you here for?' way, but a 'Seriously, why have you chosen to come here?' way. Not very welcoming."
- BobBobBobBobBobDave
Stockton, California
"Stockton, CA. The McDonald's had an armed security guy."
- KalSethMoran
"Growing up, my dad was a crime scene investigator for the DOJ (Department of Justice) and covered all of Northern California. Like, the entire top half of the state. And most of the time when he’d get called, if it was a homicide, he’d be going to Stockton."
- DancesWithPibbles
Atlantic City, New Jersey
"Atlantic City, NJ, if I can help it."
- GoPhinessGo
"Atlantic City is just bizarre. It feels like a run-down smallish city, but it's weirdly dotted with glitzy casinos. It's like Vegas and Scranton got drunk one night and made a really strange baby."
- full_of_ghosts
South Beach, Florida
"I don't need to go back to Miami, or at least to South Beach. My husband and I went last year and it was a little bit of a nightmare. We always find fun together, so it was still a good vacation, but I'd rather spend money elsewhere."
- loudlittle
"As someone that grew up in Miami, my biggest recommendation for visitors is to do just about anything but go to South Beach."
"Miami has a lot of really cool areas but they’re not tourist hot spots. You’ll have a much better time, in my opinion, hitting up the bars in the gables than going to Wynwood, for example."
- TheMightyYule
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
"Dubai. It features so much about what I don't like about humanity. All money and no substance."
- zordabo
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
"Ashgabat. Glad I went, but creepy. Total authoritarian dear leader surveillance state. Basically can’t leave the hotel unless escorted. Bad food."
"Utterly fascinating, but I can totally scratch it off my list of 'been there, done that.'"
- timpdx
Mobile, Alabama
"Mobile, Alabama. There was a palpable aura of anger and resentment in that town that I'll never forget."
- Casual-Notice
Manila, Philippines
"Manila. The traffic, the pollution, the poverty."
- blacks11
"I'm from the Philippines, and dude, I also hate it there. I'm a province guy. I remember one time I rented an inn there, and the smell literally gave me culture shock. The sink was full of cigarette butts and the bed was cockroach-ridden. I was never able to sleep. I rather stay here in the forest with my fairy friends."
- rupleix
Hollywood
"Hollywood, specifically Hollywood Boulevard. It's really janky, the whole town kind of smells, and it's just wholly disappointing."
- rancidtuna
Gary, Indiana
"Gary, Indiana. Should be self-explanatory."
- No-Strawberry-5541
"Gary is fine, during the day. You can drive through there without much issue. But at night? If you have to go through there, treat every stop sign as a rolling stop and just never stop."
"The place is rundown and has been for decades, since the main source of income, left town. Now it's just, people who are too poor to move anywhere else. It's an all too common story in the US."
- KikiFlowers
Nassau, Bahamas
"Nassau, Bahamas. Absolutely horrible. The place is extremely run down. Locals don’t leave you alone and don’t take no for an answer."
"No, I don’t want to buy a wooden flute from the 90s. No, I don’t want to buy D&G sunglasses from China for $80."
"I don't know, maybe I had a bad experience, but I’ll never go back to the Bahamas, at least Nassau."
- rodman666
While traveling is a tremendous experience, there are always going to be some destinations that are disappointing for some, and a reason to never visit again for others.
The best plan is to travel as much as you can, and keep mixing it up, so you can see as many destinations and cultures as you can in a lifetime.
People Break Down Which Things May Seem Harmless But Are Actually Incredibly Dangerous
Things are not always what they seem.
So one should never assume a situation is harmless without a full assessment, although it's sometimes hard to tell.
But if you're ever stranded out in the wild, don't just assume those tasty-looking berries growing in the forest are safe to eat. Not all of these pulpy fruits are meant for human consumption, and ingesting the wrong one could kill you.
Curious to hear more examples of deceptively innocuous situations that could be a matter between life and death, Redditor figinjosejospe asked:
"What seems harmless but is actually incredibly dangerous?"
