Students Share Red Flags About Members Of The Student Body Who Went On To Be Criminals
Students Share Red Flags About Members Of The Student Body Who Went On To Be Criminals
[rebelmouse-image 18360524 is_animated_gif=Most people did. It's not such a surprise when we hear our high school bully is in prison for taking it too far. But it is interesting to hear the genesis of the beast.
TakinShots asked Reddit:
Here are some of the anecdotes.
Awful
[rebelmouse-image 18360525 is_animated_gif=YES there were warning signs. From the age of 10 till 15 I went to school with him. It was a small school. I knew he was dangerous. He bragged about torturing animals, I would never be alone with him. Now 25 years later I learn he has been in Jail for the last 20 years for murder. Seems about right
Violent Tendencies
[rebelmouse-image 18359308 is_animated_gif=Had a friend when I was younger that was a little odd from time to time. Invited the kid to my birthday party and he kept shooting my NERF gun at my mother and laughing. I stopped being friends with him after that. In high school, he stabbed one of my other friends with a pencil in the back about three or four times. Fast forward later and he shot two kids. One was in critical condition and one died, all over some herb.
No Shock
[rebelmouse-image 18360526 is_animated_gif=A former classmate was recently convicted of murder, which really shocked me. He was apparently part of a gang who beat up and stabbed another man.
At school they were the "bad boy" type, always skipping classes and getting into fights with other kids. He was always aggressive and violent towards people who he didn't like, including teachers. They were eventually kicked out of school for bad grades and poor behaviour. No one really knew or heard of him after he left school.
The news itself was a shock but looking back, I'm not surprised at the path he took.
Mob Mentality
[rebelmouse-image 18360527 is_animated_gif=Need to say that i don't know what happened to this guy, but back when i was 13 i was in a class with a guy that had bad friends and did all sorts of awful things (vandalism, harassing elderly, stealing, burning appartments). He and his friends got on national news and they all got a 3 month child prison sentence if i remember it right.
The guy himself was what you would say a common "tough guy". He was really full of himself, but when you met him in person you wouldn't think that he was actually doing all these things he did. I even remember that there were times when i was just with him and could just have nice casual talks. But when his friends were close by he was acting cool again.
Dark Undersides
[rebelmouse-image 18360528 is_animated_gif=No? not really. It was out of the blue. Although I wasn't close to the dude, I remember the guy would date the hottest girls and was well liked with just about everyone. He was one of those dudes you'd always be happy to say hi to just because you knew he was a cool guy. People liked him, teachers liked him, girls dug him and dudes would always say wussup to him. He was a charismatic dude and was always fresh with clothes, kicks, haircut, etc etc. I always knew him from a distance and was nothing more but an acquaintance.
He ended up in jail and the partner in crime killed himself.
Lizzie Borden Part Two
[rebelmouse-image 18360529 is_animated_gif=Im from originally from a country area in Australia and went to school with a guy that ended up killing both his parents. There were no warning signs but he was that people noticed but he was a person that generally misbehaved in school and acted out a lot. I think he got life without parole.
Anger Management
[rebelmouse-image 18347332 is_animated_gif=My childhood bully grew up to be a criminal, let's call him.. Albert. Albert was a troubled child from the very beginning in my small home town, no parents- living with Grandma. Now this kid was just off his meds everyday I knew him. Albert loved torturing people by making them squirm, I can remember countless times going to the Counselors office begging to be separated from him or asking him to be suspended and there were times he should have been. I think he threw rocks at me at one point and just got a small smack on the wrist. Fast forward to middle school when this menace is now grown up a bit and he ended up stabbing his own cousin in the arm. He went to juvie and after that I heard he got into selling drugs. Guy was terrible and a punk the entirety of the time I knew him. Heard he was in jail last. So yeah there was warning signs.
Bullying Killed Him
[rebelmouse-image 18353418 is_animated_gif=I was three grades ahead of a kid who went on to commit a double murder, he killed a young mother and her young daughter.
