People Who Have Actually Gone Through With A Marriage Pact Share Their Story
The "I Do" came with some extra paperwork....

Nobody wants to die alone. Though we may not admit it, we've all thought about having a love story that lasts until the end of time. Sometimes many of us don't get that lucky. So we start to peruse our sea of possibilities in those nearest and dearest or those acquaintances that are a looker. Forging a pact so that you have guaranteed company later in life isn't a terrible idea.
Redditor u/devilsdickpic wanted to hear from all the marrieds out there who are willing to share about their love story by asking.... Who here has actually married their "Let's get married if we're still single by 40" person, and what's the story?
Life is weird.
Our agreement was if we were both single in 2000. I kinda had a crush on him anyway. He found a lovely girlfriend, they got married. I was invited to the wedding and was kinda heartbroken.
He had two kids with his wife. I later found my husband (and I wouldn't trade him for the world!). Now my pact-mate is divorced from wife and dating one of my best friends from our college friend group.
Life is weird. part_house_part_dog
I Like the Idea....
Not married, yet. I knew he had a crush on me for a while, but I wanted to be on my own for a few years. I didn't believe in love at the time and was against it due to childhood trauma.
Drunkenly told him one day that we should get married if we were still single by 35, and he said he was down. After a while, I realized that he was the one that was always there for me/did right by me/showed up/would leave food and giant bouquets of my favorite flowers on my doorstep/icky romantic stuff/etc. I could go on.
There was no doubt in my mind then that he would treat me right. One day, I decided to spend the night and I haven't slept a single night without him since (except for work trips).
I've become immune to his loud, incessant farting, we've gone full weird on each other, we finish each other's sentences, and we can't wait to pop some babies out. This man was not only friend-zoned, he was bro-zoned. Now, I want 10 of his babies and can't imagine my life without him. This thread helped remind me I could've missed out on something great like this had I not given it a chance. Vyxs
+3
My senior year of high school I made a deal like that with a friend of mine. If we were single by 30 we would get married. Well we ended up getting married 3 years later. Schwabyboi
Renewals.
Made a deal with one of my long time friends that I dated in middle school. I moved, and we kept in touch periodically. While I was in college, we "renewed" the deal, but then I was in a long term relationship, and she eventually got into one as well. However, as mine ended, tragically, her BF of 3 years took his life. It really messed her up, as she was the one who found him afterwards.
Our friendship never really was the same, and she hasn't dated anyone since; only hookups but refuses to settle down or try dating again. Our "renewal" ended this past fall, and I tried seeing if she wanted to meet up since it had been over a decade since we last saw one another. But just seems we've drifted too far apart. Dezimieren
Festival Love.
My aunt! She met a friend a long time ago at a festival and always said i'm never going to marry someone and he thought the same so they said if we ever meet again. Years later they both saw each other at the same festival again and now they're married for a little over a year :). anonymousdutchperson
So Close....
My best friend in high school and I had this. Everyone thought we were joking (both girls) but I think we were pretty serious. We are still best friends and both in very fulfilling relationships with men who understand how close we are and honestly I'd love to live in a giant house with all 4 of us forever. Might not actually be married but it's pretty damn close. catdoc417
Sad Ending.
We dated in high school but kept in touch. But we lived in different states and she kept a lot of secrets about how bad things were going in her life. She passed away from drug abuse last year. I'm 37.
I don't know if I should feel like I dodged a bullet or feel like I failed her as a friend. JDK002
Marcus. I miss you.
My person ghosted me a few years ago (I just turned 36 today).
We were enemies in elementary school, frenemies in middle school, then friends who dated very briefly in high school. Continued to talk and catch up with one another in our twenties... then nothing. I can't even find him on social media anymore.
To disappear so completely after all of these years worries me: is he in jail? Dead? I'm not looking for him out of some fear that I did something wrong to offend him to make him want to cut me out of his life, I just miss our friendship... and if something has occurred (positive or negative) that motivated him to move on without me in his life, I would like to know. I still look around the internet for him very so often, Catfish-style, just in case I do ever find him again so I know that he's alright.