These are the things to take note when driving.
Stay Alert
"Tired driving is as dangerous as drnking and driving."
– Dull-Geologist-8204
Remove From The Dashboard, Please
"Putting your feet on car dashboard."
– Entire_Fan_1811
Be mindful of your travel companion.
Pet In The Passenger Seat
"Having a loose animal in the car. A safety instructor once told me doctors had to dig dog bones out of a person after it got between them and an airbag."
– NicholasF82
Secure Your Pet
"My uncle thinks I’m ridiculous for putting my dogs in restraints in the car. I’m talking rolling his eyes, scoffing, acting like it’s the most absurd thing he has ever heard. Like a moron."
"Last time I checked, dogs are not immune to the laws of inertia and will absolutely go flying through the car if there is a sudden stop. And while I of course care about the safety of my dogs, I also care very much about protecting myself and my human passengers from 40+ lbs of projectile dogs."
– YaBoyfriendKeefa
Belts Aren't Pet-Proof
"Our terrier got loose of her restraints once while our dad was driving and for some reason she thought the safest place to hide was under his feet. Under the clutch."
"Luckily we were on a straight, constant speed road so we could drag her out, but that wouldve been a dead dog or dead us if anything had happened, especially if she moved behind the brake pedal."
– Jonatc87
Whenever you're around a body of water, remember the following.
Sketchy Surface
"A patch of calm, smooth ocean between sections that look rough."
Generally that means that there's a rip under the surface. That patch of water wants to yank you out to sea and drown you.
– Otherwise_Window
Terrifying Death
"Pool covers. It's like being wrapped in a bedsheet underwater. You cannot get free and you cannot scream for help. Once you're in the only way to get out is to be incredibly lucky and get free or have faith that someone saw or heard you fall in and hope that they get you in time."
"It's a lengthy, terrifying, death that's completely avoidable."
– Dominic7o
Nature is beautiful. But don't underestimate its potential to protect itself at all costs.
Difference Between A Bear And A Moose
"A bear will usually give you fair warning before murdering you, a moose will dance on your crippled corpse just cause you dared look at it."
– Northern_boah
Leave The Berry
"Colorful and pretty wildlife you’re unfamiliar with."
"If you wouldn’t eat a berry you’re unfamiliar with, why would you pick up an animal you’re unfamiliar with?"
– sketchysketchist
Beware Of The Bovine
"Bison. Just go to Yellowstone, grab some popcorn, find a tourist route and watch. You'll see."
– Spraynpray89
Even innocuous pranks can lead to horrific results.
You know the cake tradition at weddings, where one's face is shoved into a cake.
Not everyone thinks it's funny.
As Redditor TheIrishninjas mentioned:
"Pushing someone's face into a cake, even relatively lightly."
"Some cakes have skewers inside to support them. A seemingly harmless prank could lead to being impaled, approach it from just the wrong angle and it's bye bye eyes."
People Divulge The Most Embarrassing Thing They've Ever Done In Front Of Their Crush
We've all done some embarrassing things, some that are so embarrassing, they actually keep us up at night.
But the worst kind of embarrassment has to be the kind that happens in front of a crush. While you're already worrying about whether or not they like you, and you're hoping to impress them, you somehow manage to do the exact opposite.
Redditor nei7jc asked:
"What is the most embarrassing thing you did in front of your crush?"
Quite the Turn of Events
"I crashed my motorcycle in front of her and her new boyfriend… She came with me to the hospital. I won."
- Randomhero360
Word Choice
"We were at a writers' conference. I spent a good long time telling them about some controversy surrounding the use of pseudonyms in a writing contest. I was pretty proud of how well I stated both sides, as well as my fairly well-researched thoughts on the matter. They didn’t add much, but I could tell they were interested."
"About fifteen minutes later, I realized that every (single) time I’d meant to say 'pseudonym,' I’d said 'surname' instead. Never talked to them again. Thirty years ago and it still hurts."