The kid in question lived close enough that he was often among the group of kids playing or riding bikes in our neighborhood.
For whatever reason, this kid was the butt of every joke, he was picked on by everyone, and the bullies really laid into him with gusto. It got so bad at times, that my mother would witness this from the living room window, and come out and shoo the bullies away, even though it was temporary. She patched him up with some bandages more than once.
This kid got so much verbal, mental, and physical abuse from other kids. He probably kept coming around because there were occasions when he'd be accepted ... but once one kid started on the insults, the others joined in easily.
I firmly believe it really helped form the "adult" he would grow into, and I firmly believe his horrible childhood was a big contributor to his moral compass being so screwed up that he would commit two horrendous murders.
Some of you are going to judge me. "Why didn't you stand up for him?". If you think I feel guilt-free on the matter, you're sadly mistaken. We all see things better in hindsight, we all realize things we coulda-shoulda done when it's too late.
I also ask you to consider the timeframe. When he was 10, it was 1984. The "national bullying problem" wasn't even on the radar yet, there weren't anything like school counselors. School shootings were just not a "thing", they happened but they were not sensationalized nationally, and the body count was often 0 or 1 person per incident. We as a nation simply weren't paying attention to bullies or school violence like we are today.
It's sad. News articles say he "lived a life of ridicule" and was picked on throughout his teens and into his early twenties. You probably couldn't convince me that these things, stemming from his childhood, were not a major factor in what made him snap.
Arson Unlimited
[rebelmouse-image 18348646 is_animated_gif=Kid in my class at school when I was six. I was very small, dainty and shy. He was very big for his age and was a year older than me, but was in our class because he'd come from another country where the education system wasn't as good. Kept following me around, trying to hold my hand, pull me onto his knee, kiss me etc. I started having nightmares about him and my mum told the school, so he was moved up into class for his age group and the teachers kept an eye out for me. I moved to a different school a year later when we moved house, but I'd occasionally see him in town and it always made me uncomfortable.
He ended up as a serial killer and hanged himself at 22 whilst in prison awaiting trial. The detective in charge of the case said "he was one of the most dangerous men I have ever met".
He was murdering old ladies, often setting the premises on fire afterwards to try and hide the evidence. Two of his crimes over here weren't picked up as murder at first, it was thought that they had died in the fires. He was caught when he left behind fingerprints whilst killing one old man who had fought back after his wife had been strangled. He attacked and seriously injured a prison doctor whilst on remand.
I was not surprised in the slightest when it came out that he committed these crimes. It was awful though go that the families got no justice, but I'm sure some a happier knowing he's dead.
Don't Do Drugs
[rebelmouse-image 18360530 is_animated_gif=One of my best friends, let's call him Dave, has had some troubles with the law. I've known this guy from the time we were 14 and 15. We're in our early 30s now. In high school, Dave got in a lot of trouble. One of the more notable things he did was counterfeit money on his home computer. He'd print these bills (relatively low denomination), buy something cheap from food trucks and kids fundraising at our school and get pocket the change. One day, me, Dave, and some other kids are playing cards in class when two guys show up at our classroom door asking to speak to the teacher. The teacher immediately stands up grabs a piece of chalk and pretends he was about to write something on the board like he was actually teaching (I laughed hard AF). The teacher speaks to them and say's "Dave, these gentlemen would like a word with you". Dave hands me his pouch and tells me to give it to his brother. Turns out those guys were secret service and counterfeiting money probably wasn't the move. He ended up getting sentenced to some community service hours after going to like family court or something.
Another time, it's Dave's last day in school as a senior. He parties with some guys the night before, drives to school, hits a fence, gets a DUI before school. I don't know what kind of trouble he got in for that but he didn't have to do jail time or anything.
