People's first memories vary wildly in age, emotional attachment, etc.
For me, my first really clear memory was from when I was about four.
An uncle decided it would be hilarious to put on a super realistic werewolf mask and chase me around his apartment.
For whatever reason, he found my terror genuinely funny.
I'm almost 40 years old now and still incredibly uncomfortable around him and don't speak to him.
Reddit user CJRecycle wanted to see who would share a little of the past.
What's your first ever memory?
For a lot of people, their first memory was far less werewolfy, but just as emotionally intense.
Others had simple sweet seemingly-unimportant little moments.
Check out the kinds of responses CJRecycle got.
Whistles And Giggles
"I was maybe 2.5. I had been moved to a bed still in the nursery room. My brother was in his crib. He had a stuffy nose that was whistling when he would breathe. We both thought it was funny so he'd intentionally breath through his nose to make it whistle. Instead of sleeping like we were supposed to be we were just laying there giggling."
- scarletnightingale
Lone Ranger
Giphy"Lying in bed with my parents, choosing a name for my soon-to-arrive little brother. I would've been 3 and a bit. My parents did not opt for my suggestion of "Lone Ranger."
- Cthuglife
Sudden Wave Pool
"About a month after my fourth birthday, a pretty large earthquake happened in the Puget Sound area that I explicitly remember because I was in a swim lesson at the time, and the pool turned into a wave pool. I'm now about to start a PhD in geophysics, and you'd better believe that anecdote was in my admissions essays."
- alienbanter
Shocked Into Existence
"4 years old, put a pair of scissors in the VCR and shocked the hell out of myself. Will never forget that feeling. I guess you could say I shocked myself so bad that my consciousness came into existence, lol."
- jamiousfluke
Kinder Egg Snuggles
"I was sitting on the floor. Doing absolutely nothing and just staring at a door. 10 seconds later my dad comes through that door and hugs me. He puts me down and gives me a Kinder Surprise Egg."
- BrawlerIzKraja
Mom Forgot A Year
"It was my 3rd birthday but I was trying to convince my mum it was my 4th so she would let me start going to kindergarten."
- justt-a
Hamfeet
Giphy"I remember looking at the bottom of my foot and saying "wow my feet look like ham" and I will. Never. Forget. That."
"I was probably five."
- dartsnarf
The Post-Surgery Accident
"I was three years old when this happened. My mom had surgery and her bladder was still under the effects of anesthesia, so she couldn't pee. She also felt nauseous, so she was kneeling by the toilet. She finally threw up and wound up pissing herself at the same time. She started crying, and I really wanted to comfort her, but my grandma ushered me away. We laugh about it now, but at the time it was very worrying and sad for me."
- CarsonTheSlyer
The Peaceful, Safe Feeling
"Sitting on my front porch on a Saturday morning, listening to my mom sing along to "Carolina In My Mind" by James Taylor. It was raining and the front door was open so she could keep an eye on me while she cleaned the living room. I was probably a couple of months shy of 4 years old. Mostly I remember the sound of her singing and the sound of the rain and this super peaceful, safe feeling that is kind of the epitome of my early childhood."
- katiesue64
No Other Kids Would Ever Be There
"I was a pretty sick kid and spent much time at a children's hospital. Going in to one surgery, I remember being wheeled in and telling the doctor (who looked like my Dad) to tell my Dad I loved him. I also remember playing with another super young kid in the Sesame Street play area (room?), but no other kids would ever be there. Turns out the kid had AIDS and no other parent would let their kids play with him (I learned later on.)"
- TooManyDogsHere
Way Smaller Than In My Memory
"Sitting in a round, huge window at an airport watching the airplanes."
"I recently flew from this airport again. Those windows are way smaller than in my memory. Still sat in that window again. That was a strange feeling."
- SecretSummerMidnight
A Movie Star
"One of my favorite early memories is when I saw a black man for the first time. This was back when Iceland wasn't the tourist destination it is today. A cruise ship came into port and the passengers came to see the town and were walking past my house where I was playing in the garden. And there he was - a black man. I had only seen coloured people on TV before and I stood there wide eyed, mouth hanging open and STARING at that poor man."
"I then ran inside to tell my mother; it was like I had seen a movie star."
- Ultrahawk
Plot Twist
"I remember stepping on a nail sticking out of a hardwood floor as a toddler. I limped to a woman sitting on the floor, and I sat in her lap while she put a bandaid on my foot. Found out twenty years later that she was the woman my dad had an affair with."
- dalupa
Floating Baby
Giphy"People probably won't believe me.. but I legit remember floating over a kitchen table, watching a microwave finish heating something and it being fed to me.. it was the house I grew up in, I remember every detail of what was in front of me, what I felt, what I was hearing.. only to realize I was "floating" because I was in my moms arms. I legit remember being a baby."
- Kokumei
Midnight Bananas
"I woke my dad up late at night because I wanted to eat bananas. He drove me to supermarket at midnight to buy them. I remember him carrying me into the shop in the middle of the night. He passed away when I was only 5, so I have very few memories of him but this one is the first and most special."
- user_is_name
Looking Back...
"I remember throwing a stone at a window to see what happened. The window smashed to pieces and I got yelled at. Looking back, I like to think that I got unfairly penalised for conducting a pretty complex scientific experiment."
- cardboardshrimp
"Your parents should feel lucky they didn't have me for a kid. I opened the back door and threw the contents of the liquor cabinet onto the concrete for the satisfaction of watching it smash. Would have been about 3 at the time. As and adult I now understand why they were so pissed off about this."
- dod6666
Pure Joy
"Being 3 years old dancing barefoot in the rain with my sister. It was pure joy."
"My wholesome memory is walking down the road to the cow pasture with my grandfather and laying in the grass looking at the clouds. It was a beautiful day."
- elst3r
"I have the exact same memory. A 3 year old sitting on a piece of carpet covered in a blanket with my sister watching the rain for the first time ever. We lived in an area where it didn’t rain much. Pure joy is an understatement."
- Freesoundjo
HER
"Sitting on the stairs telling my mother it was my birthday. She insisted my birthday was actually three days later. When three days later came, she told me my birthday passed. My mother has narcissistic personality disorder. She literally will change reality in her head to suit her needs."
"If my birthday was inconvenient for her, in her mind it was not that day. When that inconvenience passes, she will revert to the truth. She will not know she is doing this. If you have experienced this, feel free to PM me. It's unfortunately far too common."
- petgreg
The Upgrade
new kids on the block dancing GIF by Jacob ShwirtzGiphy"I remember the layout of my parents house before they moved when I was about 3. I also remember us visiting the new house and eating pizza on the day of the move and being excited that I was upgraded from a crib to an actual bed and have a room to myself."
- frisky_cupcake
Impressive that people can remember some of these!
What's your first formative memory?
Let us know in the comments.
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.