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People Share Their Best Unexpected Celebrity Encounters

Celebrities are just like us, believe it or not, and it's always really exciting to run into one of your idols.

The people here share their favorite positive celebrity encounters.



Bill Nye

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When we were in the 11th grade, my friends were getting high in a park when Bill Nye pulls into the parking lot. We thought it'd be funny to go ask him how to make bombs.

He said that he would love to 'show us how to blow ourselves up'. Can't say I blame him for that.

-Ability2canSonofSam

Robin Williams

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Robin Williams was an awesome guy.

17 years ago, my Dad's dad killed my grandma and then himself in a drunken rage. We held a massive service at the church my dad's mom attended in San Francisco. It was obviously a hard night for my dad. My parents stayed late in the city to clean things up and spend time with family. It was about 2:30 AM when we finally started making our way home, but before leaving the city, my dad wanted to stop and get a doughnut at some random doughnut shop we passed by.

We all went inside, and lo and behold, Mr. Robin Williams was there, sitting in a booth eating a couple doughnuts and drinking some coffee. He noticed our well dressed, solemn looking crew walk in, and pretty quickly after we sat down to eat the delicious treats, he came walking over. Now, I admit fully that I do not remember what he said to us, but I do remember what he looked like and I remember him Introducing himself as Robin (Which is my aunt's name, I think thats why it caught my attention).

He ended up joining my family at our table and (as my Dad always said) he just started making pleasant conversation, which quickly turned in to him making my parents smile, and soon after he had us all laughing. I couldn't tell you what they laughed about, but I remember seeing my parents laugh and smile for the first time in weeks. My dad remembered that so fondly. He always said it was exactly what he had needed in that time, and that he appreciated the way Robin Williams went about it. It wasn't that he was a celebrity, he was just being a nice guy who saw a bunch of sad folks and realized he could probably make a difference. And he did. I loved hearing my dad tell that story because you could tell that moment meant a lot to him. I'm sad he felt the need to go.

-TrueAmurrican

Arnold Schwarzenegger

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Threw up on Arnold Schwarzenegger's foot outside a restaurant. His response was an immediate: "It's ok kid, I throw up every time I eat here too." His wife then proceeded to run inside and grab me water and a bit of bread to settle my stomach. They were both incredibly nice about it all.

-youllgetoverit

Larry David

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I spoke with Larry David when they were filming Curb Your Enthusiasm in NYC a few years ago. He is exactly like he portrays himself on his show. He ended our conversation with "I think we're good here."

-Run-to-the-sun

Jimmy Fallon

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I met Jimmy Fallon during a showing of The Book of Mormon musical. Some friends and I had amazing seats during the first month of its initial run in NYC and during intermission we noticed that Jimmy Fallon was directly behind us. My friend is ballsy as can be and just struck up a conversation with him which I of course wanted in on. First thing I noticed is he is much taller than I had expected. He was at least 6' and his face was a bit huskier than what it appears on television. He also has a deeper more gravelly voice too. His face was caked in makeup so I imagine he had just finished up filming his show.

He was polite and we got a picture with him but I could tell he really wasn't interested in talking with us. That was until we told him that we were former LDS missionaries.

Then he got REALLY excited and started asking us all sorts of questions about the show, if we were offended, if we were still missionaries etc. He just lit up after that and we talked for a few more minutes.

The best part was he had a Book of Mormon cast member on his show a couple months later and he mentioned he had met some "Mormon missionaries" in the audience who loved the musical. It was great to hear that he remembered us!

Jimmy Fallon is a pretty nice guy.

-Flaghead

Adam Sandler

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I'd really like to talk about Adam Sandler. I'm not (nor ever was) a fan of his movies, but I worked at a large Manhattan restaurant which he frequented often - this was several years ago.

He was always accompanied by an entourage of his friends - never really celebrities, I got the impression they were childhood, high school, etc friends.

In any event, they would order nearly everything on the menu. I'm talking, literally, hundreds of dishes and proceed to gorge themselves silly. All the while, Adam would barely eat as many, many people would approach and ask him for a photo, a handshake, or a joke.

He obliged everyone. He was patient, kind and compassionate to every person that came up to him. He never ate, he just took his crew to town and held court, kindly and humbly, making sure to thank everyone who approached him for taking the time to say hi, congratulate him on a movie, or what not.

This particular restaurant was frequented, at the time, by celebrities quite often and they varied in their appreciation of the public. Adam Sandler was in a class of his own. I have always maintained that he is the nicest guy in the business out there as he proved it again and again.

-indie_cysive

Snoop Dogg

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Snoop Dogg. I opened for him in 2013 and he came up to the booth during my set for a smoke and a chat. Really sound bloke.