After we'd all graduated he ended up catching a charge because he was on some kind of prescription meds and wanted to drive up the street to get some food. He lights a joint for the ride, puts it out in the ashtray, gets pulled over off a padiddle or something, the cop asks if he was on anything and Dave is like "nah". The officer points at the ash tray and say "what's that". Ooof. I think he had to go to rehab after that.
After this stint in rehab, Dave links up with a buddy who's got construction/carpentry/fixing up houses work in Alaska. He goes out there, and initially he loves it. He's working hard, making money, able to smoke in peace, things are really looking good. After a while, Dave ends up getting work as a dealer in this underground gambling house. He ends up meeting some shady dudes and they introduce him to heroin. Long story short, rehab.
Creepy Men
[rebelmouse-image 18344990 is_animated_gif=Went to college with someone who went on to murder his mother. I don't know that he gave off a murderous vibe, but he gave off a strange, creepy one. He was schizophrenic also, and I think that was beginning to rear it's head while we were in college.
He made people feel uncomfortable. Girls complained about him being stalkerish, peeking in windows, following them home, etc. Always in a catatonically silent way. One day he stood in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders and just stared into my eyes. Silently with an expressionless face. It was beyond creepy. Still I didn't sense anything malicious about him. Just off. Significantly off.
I think I thought "the boy ain't right", and that he needed some sort of mental help, but I didn't think he'd go on to stab his mother millions of times and bury her in his garden.
Another one I met in a yoga class (so not school like you asked, but still). This guy went on to stab his girlfriend to death. Maybe a month after I met him. Oh and he met this girl at a yoga class also!! Bizzarely he actually talked to me about her the day we met. And we met only once. He said something about how he has a girlfriend but they can't be together because she just won't let it. Which was weird. I don't know you. Why are you coming into the ladies changing room and telling me this sh-t, looking like a sad puppy. This guy was so creepy you could feel it in your bones. He had an intense presence. Also showed no regard for boundaries because he came into the ladies locker room and started talking to me.
Now again I didn't think this guy would be a murderer. But I did think this guy would be that creepy stalkery boyfriend from hell type.
Not Smart
[rebelmouse-image 18360531 is_animated_gif=Really minor, but a old school friend of mine (age 7 to 12) is know a small time criminal that is more often in jail then out of it.
He is only 28, but has 3 children from 3 different women. He doesn't have a job, but somehow lives (when not in jail) in a normal house with a "decent" looking car. He does drugs, although I don't know the specifics. He robbed a small store once. And a lot more of that kind of stuff.
As for warning signs? yeah I suppose, he was incredibly rebellious and always wanted to do stuff he wasn't supposed to do. He was also dumb as bricks. But then again, he wasn't the only one and all the others turned out fine.
Odd thing is, I spoke to him like a year back, and he is actually a really nice dude if you know him. Guess he just got steered to the wrong path.
Worst Among Us
[rebelmouse-image 18360532 is_animated_gif=I went to a prestigious law school. My classmate was heavily modified by plastic surgery, and seemed very interested in living a rich lifestyle. She ended up being a very highly paid escort instead of a lawyer. Then married a dotcom bazillionaire. Was convicted of tax evasion, eventually divorced, and I suspect is doing quite well financially.
No surprise at all.
Drugs Are Rough
[rebelmouse-image 18351121 is_animated_gif=Went to school with a girl from kindergarten to graduation. She was fairly popular, part of student government in 6th grade, wanted to go to community college for nursing. She got pregnant pretty young, I think.
She and her boyfriend, who I also went to high school with, showing up in the news for theft, and you can tell by their faces they're into meth or heroin or something. She doesn't have her kid anymore. Lucky for her, her sister is taking care of him.
We grew up in a nice and safe community with a good school district. But yeah, opiates moved in a while back.
Why Does It Keep Happening?
[rebelmouse-image 18359514 is_animated_gif=I grew up with quite several. I find most people you can usually tell what path they are going in life. A few people jump to mind:
One kid murdered his dad. This surprised me since the kid was nice, quiet, relatively shy.