I hope you see this someday, Marcus. I miss you. stephlovaaaa
Back Again....
Woman I met in high school and dated off and on agreed to get married to each other if we were still single at 30 years old. When we were both 29 we got engaged to other people. We've always been friends and kept in touch so my fiancee and I went to her wedding and she went to mine. We'd run into each other from time-to-time and our kids attended the same school.
Fast forward 20 years and I run into her at a coffee shop. I ask her how her husband is doing and she said they've been separated for a while. She asks me how my wife is and I tell her we've been separated for a while. We are now dating and have been for close to a year. She's a wonderful person and we both feel very fortunate to be with each other. yert1099
Fingers Crossed.
This is kinda blowing my mind, because I didn't think this truly existed. I have a friend who says when we're 36, if we're not married, we will be... I used to have a crush on her when I was 16 (now 27) so we'll see!!! Hahaha, ill update in 10 years.
Edit: I have a girlfriend, but I'm shocked that this actually happens and plays out among other people. LordNesak
Thanks Facebook....
I did. But the age was 30. Friends through high school and went to college apart. Using IM one night (yes almost 20 years ago), we were chatting. She'd just had a bad break up and I was striking out. I said let's get married if we're single at thirty.
She posted on Facebook that she's single one week after her birthday. My birthday was a week later and I sent, "Gee, we're supposed to get married soon. We better go in a date." Married seven years and one kid so far. Kdj2j2
Fast forward 20 years....
I may be a little late to this party.... but, my wife and I went to high school together and never dated. We were movie buddies and I had a little crush on her, we did make out one time at a party. I was a year ahead of her, and right before I graduated we made a pact to marry each other if we were single in the distant future, can't remember what that date was, but... Fast forward 20 years.
We reconnected on social media and 2 years later we were married. About 5 years later we were going through some boxes and I found a "cheesecake" photo of her from 1987 with a note written on the back saying how she can't wait until our wedding day. We had both forgotten about the pact until we found the picture, Then about six months ago, my parents cleaned out their attic and gave me a box full of stuff they saved.
Inside was a note from my ex in high school and in the ramblings of teenage angst she mentioned that she had a vision of "my now wife" and I together. Odd for an ex to say but we had a good laugh about that. Tomorrow is our 12th anniversary. Thanks for letting us walk down memory lane for our anniversary. shadattack
Me!!!!!!!!
Me! We agreed on 30 though. We had dated in high school and into college for 4 years. Life just kind of made us go separate ways (like, countries apart). Would occasionally keep in touch throughout our early 20s. Both of us went through multiple bad relationships and made a joke that if we were both single by 30, we would get married.
He came home for Easter one year and asked me to go on a date for old times sake. We made it about five minutes into the date before we remembered how much we were missing out on with each other and what we had had. Got married the following year!
Now we're 5 years in with a 3 y/o and sitting on the couch, each of us on Reddit, and debated who should post this story.
Edit: Thanks for quadrupling my karma, guys! 😁 mkgordo
Love to Her....
Opposite happened to me. Made a pact with a girl I had been friends with for several years. We were both awkward and I felt a good pair, of friends at the very least.
I brought it up, she agreed. Went out and found a husband about 6 months later. I was happy for her, but sad for me. After that she stopped taking to me and I haven't spoken to her in 20 years.
I hope she's still doing well. thewurstunicorn
The Grands....
My Grandma had jokingly said she'd ask some guy she knew to marry her the next leap year if they were all single. When it became apparent that he was expecting this to happen she asked my Grandpa to marry her instead. Sugarnspice44
Almost a Decade In....
I did! The age was 35 and we kept bumping down the age to 27. It took us a long time before we got the courage to tell each other that we wanted more than being friends. We were so afraid of the other one not feeling the same way, but life has worked out better than I imagined. We celebrate 9 years together next month. SendWine
Only for Love.
A friend made this proposition to me several years ago. I said, "No, even if I'm still alone I will only marry for love." About a decade later we got married. Things are good and we didn't even have to wait until we turned 40. shorthomology
across the country....