- Preposterous_punk
Second-Hand Embarrassment
"I had a credit card declined..."
- Keithninety
The Accidental Text
"I accidentally sent her a message about her which was supposed to go to my best friend."
"Thanks to my stupidity, she is now my girlfriend."
- Ninjagator
Drowning in Love
"I almost drowned in five feet of water. We're getting married this year, lol (laughing out loud)."
"It was an accident due to my friend's landlord not taking care of the property properly. It was an above-ground pool. I was lightly leaning on the railing."
"I was trying to do my best 'I'm just a chill, normal dude who is definitely not super nervous in front of this very attractive person' pose. Then the railing snapped, and I fell backward, hit my head on the wooden part of the pool as I fell according to others. The railing didn't fully detach and my ankle got caught in the bars. I was hanging upside down, head and torso completely submerged."
"My beautiful, wonderful, strong fiancé jumped in, lifted me out, and got all the inhaled water out (luckily wasn't a whole lot). She literally saved my life. I luckily only sustained a mild concussion and sprained ankle, in exchange for an amazing human being I get to call my love for the rest of my life."
- Gaymerlad
Awkward First Kisses
"I went in for a kiss, missed the mouth, and kissed his jacket collar. Panicked, laughed, stuttered an incomprehensible 'sorry,' laughed again, and ran away as if I was chased by a f**king velociraptor."
"I was 14 back then, meaning that it basically happened in the stone age, so we're cool."
- Leocut78
FriYaY
"Throwing my fist in the air and weakly saying, 'Yay,' when a dude told me, 'At least it’s Friday.'"
- ddensity9009
All Too Real
"I went on a run and bike ride with him in the morning (one after the other), knowing d**n well I don’t have the stamina for either."
- zy-raii
Financial Preparations
"I was in high school and asked this girl out on a date. She said, 'How about Friday we go out to dinner and a movie?'"
"In the most embarrassing thing ever I said, 'How about we just go to a movie? I don’t think I can get my dad to give me that much money.'"
"She actually did go out with me, we ended up doing dinner and a movie, and she dated me for four years into college. I can’t imagine why. I told her how embarrassing that conversation was years later and she said she thought it was funny I asked her out but didn’t have any money."
- SweetCosmicPope
"Purr" of the Moment
"We were hanging out in my room when I got up, closed the window, and grabbed my cat to put him outside."
"My trousers were kinda loose when out of the blue, they fell down to my ankles, and my first reaction was to cover my crotch area with my cat. I still cringe at the thought of it."
- Kiro7676
Those Dance Moves
"Well, when I was in kindergarten, I liked this girl, and In my tiny kid brain, I thought that doing front flips and back flips was very cool. I thought that was peak human ability."
"So I thought I would impress her with my very own flipping skills. Which I did not possess. So I improvised. I thought it was just as cool to sit on the ground and roll backwards. Over and over."
"Fast forward some time and my school used to have a kindergarten dance for kids who passed. Parents were invited. Your kid couldn't go unless you were present."
"I thought, 'A school dance huh? Looks like my time to shine.'"
"Now imagine you're at a kindergarten dance. You're there to watch over your kid. And then out of nowhere, you see this other kid in a tiny suit rolling across the ground like a f**king 'Dark Souls' character."
"Safe to say I stayed single for a very long time."
"That is my first memory. I want to die."
- Jokesonyouiwannadie
Very Smooth
"I was new to driving and wanted to impress him by parking right next to him in the student lot. He watched as I struggled to find where the f**king headlight switch was for the d**n thing."
"And I proceeded to turn on the windshield wipers in search of the lights."
"This went on for agonizing minutes, and I drove away mortified."
- perpetualworries
Gorgeous, Gorgeous Coworkers
"There was this guy at work, in a different department, who I saw maybe once every two weeks. He was beautiful. So beautiful that every brain cell in my head fled the moment I saw his glorious face."
"He was very polite and friendly too, so when he would walk past, he would smile and say hi. One time he did that, I spilled a whole can of red bull over myself trying to say hi back and doing an awkward wave."