One kid shot two other classmates over drug dealing. The shooter was no surprise. He and I get along well, but he always wanted to act street tough. The victim surprises me since he was a pretty preppy kid.
One kid got in trouble for selling guns and drugs. Pretty surprising since he was a very popular student athlete.
One kid has been in and out of jail his whole life. This is no surprise to me and I avoided him at all costs back then.
Wrong Crowd
[rebelmouse-image 18360533 is_animated_gif=I went to high school with and played football with someone who was shot and killed by police. He was a nice kid but definitely got into the wrong crowd in high school. He wasn't in a gang or anything just made bad decisions. It something you don't expect seeing honesty even if you could see it happening. He was a good kid who didn't deserve to die.
My sophomore year a kid in my grade who I saw everyday and talked with everyday was involved in a murder suicide. That one was definitely odd. He was one of the last people to commit this crime. Very unexpected no warning signs.
People Explain Which Things Blew Their Minds Once They Realized Them
"Reddit User r3tr0gam3r83 asked: 'What is something that blew your mind once you realized it?'"
Every moment we breathe is a moment to learn something new.
What's funny is the more we learn, the more we're shocked.
Some knowledge is so obvious it's stunning how oblivious we are.
Like, "How did I not know this sooner?'
And no matter what I can still be shocked.
Redditor r3tr0gam3r83 wanted to hear about which realizations in life have left people SHOOK, so they asked:
"What is something that blew your mind once you realized it?"
Avocados are not vegetables.
They're fruits, berries to be exact.
Like what?!?!
Colleagues
GIF by Bud LightGiphy"Sometimes it is more important to like your colleagues than the actual job."
"I had shi**y jobs with the most amazing colleagues and had shi**y colleagues and the most amazing job. I'd pick the first every time."
chr989
Star Trekking
"That you could legitimately travel at warp speed through the center of galaxies and never run any real risk of hitting a star. That’s how spread out space really is."
justanotherguyhere16
"Also, galaxies, stars, and even the Universe is constantly moving. I think time travel has been invented, but they can’t figure out the 'space' part of it.
"Yes, they can travel back in time, but relatively speaking, they can’t figure out how to navigate to the part of the planet they want to reach. So when they travel back in time, it’s relative to where they currently are, and end up not moving through space, thus ending up in the middle of an empty vacuum."
theknights-whosay-Ni
Jaws is Old
"That sharks predated the rings of Saturn."
BeardedDominant
"Sharks also developed the immune system that ended up in both dinosaurs/birds and mammals."
csiz
"We don’t know that. We can’t say for certain that the rings are only 100 million years old. It’s still debated."
The_Kek_5000
"I'm pretty sure that sharks are older than trees."
Cayderent
From the Trees
"One day I sat on a tram, passing a river. There was a duck in a tree. I realized I'd never seen ducks in trees. No one else seemed to notice, but I was puzzled. Now whenever I come across something that seems intuitive but I have never considered I call it a duck in a tree."
Ol_Pasta
"This realization happened to me this past year. We apparently have a family of wood ducks in one of the big trees in our yard. Our neighbor said she has seen a duck walking around on a branch. I made it 37 years without knowing some ducks can roost in trees. My wife caught a video of the mama leading like eight ducks into the field next to our house. We aren't even near water."
jwbourne
Artistic Timeline
Confused Eminem GIFGiphy"Pablo Picasso and Eminem were both alive at the same time."
leebon427
"I’d bet a lot of people think Picasso is a Renaissance artist."
editormatt
I admit it. I'm one of those people. Pablo and Marshall, in one lifetime.
New facts are fun.
The New World
Design Loop GIF by xponentialdesignGiphy"They were colonizing the Wild West at the same time as they were building skyscrapers in Manhattan. I always think of them taking place eighty to a hundred years apart. It's wild."
Emilayday
Oh the Power
"Nuclear power plants are just steam power plants that use nuclear reactions to heat the water. There's no fancy magic extracting energy directly from nuclear material. They just boil water and spin a turbine."