I had this agreement with a good friend who lived across the country (be each other's fall back plan when I turned 30). Whenever we were both single, we would be on the phone basically all day. However, when one or both of us was dating someone we would fall out of close contact. This went on for a few years.
After a bad breakup for me, he said that he was coming to my part of the country for Christmas to visit family and that maybe we should not date other people between now (September) and then. After that, there was no question of not being together even before he actually arrived at Christmas. That was almost 15 years ago. This year is our tenth wedding anniversary and we have two boys. sblade77
A ton of Caring....
I have family friends who did that. Two couples who knew each other since college and always stayed close, emotionally and geographically. They made a pact that they would always take care of each other. When one husband and the other's wife died within a year of each other in their early 70's, the two remaining spouses moved in together. Not a romantic situation, just a caring one. Taney34
Let's do 30!!
Yup. 30 was our agreement, but we found ourselves both single in our 20s and thought, what the heck, let's give it a shot. Dated for nearly 5 years, and we're about to celebrate our 13th anniversary of marriage. UsernameObscured
- People Break Down The Things We Should Enjoy Before They're Gone - George Takei ›
- Married Couples Explain What They Wish Single Folks Knew About Relationships - George Takei ›
- Daters Reactions To A Partner Who Wants To Wait Until Marriage - George Takei ›
- People share stories of weddings. gone terribly wrong. - George Takei ›
- People Who Married Their 'Better Than Nothing' Partner Describe How It's Going - George Takei ›
Between our parents' words of wisdom and the annoying cliches we hear daily, life lies to us a lot.
The advice we get from our family and life seems like a good thing; at the very least, it's well-intentioned.
However, it's not always true.
My parents told me I could be anything I wanted. What they didn't mention was that not everyone has an affinity for science, and there's every possibility I won't be a physicist. That one was not fun to learn.
Redditors know all too well the reality of the world proving to us that life has many lies, and were eager to share what those lies are.
It all started when Redditor GandalfGreen95 asked:
"What do you consider life's greatest lie?"
Mother Knows Best?
"That I'm the most handsome boy in the whole wide world. Wrong again mom"
– nthroop1
"Human nature makes it so we always see our children this way, otherwise we might drown you in a tub. :P"
– ToxicAdamm
"No YOUR wrong mother always knows best"
– toastpandaYT
We're All Messes
"That other adults have it all together."
"No, just no. Everyone has some part of their life that is a sh*t show."
– Deleted User
"Lol looking back I got so much advise and looked up to so many adults from work in my late teens early twenties that were barely functioning adults. I just followed along cause I assumed they knew better and I was just a young kid."
– Talk0bell
"Married 17 years, 2 kids, a house, cars, dog, job with retirement plan but I DO NOT feel like I have my sh*t together. Everyday is a stress filled gut-punch of doubt and remorse."
– pinchhitter4number1
"I am a 40something married mom. We own our home and car. And yet, every single day, I feel like I am role-playing. I feel like I am a child playing house. The older I get, the stronger this feeling becomes. Maybe it is because my personal life as far as friendships, social outings, etc. has become very small. I spend 90% of my time in my home, on my phone spaced out playing games or surfing reddit. I barely leave my home, especially in the winter, and when I do, it is because I have errands or yet another doctor appointment or antibody infusion for breast cancer. I barely talk to anyone even online. I know there are days where the only time I speak out loud is to either discuss something with my husband, usually about the kids, or talk to the kids about what they have been up to."
"I chose all of this. I love being home and being with my husband and kids. I find it difficult to connect with other women and form friendships. All the friends I do have live minimum an hour away and I no longer drive because I don't trust myself (thanks to chemo and other medications I severely lack the focus required to drive. Last time I tried I backed into my mother in law's new car. I simply didn't see it even though it was easily seen). I have a good life as far as comforts and care and sharing my life with my husband and children. But I severely lack socializing, and all that brings."
"The isolation plays a huge part in how I feel like I am a child role-playing. I can totally understand how and why some think we are living in a simulation. Somedays feel exactly like that."
– metastatic_mindy
Soulmates
"That there is one person in the world that is perfect for you."