-towa666

Cher

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I'm going to say that I have met Cher a few times, not only did she remember my name after a few years, she had asked about my, then sick, mother, who had since passed. Cher seemed really upset by the news and it made me choke up, because in my opinion, here was a true diva, and she remembered me.

She was NOT a diva at all, in the bad sense, just a totally cool person.

-Theres_A_FAP_4_That

Steve Buscemi

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I met Steve Buscemi outside of a comedy club in LA. My friends and I saw him smoking a cigarette alone and I went up to him and said "Hey, you're Steve Buscemi. Can I have a hug?" Then he said "You want a hug?" He shrugged and gave me a hug!

-anonymous

Chris Pratt

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My girlfriend met Chris Pratt on a red eye flight from LAX to Orlando. He waited around and took selfies with everyone waiting for their bags while he waited for his. She tried to take the fastest picture ever because she was embarrassed to bother him and he made sure the picture was good before she left.

-lucusvonlucus

Tim Tebow

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Chatted briefly with Tim Tebow at a restaurant once. He was nice enough then, asked me what I did and how it was going and all that jazz. Then, i saw him maybe a month later at another restaurant, and we happened to make eye contact. As he was making his rounds through all the fans and whatnot, he stopped by where I was sitting, addressed me by name, remembered my job, and asked how that all was going. I was blown away. I don't give a crap about all the religion stuff he does, but he's just a genuinely good person.

-Bullwinkle_J_Moose

George W. Bush

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I met George W. Bush at an event. I realize most people hate him here on reddit but he is one of the most charismatic fun-loving guys I have met. He gives and does so much for charities it's ridiculous. He has a fantastic sense of humor and even without the camera's rolling wouldn't bash Obama. His wife was very gracious and the picture of how a first lady should be.

-Richard_Fitzsnuggly

Nick Offerman

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Nick Offerman was the dude. Met him after an American Ham show at his (now our) alma mater for a pic. He got down on a knee for it because I'm in a wheelchair, hence lower to the ground. I sort of joked that he didn't have to do that, and dead serious he goes, "son you should make everyone take a knee for you." Took me a while to figure out he wasn't joking, he was saying have enough self respect to ask people to accommodate you. That guy is operating on another plane of existence.

-TheManInsideMe

Gary Sinise

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Gary Sinise. He does free concerts with his band, the Lt. Dan Band, for veterans all over the country. I saw him perform in Ft. Riley, KS, a few years ago. It was about 100 degrees outside and humid as hell, and they never let the energy level drop or seem tired or anything. At one point, there was a problem with a speaker or microphone or something and they had to pause to fix it, and he immediately took off his guitar and stepped down to the crowd to sign autographs and talk to people. He's incredibly sweet and kind, and he does so much for veterans and families.

-nerak1138

Hugh Grant

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I was walking down the street in Hollywood once and completely lost. I asked a guy for directions, he was super nice and pointed me straight back to the strip where my tourist self wanted to be...

Didn't realize until he started talking that it was Hugh Grant.

-SethandBeans

Pharrell

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I lived in the same building as Pharrell in Miami. I saw him on a regular basis (we took the same elevator up to our units). Not only is he one of the nicest celebrities I've ever met, he's also one of the nicest people. He is incredibly soft spoken and humble. And his kid is adorable and well mannered. His bodyguard, Ben, is also really cool. My friend who also lives in the building accidentally took the service elevator and ended up in the hall behind his unit. Ben was there, and ended up giving my friend a whole tour of Pharrell's apartment. Pharrell also gave him a signed set of shoes. Every interaction I've had with both of them has been great. I couldn't have asked for better neighbors.

-this_is_not_the_cia

Lady Gaga

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Lady Gaga. I worked room service and the bar at a hotel she was staying at. She ordered room service and I brought it up. She was in casual cloths and was extremely nice and courteous and tipped well. It seemed like no more than 30 minutes later she was at the bar all Gaga'd out talking with some of the regulars. Not a spectacular story but it caught me by surprise. When I heard she was staying I expected her to be a super diva like some of the other ones we had stay.

-caboose88

Johnny Depp

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Johnny Depp was actually super nice.

Was walking to work one day, I believe on the day Pirates III came out, and he was down in the tunnels. Got to walk up and shake his hand, talked to me about my job, shared some insights about working as Jack Sparrow, and how he always is so thrilled when he gets to be the character.

-UCMCoyote

Aaron Paul

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Aaron Paul.

Sat next to him at a radio head concert. And he was sitting next to Pierce Brosnan as they were filming together at the time. It was also before the end of breaking bad.