RenaKunisaki
"Most electrical generation is spinning a turbine. Photovoltaic solar power is pretty much the only exception, and it's not the only form of solar power. There's solar thermal power, which uses mirrors or lenses to concentrate the heat of the sun to make steam and turn a turbine."
Brawndo91
The Empire
"The Roman Empire fully fell less than 50 years before the discovery of the new world."
South-by-north
"The Romans also had copper wire, magnets, and battery acid. They could have invented electricity hundreds of years before it was actually discovered. But they didn't. The wire was used for jewelry, the magnets as lodestones, and the battery acid was used to clean the rust off of swords."
Kahzgul
"RIP Byzantine Empire. 1453 never forget."
crossbowman44
The Witness
"Owl‘s silent flight. I mean I always knew that but a while ago was the first time I actually witnessed it. Owl came flying towards me and landed only a few feet away and you couldn‘t hear anything. Crazy."
Zealousideal-You-324
"I saw a barn owl swoop down and catch a mouse while hiking at night, and the whole thing happened in complete silence. It gave me a deep sense of unease because it was literally like someone hit the mute button on life."
VulcanVisions
Bad Kermit
Kermit The Frog Meme GIF by IdentityGiphy"Poison dart frogs aren't poisonous in captivity."
"I own 5 of them and anytime I tell someone I own some I always get 'Do you ever lick them' or 'Can you go kill someone with them.' But yeah they get their poison from what they eat, and all I give them is fruit flies."
JMfury
Poison frogs?
That sounds like something Rose would have a story about on 'The Golden Girls.'
Romantic relationships are great. They are full of excitement, fun, and even some stress, though it's mostly good stress (yes, that exists).
However, not all romances are meant to last. Whether it's because you grew apart or you realized the person you were with wasn't who you thought they were, a relationship can end.
Sometimes, those relationships are something you can look back on fondly as you move forward. Other times, they are relationships you regret.
Redditors know a lot about the second type, and are ready to share their stories.
It all started when Redditor Ingenuiie asked:
"What are your dating regrets?"
You Must Matter
"Dont get hung up on someone who doesnt give a f*ck"
– Speedy-Thunder
"Never make someone a priority who only makes you an option."
"Someone said it first. Probably Abe Lincoln"
– snarfdarb
"Don’t set yourself on fire to keep them warm"
– Stalkz_YT
Just Chill
"Getting so caught up in the fun early stages of the relationship and planning activities for dates that I forgot to just relax and be myself, take it a week at a time and see how things went. Pretty sure it made me seem too pushy, so things didn’t end very well for me. Lesson learned: chill tf out lmao"
– Spectronautic1
"That's me. I still struggle with it now tbh. Although I'm trying to keep a lid on it and just be chill."
– layinwitme-
End It
"I regret not ending relationships I was unhappy in sooner (like years sooner)"
– Zestyclose-Chef5215
"I'm in the middle of this right now. I knew 3 years ago but I convinced myself that maybe I was wrong and that things would change. We're still together, and I'll always love her, but I'm not happy, and I don't think I will be until the relationship ends. I can't let this go on much longer. Cheers."
– moniqer
This Is Me
"That I hid some of my hobbies and interests because I was scared they looked dorky."
"As soon as I stopped hiding it I met my partner."
"(Model railways ftw)."
– Singingmute
"Never be ashamed of your hobbies. It may make you look like a nerd or a dork but you don't need the kind of people who would make fun of them."
– aris_ada
"My SO loves the fact that I'm into model trains (her words, not mine.)"
"She laid it out for me when we first started dating: I'm handy around the house - I can tackle carpentry, electrical work, and have general knowledge about how to troubleshoot/fix things."
"It's a combo of artistry, technology, and history/research so there are always things to learn. It's a generally wholesome hobby that also promotes patience and working towards something over a long period of time instead of rewarding instant gratification."
