You can't save everybody. Heck, life is a constant battle in saving oneself. And because most of us relish every opportunity life gives us, or at least try to make the most of it all, it's disheartening when we see others squelch all the chances they are given. It's always most sorrowful when it's those who are blind to their own awesome potential.
Redditor u/ghettoterrorist wanted to hear how some have been most disappointed by others by asking.... What is the most stunning way you've seen someone throw their life away?
Oh GURL!
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Former friend of mine got her master's degree and a great job working for a police department. She married a meth head burglar for some reason and she got into meth herself, and ended up in prison for storing his burgled goods in her house. Orange_Paisley
Drive Safe.
My high school's valedictorian went to Harvard and graduated with a double-major, and was on the road to success when he enrolled in Stanford Business School for his master's.
During his second week of grad school, he got absolutely pooped-faced, got behind the wheel of a car, drove the wrong way down the highway and plowed headfirst into a taxi, killing one of its passengers. He's now serving six years in prison. blueeyesredlipstick
Weeded.
My brother's friend decided to go to college to become a weed dealer. Took out loans, didn't go to class, and ended up dropping out within a semester.
I still have no idea why he thought he had to go to college to sell weed to college kids. It's not like they'd check his student ID. PoliticalScienceGrad
Meth = Death.
Cousin of mine got a full ride basketball scholarship into a small college. He decided not to go.
He made the decision to get into meth instead, became a dealer and got his girlfriend addicted and pregnant, and managed to get his two sisters addicted as well. Guy went to prison twice, the mother of two of his meth babies killed herself recently. His father (who was a relatively decent man) dealt with all of this by stress eating himself to death. Kraelman
Damn.
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My alcoholic FIL got a double-lung transplant, but he was drinking again within a month. He died within 2 years of the transplant never doing anything but drinking and wallowing in solitude.
Edit: I should add that this was not only a tragic waste of a 2nd chance at life, but also essentially a waste of those donated organs. WeAllHaveOurMoments
Face to Face!
It's not incredibly stunning, just kind of eye opening how bad some people are at running their own lives.
My brother's ex-wife broke up the family in a way that caused a lot of pain and stress. She's terrible at confrontation, so instead of talking to her husband, she decided to just stop coming home and sleeping at her new boyfriend's house. He was left with two toddlers and no clue what his wife was up to until a few weeks later when she finally confessed.
Then the next 18 months was her trying to get back with him, insulting him, hoping they get be separated but stay married for the insurance, saying she was going to be homeless if he didn't take her back, and so many more things.
She makes $60k a year and lives in a big city/suburban area, yet she can't seem to do anything to take care of herself (find housing, get insurance) or her kids. They are finally divorced and my brother couldn't be happier. forman98
Snapped.
One of my best friends, a dude I talked to daily had almost died in his 30's and had to have a kidney transplant. Didn't smoke, drink or do drugs. He had a successful business, two beautiful teenage daughters and was a very chill person, went to every cheer competition and ball game for the kids, etc.
He had marriage problems-his wife was very closed off and was cheating. He would talk to me about it but never acted like it was a big deal more of "if she stays she stays, if she goes that's fine too."
He took the whole family on vacation to Mexico, when they got back he killed her and then himself. To this day I don't know why. I know his daughters and they are doing great but I would never ask them something like that. They found them when neither parent answered the phone. I wonder if he didn't have more medical issues and just "snapped" but I'll probably never know. ben6119
Could Have Had it All!
My wife's brother. He was awarded millions after an industrial accident. Wasted it in record time, married a woman older than his mother and had to flee the country because he had build up a massive debt within an insanely small time frame, and the wife had assaulted a doctor while in the hospital during a routine checkup. By now he has fled two more countries because he builds up new debt to everyone and everything he can.
He could have had it all. Instead he wasted it. INTRUD3R_4L3RT
Broken.
Had a friend who I played football with and he was a great defensive back, had a chance to go to college for free on a football scholarship, one night he was drunk and got into his car drove for about 15 minutes, crashed and broke both of his legs and got addicted to drugs. Never came back to sports. Groviv
Sid's Way!
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Knew a punk rocker who idolized Sid Vicious. So he quit school, moved to the streets of downtown Toronto and started shooting heroin. needles_in_the_dark
My best friend did the same thing back in '96. Only it was Vancouver and he was a writer with this notion that you "can't be really great writer unless you've done heroin." He lasted 18 months. He was an amazing writer before he started doing drugs. bobo76565657
Service.
