Top Stories

People Share The Saddest Thing They Ever Witnessed In School

People Share The Saddest Thing They Ever Witnessed In School
Ulrike Mai from Pixabay

*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.

School is a chaotic zoo of adolescents jammed into a building day in and day out no matter how different their lives outside the school day might be.

But every once in a while, a tragedy strikes and it sheds light on someone's home or personal life. Suddenly, a school peer becomes the object of some very heavy emotions across their fellow students and teachers.

A recent Reddit thread asked users to share the saddest thing that they ever witness or heard about during their time at school.

Redditor SINFULOfficial asked:

"What's the scariest or saddest thing you ever dealt with or saw at school?"

Completely Changed 

"An old school friend found his mother dead due to a heart attack in his bathroom. From one moment to another he was like a whole different person."

"He became very emotional, dropped out of school a few years later, began doing drugs, even went to jail."

"Hope he is doing better today."

-- JeXXaY

Tragic Exploring 

"In college a student went missing for months until he was found by a custodian. Turns out he was alone drunk and stumbled into an electrical room."

"He electrocuted himself to death."

-- Trustme_im_a_doctor

Holding It All In 

"Saddest: Junior High. Kid was getting mercilessly picked on because he was wearing the same clothes for like the 3rd or 4th day straight. Super quiet kid didn't say anything back."

"We later found out he hadn't changed because his older brother who was his only caretaker had killed himself the prior weekend."

"This 7th grader was the only one left who knew and he was so emotionally f***ed he just silently carried on with school until a neighbor figured out something was wrong."

-- Vi1eOne

Irreparable Blow to Reputation 

"Saddest thing... In High School, a girl came to school and got stomach sick during class and literally sh** herself and had it come out the back of her pants. You just don't ever have people NOT think of that about you for the rest of your life."

"She was a nice girl and it was sad because she never had hardly any friends after that and eventually transferred to another school."

-- wlane13

Discovering the Conclusion as a Group 

"Kelsey Smith."

"She was a year ahead of me in high school. I didn't know her very well but had a couple classes with her and chatted maybe a handful of times. She was one of those people that pretty much everyone knew."

"Then one morning shortly after the end of the year my dad told me that 'some girl' from school had gone missing. I did what any teenager in 2007 would have done and jumped on Facebook, and found a whole deluge of posts from my friends asking for any information about Kelsey."

"Then I remember I was in the airport with a bunch of school friends getting ready to go on a class trip to Germany when we saw on the news in the terminal that a body had been found."

-- Magicmechanic103

Out of Her Control  

"The saddest was probably my neighbor. When she was in 5th grade, early middle school, she was trying to save up money for something, I don't remember what. Her parents were huge stoners, had enormous weed plants growing in their back yard, I could see them clear as day."

"One day she brought a gallon size bag full of weed to school and was planning on selling it to one of the older kids. The school found out and called the police."

"I remember coming home and watching them raid their house taking out plant after plant. Both the girls ended up in foster care for a long while after that."

-- Fuginshet

A Strong Presence Lost 

"There was a severely disabled kid who had several physical and mental disabilities such as extra fingers and confined to a stroller. He had the mental capacity of a infant. Unable to make speech but incoherent noises."

"That kid always had a smile on and was gleeful and no one said anything bad about him. They'd read to him or greet him as his liaison would push him about."

"One day I saw an ambulance leaving, his liaison was crying and running to her car. He had gone into cardiac arrest and died upon arrival to the hospital. He was only 9."


"I was in special ed at the time and the hardest news to break to the more severe kids was our friend had passed away. The staff breaking the news to the kids."

"Sadly the school didn't do a day of morning for him because the principal was tired of kids using them as excuses to skip class and f*** around."

"I still can hear my friend smiling making his loud cooing noise."

-- rickrolo24

Scariest And The Saddest

"Grew up in a pretty poor district. Got some that people would probably consider 'worse' (vicious fights, drugs, guns, teacher on student violence and vice versa) but here's a couple that stick out."