"It's a fun hobby that I balance with other interests that we do together (outdoorsy stuff, board games, being history nerds.) We love each other for all of who we are, not just parts of who we are, and we wouldn't want the other person to change."
– dualsusser
Sometimes, Alone Is Better
"I should not have settled for someone I wasn't super compatible with just because I was lonely"
– Feline_is_kat
"This happened to me when I moved to a new city."
"It was great at first because I instantly had fairly large friend group and such but I realized years later just how much I had actually passed up on and compromised on."
"Still not sure I recognize myself anymore."
– nelsonalgrencametome
Love That Lets Go
"Always being the last to let go, and never letting go easy."
"Edit- the never letting go easy is the part I wish I could change."
– forex_1911
"Sometimes it’s just who you are as a person. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all have our personality traits that make life easier/harder for certain scenarios."
– ChlamydiaDonations4U
"That’s the best explanation for me because I certainly can’t seem to learn from previous mistakes no matter how many times I make them."
"To learn from them would mean to stop trying to date entirely"
– TuesdayNightMassacre
Take A Chance
"Not taking chances with various girls/ women throughout my life when I had the opportunities to."
– apG_13
"Honestly, this is why I (female) started asking men out. I was doing inventory in the supply closet when I heard my crush and several of his friends talking about me and wondering who I was dating. Because apparently I had to already be dating someone. One of the guys asked my crush if he'd ask me out, the guy laughed and said he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell, so he'd skip the humiliation. The other dudes agreed with him."
"And... I was just sitting there on the other side of the wall with my clipboard and a box of junk going... WTF?!? I started paying a little more attention and realized I got talked about a lot. It was infuriating. How could my dating life be utterly non-existent while guys were having those sorts of conversation about me?"
"So... A couple months later, I walked up to my crush on new year's eve at midnight, kissed him, and told him we should go out. I know I went a bit too far in the other direction from passive behavior, but it worked. He wasn't really coherent for the next half hour, just smiling and staring at me, but we were officially dating the next week."
"Being proactive was generally a very positive thing for me. Men were almost always absolutely thrilled to be asked out, picked up, and taken on a date..."
– LostDogBoulderUtah
"YES. This is exactly it. I wish all women knew this. I do the exact same thing and it works like a charm, men love being hit on and asked out! Women, they LOVE it do not be afraid. My boyfriend raves about how I flirted with him so obviously and kind of teased him and then asked him out lol. And I have done exactly that in probably 75% of the relationship I have had. Men like when you pick them and have a lot of confidence and just make it really fun for them to be hit on, and you don't have to be self-conscious about it bc believe me they love it. They hardly ever have this happen to them, usually they have to do the work. And it also just sets a really good tone for the relationship because you're going to ask for the things you want, overall."
– Subject-Hedgehog6278
Romantic Intelligence
"That I didn’t try to date more in my early 20s. Now I’m in my mid 30s with a combined relationship experience of a little over a year."
"I basically have the romantic intelligence of a 16-year-old."
– ThrowawayOfALoserr
"Looking at this thread, I'm seeing the regrets swing from "I dated even though I didn't like the person/people and they messed me up for future dates." to "I didn't date enough and now I'm not experienced enough for future dates.""
"I'm starting to think this "romantic intelligence" thing isn't about experience so much as self-love and self-confidence which can be found with or without romantic relationships. Plus a little bit of finding the right person."
– 11Buckwheat11
Rip Off The Band-Aid
"Oh damn my first relationship was this gradual shift from we're in a relationship to we're kinda in a relationship but figuring things out but she still wanted all the things I was doing for her, to we're definitely not in a relationship but still talking regularly, it was months."
"Had I just stepped up and said "okay, this is either a yes or a no, there's no middle ground here, if we're a couple we're a couple but if we aren't, I can't have you in my life right now", it would have spared me QUITE a bit of pain."