– Spodson
"Well statistically there probably are a lot of people that would be perfect for you. It's just that we will probably never meet them."
– creptik1
"Right? You married your soulmate huh? And she just happen to grow up and live in the same town as you? How lucky!"
– poopstinkss
Dirty Politics (Which Is Just Politics)
"Politicians are there to represent their constituents..."
– Hughja*s_60
"The lie there is that the constituents are the voters. Their real constituents are the people/companies that pay them"
– cormac596
We All Need To Pay Rent
""The money didn't matter.""
"Is not a lie at itself, but it needs to be clarified. The money is not all in the world, but it really matters. It can be more comfortable a bad moment or difficulty, or save you from a big problem. And if you don't have any mayor problem or so, is always good and healthy have some for any surprise the life have for you."
"I hate when I'm worried or mad because the money is barely enough (and always stuck with credit to complete), and say me "money didn't matter", "money came and go". I know money is not all what I must worries and must put time and attention in other important things, but I can't keep that important things (like my wife or my cat) if I have not money for the basics of the house or some emergency."
– MexicanAugustus
Life Isn't Fair...
"The belief that life is fair is a lie, and it's a particularly toxic lie, because people who believe life is fair tend to believe that everything which appears like injustice must actually be secretly fair somehow, and so they rationalize injustice."
– Bizarre_Protuberance
"People who believe life is fair also tend to be the ones benefitting from the unfairness."
– RedBoxSet
Hard Work Doesn't Mean Much
"Hard work = good life."
– iammeanbecauseiamsad
"If that sh*t was true every woman in sub-Saharan Africa would be a millionaire"
– kilbus
"Hard work=more years a company screws you and robs you out of your pension until you retire at 70 or 80 with only memories of working your life away as you slowly die."
– GandalfGreen95
Who Really Cares?
"That the people in charge care about you. They in fact, dont care if you or your loved ones die."
– Muhjigger11998823
"I care about my guys. Corporate doesn't."
– xs81
"They care that they'll have to hire and train a new worker if you die. They don't care about your loved ones one bit."
– Busy-Ad6502
The Company > The People
"The HR Department is there to protect the employee's interests."
"BS......it's there to protect the company from lawsuits"
– MJN91075
College Isn't The Be All End All
"Going to college = success. The fact that so many people go to college, get their degree, and then get a job that has nothing to do with their degree "
– Deleted User
"That you need to go to college and get a degree to be successful. You really don’t, you can still find success without a degree, IT IS NOT REQUIRED."
– the_comedian-kid
Found Family Is Better
"Family is everything.This lie has imprisoned so many in abusive situations"
– Vixen35
"Yuuuup. "Blood is thicker than water" is another shiny gem."
– fleakie
Life Isn't About A Formula
"You must go to college, get a job, find a partner, buy a house, retire and die."
"That formula and the expectations that it puts on us is the basis for so much loss. All that matters is the time we have left and how often we get to spend with those that love us."
– OtterLakeBC1918
"Specifically if you work hard in school, get good grades, go to uni, you will get a good job and be able to achieve all this easily."
"Yeah it doesn't work like that. I switched career in my 30s and make more money now a couple years later than I did with 10 years under my belt working in the industry I graduated into (construction management) and am infinitely happier."
"Find something you enjoy doing for work, don't immediately go to university because your parents and teachers say you have to, try a few different things until something sticks, then work out if you need a degree from there."
– codemonkeh87
Infallible
"The one where your parents are infallible. You don't realize it until you get older or become a parent. They were holding it all together by the skin of their teeth just like I am."
– potatoboat
"This one hits me hard. I grew up in a very authoritarian family and was basically indoctrinated that my parents had it all together and knew it all. Early adulthood was hard because I was living on my own and was afraid to make decisions without checking with them first."
"Many years later and now I can see all the faulty logic for what it is. Wish I had figured that out in my 20's."
– snap802
"Remember when you were young and you thought your dad was Superman... Only to grow up and realize he was just a drunk guy who liked to wear capes."
– Kebb
Yeah, I remember learning that one myself!