"Another time I was about to go back inside when the hi came, and I was so dazzled by the smile that I forgot that doors need to be opened and smacked face first into it. That godd**n smile."
- asharkonamountaintop
Something About Pottery
"This is so dumb, but we were at a pottery shop painting pottery and talking about books."
"He asked me what I liked so much about romance novels and I said, 'For me, it's the LONGING. Wanting what you can't have, fighting yourself and the world to get it anyway. That's the stuff.'"
"There was nothing bad about what I said but I was so embarrassed to have shared that particular tidbit. We've been together for a year and a half now, he's everything I ever longed for."
- Suitable_Ad_6911
Double Oops
"Hit her square on the head with a tennis ball by accident. She had to go see the nurse."
"Another girl I had a crush on in high school. I sat next to her and could feel that I needed to fart, so I held it in. Bad move. It came out as a prolonged squeak, and she turned her head and stared at me, disgustedly."
- GrandPerspective5848
We've all had some embarrassing moments in our lives, especially around people we have crushes on or would otherwise like to impress.
But at least for some of these Redditors, they were able to turn their embarrassing stories into happily-ever-after tales.
It seems kids are being encouraged and pressured to choose a career at an earlier age every year, and often the information they have to base their decisions off of isn't the most accurate or transparent.
Unfortunately, a lot of people pursue the dreams they had as a child, like to be an artist or astronaut, only to discover all the hard work they'd put in was for a job that fell desperately short of their expectations.
Redditor American-pickle asked:
"Did you ever obtain your 'dream job,' only to realize it wasn’t actually what you wanted? Why did it not live up to expectations?"
Working from the Air
"I always wanted to be a flight attendant. Then I actually was one. No thanks, ever again, but for a few years it was fun, and then it just became a series of indistinguishable hotel rooms, and it wasn't worth putting up with the passengers anymore."
- oy-withthepoodles
Too Far From Home
"I always wanted to be a part of the music industry but didn't want to be a performer. I went to college for audio engineering and was a live sound engineer/stage tech/guitar tech for about seven years."
"I did love the job and I'm glad I did it, but it was pretty clear after I started touring that it wasn't feasible for me as a lifestyle."
"In order to do the job consistently, you have to basically be homeless and miss everything that happens at home. It wasn't like I was miserable and being held hostage, but after missing enough birthdays and holidays with family and instead spending them with other random stage techs that you aren't super close to, it gets hard to rationalize."
"The days are long, but the pay doesn't reflect that. If it was a show day, I'd usually work for 16 hours straight. I was working with pretty big-name acts, but my day rate was still about $175 a day, and if I asked for a raise, they'd call someone else."
"Everything I did was also as an independent contractor, so my taxes were f**ked to begin with. That was actually what forced me out of doing it full-time, the change to the tax code in 2017 pretty much ruined my career. I went from paying $600 per year to paying $4,000 in one year."
"When I quit, I still kept doing it on the side for a few years with some of the local audio companies I worked with coming up, but it paid way less than touring, which already didn't pay a lot. After about two years and the beginning of the pandemic, I walked away entirely to focus on my career as an electrician, which is a much better fit."
"I miss the experiences, but I don't miss the lifestyle. Again, I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad I don't do it."
- DeltaBearlines
A Little Too Quiet
"I worked a lot of physically demanding jobs during my twenties and had these recurring fantasies about working in a store, sitting all day waiting for people to buy something, and having all that free time."
"Well, a couple of months ago, I found that job. Great pay, some benefits, great bosses."
"But every day it's slower than the last, and weirdly enough, I come back home tired from doing almost nothing all day long, the f**k is with that?"
"Now sometimes I fantasize about going back to my old job, where I would end up covered up in sweat and dirt but at least there was a feeling of accomplishment."
"So dumb, I hate it."