– 1CEninja
Location, Location, Location
"So far my biggest regret was moving half way across the country with someone and when I was struggling to adjust to that location they refused to move a few hours for me to a different location. That really hurt. Felt like I gave up so much for them and it turns out they wouldn't do the same for me. I'll never move for love again."
– Barkingcat29
Keep Some Eggs
"Despite many warnings from people trying to help me, I put all my eggs in the same basket. Married young and devoted myself to someone thinking that devotion would always be reciprocated, but apparently people change even if you don't. Always be prepared for the other shoe to drop, I guess is my advice. Kinda cynical, I know, but recent experiences taught me a lesson I never wanted to learn."
– Silk_Song_
Ouch! That's a lot of regret. But I hold out hope.
Just remember, you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince (or princess)!
People Explain Which Things They Thought Everyone Was Exaggerating About Until They Experienced Them
Life lessons are forged in experience.
So many of us love to think we know what another person is feeling, and their reactions are just emotional.
Or what they're saying about what they're going through feels a bit over the top.
So many people are just dramatic, right?
Wrong.
Until we walk in those shoes, we'll never know.
Redditor rentinghappiness wanted to hear about the things everyone really didn't know anything about until it happened to them, so they asked:
"What is something you used to think people were over-exaggerating about until you experienced it yourself?"
We never really know anything about anything until we try it for ourselves.
Mouth Issues
Dentist GIFGiphy"Dentist chiming in… tooth pain. I knew academically how painful they could be until it happened to me."
juneburger
"You know the pain is serious when you start looking forward to the inevitable root canal."
HailMari248
Wonders of Nature
"Giant sequoia trees. When I finally saw them in person, they looked fake. I could not comprehend a tree of that size."
schaefer001
"And we may have lost 15-20% of the remaining trees during some big fires in 2020 and 2021. A 2011 estimate puts it that there were only 80,000 remainings. They truly are wondrous organisms that I feel like everyone should have the chance to experience if they can."
"I'm a big believer in doing everything we can to protect and preserve these silent giants. It's really sad that so many were cut down by loggers when the wood is such poor quality for human purposes, to begin with. Such an utter and sad waste."
this_is_poorly_done
Just Me
"Loneliness."
Fried__SoapI
"I'm with you. Put all my cards into a girl who went suddenly cold and dark on me. Now I'm alone at rock bottom figuring out my next moves. You know, the smartest people in the world and also the happiest people in the world can be the loneliest?"
"I was only recently informed it's okay to talk to myself and hype myself. Enjoy my own company. I'm absolutely going to learn to do that. I'm thinking of painting, walking, and weekend trips out on a bus. Would be nice if you could have joined me even if we sat in silence."
Roofdragon
The Years Gone By...
"The physical pain of getting older. Damn."
marklikeadawg
"The emotional pain too. I get so nostalgic and teary over the past and how much has changed. It's a weird grieving process over losing your youth and the way things were."
heethersmeether
"On my 35th birthday, my wife woke me up with a cupcake and a candle, sang me 'Happy Birthday' and then congratulated me on being '15 from 50'... that really hit me hard. The other day I turned 45 and she said '5 from 50' and that hit me so hard, I just wanted to stay in bed all day. I still feel like an irresponsible teen but I'm pushing 50. Insane."
Opa_Kalaka
It's Hazy
Confused Always Sunny GIF by It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaGiphy"Brain fog. I had an alcohol withdrawal seizure in March. My short-term memory and sense of time are absolutely sh*t right now. On the plus side, I haven't had a drink in over 90 days and I don't want one."
Sideshow_Bob_Ross
Oh the wonders of the brain.
What a mess.
Scorched
Menopause Hot Flashes GIF by Kino LorberGiphy"Hot Flashes. I didn’t think they were this bad. I’m a 31-year-old man who took Wellbutrin for the past month and hot flashes are a side effect."
"I thought you just thought you were hot. No motherf**ker you are. You’re super hot legitimately, and you have to do something about it or you’ll go insane. It’s not in your head. It’s your brain raising your temps until you can’t focus on anything else."