This kid I knew joined the Marines, got through boot camp and was decided to be a Recruiting Assistant while he waited for space in his MOS school to open up (I met him briefly after he had just came back from boot camp, dumb kid tbh). That was all fine and dandy though.
Then, for whatever reason, he spent thousands (like all of his money) of dollars on strippers and started doing coke.
That's a dishonorable discharge in the Marines, aka he screwed up his future real bad and is now used as a cautionary tale by the recruiters. itgetsweird_
Party Over.
Friend of mine partied late one day till 6 am and then went home, hung himself up. : He hid his depression and suicidal thoughts from all of us and no one ever even suspected that he would do such a thing. knockthatpsych
Beautiful Soul.
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My best friend... Late best friend.
He was always troubled. He was half blind, middle school drop out, tons of mental health issues... Substance abuse. But his soul was absolutely beautiful. 10/10 amazing person.
He met and fell in love with a woman who made him better in every way. She got him his first pair of glasses... His good eye overcompensated and he had super vision in it. His bad eye began to work.
She helped him get his GED. He enrolled in college.
She helped him cut back on his drinking and almost all of the substance abuse. He met and connected with a therapist, and unpacked his childhood.
She took him to get his learner's permit and he was actually turning out to be a good driver despite his eye... He was so happy.
Then one night, they had separate plans. He decided to go on a bender.... And hung himself. He rose above all the bull life handed him up until that moment. He called so many people and yet didn't call anyone who would stop him. No note, no outward signs.
It's been 8 years next month. He would have been someone more amazing than he already was. But one night of drinking did him in. 2k_0h_VI
Bankrupt Soul.
My dad and uncle used to own a manufacturing plant alongside my grandfather. After he passed away, however, the two began to have a falling out over who should succeed him.
Then, in 2002/3, my uncle literally barred my dad from entering his own business, as he had taken sole control of the company without even telling him. This led him into a slippery slope of depression, even going so far as to attempt suicide when I was just 4 years old.
However, my uncle made some awful management decisions (just in time for the 2008 recession), and thus bankrupted the company. After that, he had a nasty divorce with his wife, and basically spent the next 8 years drinking away his fortune.
He was found dead in an alleyway 3 years ago by my cousin. What's even worse is that this was when he and my dad were just starting to reconcile after years of little to no contact. Really sad to think that it could've ended on a high note. bballconnor
The Monkey.
I was in a long term rehab with a guy who left the program early. He ended up murdering someone in a state of methamphetamine psychosis, and is now doing life without parole in Texas. He's currently 25 and was 23 when he was sentenced.
He was a bright, talented, and articulate person who just couldn't get the monkey off his back. eternalrefuge86
The Ballerina.
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Breaking her leg while doing a stunning ballerina dance. She couldn't dance again, so she became a drunk. Saphedak
Just Call In!
A (now former) coworker I had showed up to work blackout drunk at 11 AM. Nobody had any clue where he was until Security found him passed out in the elevator.
Like, dude ... just take a sick day. We've both done backup work for workforce, and we/they don't care if you've got hasahangoveritis or are still smashed from the night before, just call in. Why the hell would you not just call in? Comma-Kazie
Hookah/Meth Menu.
Not super stunning, but something I just couldn't understand at the time. My brilliant freshman roommate on full ride scholarship and with a 3.8+ GPA in an engineering field got addicted to Diablo III our sophomore year and promptly failed out with a sub 1.0 GPA. He moved back to his hometown and now he does meth and works in a hookah bar. I don't know man, just mind boggling. MediocRedditor
Keep Some Friends Far.
Had a former friend who smoked weed who started playing with stronger stuff. He would come to a party and drink whiskey straight from the bottle, steal my insulin syringes or cash left lying around.
One evening he collect-called me from jail and said he wanted me to pay money to a bail bondsman, he'd been caught as a passenger in a car where the driver was transporting heroin.
"It wasn't even my heroin, it was my friends!" he said.
I told him, "Yeah, doesn't it suck when friends drag you into the mess caused by their own bad decisions?"
And I hung up. Bedbouncer
No Oxy. No!
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Meth. A cousin had a stable job, a child, and lived in a nice rented house with friends. She was going back to school to get a better job. Then she was in a car crash and hurt her leg. The doctor prescribed oxy for the pain. For 6 months weeks she was on oxy then the prescriptions ran out. She made some very bad choices to deal with the withdrawal. Now her child is with relatives, she stays with different relatives and acquaintances, no job, no money. The worse part of her situation is that she has no desire to change it. Meth will do that to you. allthedifference
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/