"Edit to Add: Yes, I tried to use that free time on something educational. First, it was programming, and then knots, not sure why, and then I got bored and started Portuguese to 'learn how to learn,' so I could move to more serious subjects and stop abandoning interests."
"I'm planning to study English formally instead of picking it up through memes, but I never get that right motivation or discipline or mental state to actually do it, to do anything at all."
"I just... play mobile Mobas for hours."
. MaeSolug
Camping for Work
"My first job out of college was as a forestry field tech. Turns out camping is way less fun when you worked 10 hours, don't have cell service, are on a random flat spot you found, and there's no one to talk to."
"Now make that eight days in a row, your only water is in jugs in the work truck, and you're covered in grime and wearing the same clothes for the entire time."
"Now I get to stay in a cabin during the field season. Having running water, a bed, and four friendly people on the crew is a godsend. I am so much happier just having company and running water, 'adventure' be d**ned."
- Mirrorflute88
That Living at the Zoo Dream
"All throughout childhood and college, I wanted to be a zookeeper."
"When I was finally offered the internship though, it took me less than a week to realize I couldn't stomach it."
"It's a lot less 'playing with and training cute animals' and a lot more 'cleaning up the vilest messes and being bombarded with the absolute worst smells on planet earth' than I imagined."
- duneden9
"A pony kicked me and gave me a concussion and I got fired for it, lol (laughing out loud)."
"It makes me laugh now. But I was a Junior Zookeeper and they just would tell me to do random things with no training or supervision."
"I had never even seen a horse in real life. I was cleaning its stall and from behind pushed it softly and told it to move outside."
"So in response, it broke two of my ribs and launched me into the gate and I got a concussion, and then it came over and bit me while I was puking."
- MaloPescado
Boring License
"I never really enjoyed driving but always wanted to learn to fly. So I dropped 10k on a pilot's license and found out flying was just driving with up and down added."
"Weird was how quickly a childhood dream turned to 'meh.'"
- thecoolerllcoolJ
It's Not All About Helping Animals
"I dreamt about working in Veterinary Medicine my whole life. When I finally did, I ended up traumatized."
" It wasn't the blood, the abuse, or even the euthanasia. It was how we just didn't talk about it."
"Bad day? Don't talk about it. Got hurt? Don't talk about it. Rude pet parent? Don't talk about it. Burnt out? Don't talk about it."
"I felt so alone in situations where having support was essential."
- lilybear032
Playing with Trains
"When I was younger, I desperately wanted to work on the railway as the money was great, and I really loved railways and everything in that world. I eventually managed to get a job as a welder with a local firm."
"It was f**king w**k. Permanent nights, working every weekend in all weather, with equipment that weighed an absolute tonne that had to be loaded up dark embankments. I was working with thermite and explosive gases, usually after pushing all the gear about three or four miles down the track."
"One Christmas, I worked a shift on a site where a guy was killed the previous weekend after getting his arm chopped off by an excavator. They had a collection box in the site cabin with a picture of him and his young kid on it. F**king heartbreaking. And to top it off, everyone I worked with was a complete and utter [c-word]."
"F**king s**t job."
- CommentOne8867
Working in the Science Lab
"Working as a chemist in an academic research lab."
"Academia is full of narcissistic nutjobs that pretend like their research is the holy grail of their field when it's actually practically inconsequential. The stakes are so low that the results don't matter and everyone is just scavenging for what little funding they can pull together for something nobody really wants or needs."
"The amount of pettiness, sabotage, and frankly fraud is rather pathetic. But they face little to no repercussions because, again, nobody cares."
"Which is why I now do research in a corporate lab."
- AbortionSurvivor777
The Renowned Music Teacher
"I am a teacher and when I first graduated college, I couldn't decide what age range I wanted to teach. My first job was ages four to twelve in orchestra."
"At first, this was amazing, because I could guide the same students from beginners to graduating, but I quickly learned that the 4-12 position was supposed to be a three-person job and not a one-person job."