People Explain How A Crush's Behavior Completely Destroyed Their Infatuation With Them
People are fickle.
Changing our minds about attraction is part of our DNA.
But sometimes following the fickle feeling is the way to go.
And that is ok.
You can be in total lust and love but if the person you're fond of kicks a puppy... kick them and run.
Some behavior is unacceptable.
Redditor JackHasSmellySocks wanted to hear about the times we've had a change or heart or lust, so they asked:
"What did your crush do that completely ruined your infatuation for them?"
I'm easily turned off, so my list could be long.
Listen
"Not listening whenever I would share a hobby of mine but insisting me into listening to theirs."
GuzzDoritos
"Currently dealing with this with my partner."
bobsandgobs
Terrifying
"We had been going out for a few weeks and on the way home from a party, we went to get McDonalds and he paid for me. I have an allergy and they got my order wrong. I asked and it wasn't a problem, they made me a new burger and told me to keep the incorrect one as they couldn't resell it."
"I offered it to him, he didn't want it so I said I would just bring it home to give to my housemate so it wouldn't go to waste. He was completely fine with this. Then a homeless guy came in and started asking at the tables for change. I offered him the burger and he took it."
"My date went crazy at me for giving away the burger that he had paid for (even though he was okay with me giving it to my housemate?) and followed the homeless man, shouting at him to give it back. Then got the guy kicked out of the restaurant."
"It was terrifying. He went from easy-going and charming to furious in a split second. Then when he sat down again, he acted like everything was normal and asked me if I wanted to go home with him! It was a side of him I hadn't seen before. I'm glad he showed his true colors early."
CalmDream0
Tears
"This girl I had a crush on early on in high school told me that she recently broke up with her last BF because his dad passed away suddenly, and, as she put it, 'wouldn’t stop being depressed and a f**king crybaby about it.' I didn’t talk to her much again after she said that."
FuzzMcBeefy84
Evil
"Participated in the murder of a homeless man. He and a group of his feckless friends cornered a homeless man and bludgeoned him to death, apparently for no reason at all. And they were caught almost immediately, because there were a couple of witnesses out of sight and a camera."
bearded_dragon_34
Creep
"Tried to pour vodka into my drink when I wasn't looking."
Fylak
"Same thing happened to me! Too bad the guy was an idiot and didn't get very far after that."
ArcticFox46
Well that is a Dateline episode waiting to happen.
Gross
"Told me that the reason she hung around me was to get close to my very tall best friend. They dated for three weeks before he dumped her."
Eel_OBrian
On top of that...
"Ohhh. This post made me remember a really hurtful one. When I was 17 at my first year at uni I made friends with a girl in my year, it wasn't like instant crush but she was funny and I grew to like her. One day we were going home after classes together (turns out we lived pretty close to each other) chatting and joking."
"And at one moment she says: 'I really like talking to you just about anything, I would have jumped you right now if you weren't so ugly.' I was a really awkward teenager: severely underweight, skin problems and some other complexes. On top of that very introverted - so it outright killed my remained self-esteem."
"Thing is that she actually didn't realized effect of her words, it was like a passing comment to her and wasn't said with malicious intent. That fact actually made these words even more hurtful."
Haoross
'Everyone does it'
"We went somewhere and she and her friends pulled into all three handicapped parking spaces. There were plenty of other spots, but these were the closest. None of them were handicapped in any way. 'Everyone does it,' she said. No, no they do not."
ctdca
"If 'everyone does it,' then those spaces wouldn't have been open in the first place."
Princess_Moon_Butt
"Growing up with two disabled parents, I unfortunately can confirm there are a lot more people like her than you would think. There isn't always a disabled person needing that parking spot, but when you're disabled, there's always an a**hole who beat you to it."
softcockrock
It worked out OK
"She mentioned her last name. I recognized it. Haha. It's probably a good thing. Found out her grandmother was my grandfather's older sister. It worked out ok. We were on a double date sorta deal with her friend and my friend. We found that out pretty early in the night. We literally laughed our a**es off for 15 minutes, making jokes and traded dates. I ended up dating her friend for about 4 years."