"Scariest: High School. Kid assaulted a girl at a party. Following Monday her bf caught him in the parking lot. He beat and stomped him ruthlessly and actually imprinted a Nike Swoosh in the kid's face. I saw the aftermath and that kid was a mess. His lips had somehow split and peeled back exposing all the teeth on the left side of his face. Facial reconstruction for sure. No idea how he did after that day."

"Saddest: Junior High. Kid was getting mercilessly picked on because he was wearing the same clothes for like the 3rd or 4th day straight. Super quiet kid didn't say anything back. We later found out he hadn't changed because his older brother who was his only caretaker had killed himself the prior weekend. This 7th grader was the only one left who knew and he was so emotionally fucked he just silently carried on with school until a neighbor figured out something was wrong."

"Edit:: Jesus this got more attention than I expected. Some updates b/c questions keep coming."

"Assaulted kid from the first story transferred but I don't know anything else. His attacker who already had a record was locked up. The girlfriend's assault was sexual but definitely stopped short of what most would call rape. This kid had a track record of being a bit of a creep though."

"The kid from the second story was gone from school way before we found out what happened. I was in the class he was in and I know he was gone shortly after the week he was getting harassed."

"I don't know much more about anyone involved. I just happened to be walking back into the building right as story #1's fight ended and only heard about the kid from #2 through friends. I didn't witness any bullying but I had a friend in the class with him when he was being harassed."

– Vi1eOne

Suddenly Gone

"A lad in the year above me who I went to primary and secondary school with (not a friend but I knew him). One PE lesson he just dropped dead (undiagnosed heart condition), he had been a pretty athletic guy as well (I think he did cross country running)."

– Krakshotz

Tragedy Of The Twins

"There was a pair of twins in my highschool. One of the twins died from some disease, don't remember what. Few months after that the other twin committed suicide."

– mr_sto0pid

A Slashing And A Police Bust

"Scariest was a routine hallway fight that went sideways. It was between two girls, out of nowhere one of them pulls out a box cutter in the middle of the fight and gets a clean strike right across the other girls face."

"The saddest was probably my neighbor. When she was in 5th grade, early middle school, she was trying to save up money for something, I dont remember what. Her parents were huge stoners, had enormous weed plants growing in their back yard, I could see them clear as day. One day she brought a gallon size bag full of weed to school and was planning on selling it to one of the older kids. The school found out and called the police. I remember coming home and watching them raid thier house taking out plant after plant. Both the girls ended up in foster care for a long while after that."

– Fuginshet

The "Weird" One

"A talkative kid, who I later learned was considered 'weird,' one day came up to me outside the gym, during physical education class. He and I had never spoken before. As we waited for the gym doors to open, he pointed to the wall and said, 'imagine if someone was thrown super hard against that surface! They would stick, bleed and then sliiiiiide down and die.' I was taken aback, but was told that he often said this sort of thing. That weekend, and sorry to continue with a sad theme, yeah, he hanged himself in his back yard."

"This was a long, long time back. I didn't know how to react then and I still don't."

– Chorb77

A Devastating Year

"In grade 9, a friend of mine was playing with a hand gun and accidentally shot himself through the neck. He didn't survive the night."

"Shortly after that, 27 days, another friend of mine got drunk at a party, and his older sister teased him about how much trouble he would be in, because she would tell on him. This went on for hours. He snuck away from the party, ran home, and shot himself. He died instantly."

"Again, 29 days later, the second boy had a lifelong friend that became so depressed over the loss of our friend that almost completely stopped talking. He came to school, but never participated in classes. One day on his bus ride to school another student told him that he would get in trouble for a squirt gun he had at the bus stop. And he did. He was expelled. He went home that day early of course. He was found that night dead. He had shot himself."

"This was all very early in the school year. The whole year was sad. We were all devastated teenagers. The entire school had less than a hundred students, we all knew eachother. The whole school was quiet all year."

– Bammer_D

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/

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

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

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.

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.