"I, unfortunately, had to quit because I was so overwhelmed and my school wouldn't hire anybody else. I lasted six years and I don't regret it, but I also don't miss it..."
- karaoke_knight
The Glamourous Life
"To answer the original question, sort of. I got close to it. Close enough to see what that life would actually be like. And it sucked."
"It turns out, I don’t like working with celebrities. They’re kind of annoying clients. It’s not fun and glamorous. It’s unnecessarily stressful."
"And I don’t want to be a famous stylist or famous anything. It makes people weird. Mark Ruffalo is only normal because he hasn’t figured out he’s famous yet."
"I still enjoy doing hair. And I still like people, for the most part. So I went with a more low-key path. I’m very happy with my choices. Sometimes on the way to your dream job, you have to make adjustments."
- friendlynbhdwitch
Hopefully an Isolated Incident
"I got my dream job as a designer of skiing magazines, but then my workload doubled with no raise, the raises I was promised never came, all of the people I liked working with left, and things just got gradually worse."
"I left three months ago, and they still haven't been able to fill the position because they're offering a wage that was low nine years ago for half of the work."
- partial_birth
Teaching Isn't What You See in the Movies
"Teaching at a college."
"I love my field and I love research. It's easy to ramble for hours on end about a topic. The passion and curiosity I held for my discipline, I thought, would make me a good instructor. What I did not expect was how much hatred, contempt, jealousy, and sabotage would come from the administration."
"'Oh, you're enjoying teaching an entry-level class with 30 students? We'll raise the cap so it has 75 enrolled. Have fun grading until you cry each week!'"
"'Oh, you want to be an expert educator in one area? Then you get to be the (unpaid) consultant on *all* department exams on that topic. Enjoy re-writing 7 midterms for your colleagues with one week's notice!'"
"'Oh, you haven't had a raise in six years? The football coach *needs* to be the highest-paid person in the state. If you ask for a cost of living increase again, we'll set the students against you by claiming inflation-adjusted raises for instructors would result in doubling tuition costs for students!'"
"And so many of the students see the courses as box checking and are burnt out from previous bad educational experiences. I don't blame them, but no matter how hard I tried to be kind and share my excitement for the subject it felt like throwing a dandelion into the grand canyon of despair."
- Clever_Mercury
The Truth Behind Graphic Design
"I always wanted to be a graphic artist. I wanted to pass by billboards that I designed, print ads I made, a portfolio with all my paid work, and case studies. I even centered my major around it."
"When I got to the professional world of it, I found out it wasn’t as fun as it was when it was just a hobby, not even close to how I thought it was going to be. The sleepless nights, the deadlines, moving goalposts brought by irrational revisions and indecisive stakeholders; it’s draining."
"I shifted careers and started a job as a backend software developer. I find it more enjoyable. If the code quality passes and it works as expected, then I’m off the hook. No 'Can you try a different font? I just wanna see it,' or 'What happens if you switch this and that? How is it gonna look?' types of stuff."
"Fast forward, and I’m in an architect and designer role now. Best decision I’ve made for my long-term well-being. I still do graphic design, but it’s for my passion projects now."
- abmendi
Plot Twist!
"I worked for a small non-profit doing work that I was super passionate about. I thought it was going to be a dream job. In reality, I was super overworked and underpaid. And being such a small organization there was lots of interpersonal drama that I was just not into."
"I now work a more 'corporate' job, but it’s still work I’m passionate about and makes a difference. I’m getting paid over double what I made previously, my workload is manageable, and I am way less stressed. I also really like my coworkers and boss, AND I work from home full-time."
"The job I was unsure about wound up being the dream job."
- littlepinch7
Like anything else, careers are often portrayed in our social circles as something that's wildly different from actually living the life of that profession. How teachers, doctors, and zookeepers describe their days at the front of a classroom full of starry-eyed children is hardly the same as when those children later walk into those jobs as an intern or new-hire.
Fortunately for some of these Redditors, they were able to find adjacent work that better suited their needs, without leaving behind the full dream they'd been chasing.