New-Sir-4662
Trash
"He littered. Just opened his car door and dropped out a McDonalds bag on the ground. That killed it right there."
WackyShirley
The Larry
"Turns out she had absolutely no filter. She took pride in 'saying what was on her mind,' which was kind of cute at first, until I realized that she literally meant it, every thought in her head spewed out of her mouth no matter who could hear it. Not a day went by where she didn't get into an argument with someone over some insensitive or insulting comment that she made. She was the female embodiment of Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm."
raxtich
These are all valid reasons to drop someone if we're being honest.
Has this ever happened to you over something small? Let us know in the comments below.
We'd be lying if we said we haven't all made a poor decision in our lives. Whether it's letting a questionable ex back into our lives or pairing that shirt with those jeans, we all have a cringey memory to look back on.
But most of us don't have memories of inventing something terrible, let alone one of the worst inventions ever.
Redditor NPT1506 asked:
"What is the worst human invention ever made?"
Not Helping
"That little 'Press to Open' tab on Kraft Mac 'n' cheese boxes. That has been an effective way of opening those boxes exactly zero times."
- illusorywallahead
Caffeinated Pollution
"K Cups. The pollution of all that single-use plastic."
- AlabamaPostTurtle
Teeny Tiny Bits of Plastic
"Glitter. It N E V E R goes away."
- Mrherpaderptherapy
Going Obsolete
"Planned obsolescence."
"My printer one day just up and stopped working claiming I needed to replace a part. As it turned out, that part is meant to stop working when the printer reaches 5000 pages."
"I took the part out. There’s no damage or wear on it. So I ordered a 'reset chip' that reset the page count for that part to zero. Cost me $20 vs $110 for a replacement part."
"Later on, I found a way to enable tech mode on my printer to reset the page count for any part I want. Then again, the printer is old, and the WiFi stopped working a few weeks ago, requiring me to use direct WiFi, which sucks."
- ChronoLegion2
It's Getting Personal
"Serious answer: chemical toxins that have caused severe health problems."
"Personal answer: HP printers. F**king pieces of s**t."
- Unadulteredmilk
Unholy Packing Solutions, Batman
"Styrofoam is pretty abominable in my book, especially for things like takeout food that’s destined for the trash within minutes of use."
- tokage
'Nuff Said
"Child beauty pageant events."
- SuvenPan
Profit for Who
"For-profit prisons."
"Which leads to state prosecutors who are beholden to them. This increases the probability of being charged with a crime you didn't commit, under the plan that you're too poor to defend yourself and will plead out."
"They can't make a profit without prosecutors feeding them an ever-increasing supply of prisoners (plus parolees and probationers in "offender-funded" programs). It's a recipe for the corruption of our justice system."
"Private prisons are arguably foreign enemy assets."
- omgnesh
Addictive Pay-to-Win Games
"Pay to Win Games, especially mobile games."
- JustARandomOrange
Questionable Hobbies
"Cigarettes. They never should have been made."
- UrMooother
Transformative Gases
"Possibly leaded gasoline. It poisoned billions and left multiple generations more violent and less intelligent."
- dcdttu
Reminders of War
"Landmines. They don't just disappear once a war is over. They'll stay around to kill some kids playing. Awful things."
- CaptainMcAnnus
Bodily Weapons
"I’ll say Nerve Toxins/Chemical Weapons. I find few things worse than a weapon that literally gives you the slowest and most agonizing death possible."
- RidingRiptide
Chemical Warfare
"Chemical Warfare."
"While nukes are horrible beyond imagination, humanity learned to avoid them as a way to ensure their own survival, it's wise, but egoistical nonetheless."
"Chemical weapons on the other hand traumatized the f**k out of the survivors and the ones who called the attacks and got to see the aftermath. They were so horrible that many soldiers deserted after using them and many went mad."
"Throughout the last century, we successfully banned almost all of those: the 1925 geneva protocol, the 1980 chemical weapons convention, among others, but I'm afraid when the next generations start to forget the horrors of chemical warfare, it will resurface in the likes of what's happening with fascism."