I have met quite a few Celebrities as my girlfriends father was quite famous back in the 80s (still kind of famous) so I have met them at parties.

None have been nicer than Aaron Paul. I was kind of freaked out and he was suck a nice guy. Funny and he went in for a proper hug when I told him I was a huge fan of breaking bad. He also trolled me a little telling me how he can't wait until fans reacted to his death scene at the end of the series.

-Raider1987

Robin Williams 2.0

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I also met Robin Williams, very friendly and funny. More so then I expected honestly. I went to a dinner with my father and a couple of his co-workers at a fancy Italian restaurant when I was about 18 and about halfway through the meal a few of the co-workers got drunk and started to scream at the waiter in Italian. In response the waiter, and eventually a few other workers, joined in and were screaming back at the co-workers and then in between all of them came Robin Williams gesticulating wildly and screaming mock Italian at both sides until they calmed the hell down and started to laugh at Robin Williams and his antics instead.

When everyone went back to their seats I walked up to Robin Williams, thanked him for defusing the situation, and did the usual "I love your work, It's amazing to meet you" spiel and then he began to ask ME questions about my life, how I am, my age, what I wanted to do and was very friendly and caring. When I was walking away back to my dad he stopped me and said words I try to live by, "Kid, take a good look at those suits. Don't try to end up like them. If you need booze or drugs to enjoy your life to the fullest then you're doing it wrong."

-CaptainJudaism

Jeff Goldblum

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Jeff Goldblum. I was working in an amusement park around the time Jurassic Park came out. Was zoning out at my register, and he was standing right next to me, waiting on someone. I did a double take, not quite sure it was him. He just looked at me, gave a smile like he knew I was trying to figure it out, and said "how you doing?" in that distinct voice of his.

Not that this was THAT nice, but pretty nice, and he's the only celebrity I've met.

-R_Sterling

Andre 3000

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Andre 3000.

Met him in the airport back in 2015. Smiled and took pictures with over 30 people, and at no point did he get sick of it. He's a cool guy.

-TheLikeGuys3

Bill Clinton

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Bill Clinton.

Is an absolute boss. I was backstage at an event where a video I had produced was being shown. Clinton was the keynote speaker (after John Oliver, Nancy Pelosi). I'm subtly gawking, maybe 15 feet away. I watch him him chat up John Oliver (and his gorgeous girlfriend of the time) when he suddenly turns and we make eye contact. I look away pretty quickly, embarrassed to have been caught gawking and Clinton goes back to his chat. About 30 seconds later though, to my absolute horror, Clinton excuses himself and makes B-Line DIRECTLY to me. Mind you this backstage is full of A-listers and politicians, and he decides to talk to me, the 20-year-old, nerdy fly on the wall. He extends his hand and says "Hi there, I'm Bill Clinton." This was my first time around a famous person (also it has been suggested, the most famous person ever) and I went full-retard. All I manage to muster is..."Thanks for coming Mr. President." He smiles, says thank you to me and walks away.

So...about 10 minutes later, he is surrounded by secret service getting ready to go up on stage. They're reading his bio, and he's talking to Pelosi who has just come off stage. She leaves him and then all of a sudden, he turns around and looks at me AGAIN! Then he raises his hand and motions for me to come over. I FREEZE, I can't believe this is happening...until one of his aides leans down into my ear and nicely reminds me "Get over there! The President wants to speak with you"

So I walk over to Clinton and he puts his arm around me and hunkers down and says "Son, that John Oliver guy is pretty funny. I like him a lot. I didn't get to see him speak though. I wanna make a joke about him, what did he talk about?" At this point, I am panicking. I was certainly there to see him talk, but my brain is frozen and I can't think of anything he might have said. I look around for someone to bail me out, but no one is there and they are finishing his bio, so he's about to go up on stage any second. Suddenly I kind of just snap back into reality, realizing it's up to me so I told him something. You can actually find his speech with the joke on YouTube.

-mczyk

Val Kilmer

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Val Kilmer was pretty cool. Tried to get his autograph for my cousin (we were kids and she loved him) and realized I didn't have a pen or paper. He pulled out his wallet and signed it on a dollar bill with a pen his buddy was carrying.

-stacksuponstacks

Peter Dinklage

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I met Peter Dinklage at the Premier of Pixels (It was free, I don't want to hear it) and he was a really cool guy. I didn't get to speak with him for very long, but he seemed genuinely grateful when I told him I loved his acting in everything from Elf to GoT. He even apologized for having to cut our chat short to get to his seat, but he did say that it was a pleasure talking with a fan who wasn't just gushing at him. I would love to meet him again, if only to bask in the glory of his epic beard.

-PalladiuM7

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

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

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"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.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

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.