- raduannassar
From modern inconveniences to climate changing inventions to the literal stuff of war, there are serious contenders here for the worst invention in human history. It would be hard to choose just one.
Children believe what their parents tell them about the world to be true because they don't know any better.
That doesn't mean they have to like what they are told. But a good child listens and will act accordingly to be in their parents' good graces.
But sometimes, adults abuse their power and say whatever it takes to get a desired response from a young one–even if what they're saying may not be entirely true.
Curious to hear from those who've eventually become wise to the ways of a parent or other adult figure, Redditor i_cant_have_dairy asked:
"What's something you were told as a child by adults, that you now realize is complete bullsh*t?"

Parents hoping to prevent a bad habit had interesting things to impart.
Advancing Bone Degeneration
"Cracking your fingers make you get arthritis."
– Haik11
Stroking Fear
"If you keep masturbating, you'll go blind."
– K333N4N
Interesting things were said in school but not everything stuck.
The Threat That Didn't Land
"HS teachers: 'That stuff won't fly in college" College: ✈️✈️✈️✈️'
– Comfortable_Wish_930
An Easy Pass For Today
"I got this BS all through school. 'I'll let this slide, but don't think you'll get away it next year...' "You can do this now, but don't think it'll happen in Middle School...' 'Don't expect to get away with this in High School...' 'Yeah, we'll let this go in High School, but if you think you'll get that sort of accomodation in college/the real world...(evil laugh)'. "
"Eventually, I caught on that it was more dependent on the teacher's attitude rather than anything else. Small example, in high school I couldn't remember the name of a town on a test, but I could remember everything else, even drew the diagram the teacher had the board in the margin, just to prove I had paid attention that day. Still got marked wrong. In college, similar brain fart, couldn't recall a place name, but I put as much description as I could otherwise. Professor gave me half credit."
– GrandSpecter
The Wrong Impression
"DARE activities in primary school gave the impression that grownups would always be giving away narcotics for free. lol"
– MiguelinaKnudsen
College Myth
"That a degree would open all the doors and knowing about politics, history and general stuff would make me an interesting person and that socializing was a waste of time. Nowadays I work for a big4 but I have the personality of a boiled potato. And they have the nerves to ask why I don't have a girlfriend or more friends at 27. Teach your kids social skills. Studying is not everything."
– davidmt1995
Certain behaviors get fact-checked.
The Thing About Respect
"That you gotta have respect for you elders.... Don't get me wrong you gotta have respect for everyone but I'm only gonna give what you give me. If you are a butthole ima be a butthole."
– Ok_Win7358
There Are No Stupid Questions...Maybe
“No harm in asking', boy did that get me in trouble…"
– khamelean
Combating Bullies
"Re: bullies."
'Just ignore them and they'll go away.'
"No it doesn't. It just makes them laugh so they do it more."
– j-c-s-roberts
Getting Old But Never Wiser
"That adults know what they are doing."
"31 and I feel like a chicken with his head cut off."
– Brontolope11
You Are Not What You Eat
"That you can't be full unless you eat bread. Carbs actually make you hungrier. Protein fills you up."
"Also: if you drink coffee, you'll grow a tail. Don't ask me where I'm from."
– Senishte1992
I was a very rambunctious and obnoxious kid, so maybe I deserved the tactic my mother resorted to using to get me to be on my best behavior.
Whenever I acted out, my mother used to convince me she would call the "mountain people" to come back and retrieve me back to the community from where she claimed to have initially found and adopted me.
One time, when I was incredulous and stood my ground after being a pain, my mother told me the mountain people were going to take me back.
So she called them up by using our rotary-dial telephone and faked a whole conversation with them about how unruly I've been and that it was time for me to return.
She sent me to my room to start packing–which I did. Unbeknownst to me, she rang the doorbell to indicate they had arrived to take me away.
When that happened, I profusely apologized to her and promised to behave so she could send them away.
That was the last time she used that effective tactic and the last time I think I was at my worst in terms of my rebellious behavior.
We laugh about it now but back then, I was terrified.
But I can't discredit her for her creative discipline.