_PswayZ_
Everlasting
"Chronic illness, there is absolutely no way you can truly understand the impact unless you experience it."
Disastrous-Phase-979
"Just that idea of always being sick and you will NEVER not be sick again."
"AND you're expected to participate in society just the same as everyone else. It's deeply f**ked up."
Farisr9k
"I like the part where I've been in pain for 25 years so I can kind of still function even when it's really bad."
"And then I try to get an ambulance guy or an admin assistant in a hospital to believe that I'm having an emergency and they're like 'You seem fine, take some Tylenol and go home' until I finally get a blood test, and then the doctor goes 'Holy crap, you're about to die, why didn't you come to the ER sooner.'"
"Like, listen up MF, I had to take a go**amn Uber to get here and then argue with reception for an hour."
BlahBlahILoveToast
Stoned
"How much a kidney stone hurts."
SpiritusSanctu
"Most people expect it to hurt the most when passing a stone through the urethra. Nothing prepared me for the pain as it passed through my kidney/ureter."
"One second I would be fine, carrying on conversations, prancing around nimbly-nimbly. The next second I would be keeled over, crying in agony, losing my lunch due to the sudden onset of crippling pain. 0/10 ... Would not recommend it."
King_of_Lunch223
Close Your Eyes
"Insomnia."
Successful_Fall7801
"Oh, what I would give to not have insomnia! I go through periods of sleeping more or less normal, and then for seemingly no reason, I’ll have weeks on end where a good night of sleep is IMPOSSIBLE. I’ll get 2-4 hours of sleep despite pills, tea, baths, white noise, meditation - everything."
"I’ll spend my days so deeply, utterly exhausted that I can barely think, and my whole body feels heavy, lifeless. It’s hard to feel any kind of emotion, let alone happiness or contentedness. Just existing as a human-shaped puddle until the time when I can go to bed and hope to god that tonight will be different for some unknown reason."
"Insomnia is a real bi*ch. It will tank your mental health and send you spiraling really fast."
thesmallshadows
Beep
Meme Reaction GIF by TravisGiphy"Tinnitus. It’s torture."
DissidentBliss
"I don't mind it much 'cause I've had it since I was born. That means I don't know what proper silence is."
77x5ghost
"Me too, they thought I had hearing issues when I was young because I couldn’t really hear some of the beeps well because they matched the pitch of the ringing."
ehter13
Don't judge another until you lace up their shoes and walk a mile in them!
Do you have anything else to share? Let us know in the comments.
Stuffies, plushies, stuffed animals, or plush toys; whatever you might call them, we likely all can remember a fluffy friend we had in our childhood.
But some adults might have carried their childhood friend into adulthood, or even made others along the way, and they might even still go to sleep with them at night, too.
Redditor Old-Horse1185 asked:
"34 percent of adults sleep with a stuffed animal or other sentimental objects."
"Are you one of these people? What do you sleep with?"
The Twin Bond
"My twin sister died when I was 18. Ten years later, I still sleep with her unicorn pillow pet, she gets a nice spot on the bed, and I'd never be with someone who made me feel bad about having it. Only my girlfriend is trusted enough to give pillow pet a bath."
- insomniacinsanity
"My twin brother died when we were seven, and I used to have a specific stuffie that was given to him by an American lady who worked in the hospital he was in, but it got damaged in a house move when I was a teenager and was unsalvageable."
"It was a limited-run stuffie that you could only get in a specific American store in the 90s, so it was basically irreplaceable. My husband, 10+ years later and without letting on, tracked one down and paid a silly amount of money to have it shipped to the UK and gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago."
"I sleep with it every d**n night. I'm mid-30s, and I'll never stop."
- beesandsids
Keeping Them Close
"My partner passed away a few weeks ago, and I now cuddle his shirts that still have his scent. When my son spends the night with his grandparents, I also cuddle w his blanket or the pillow he sleeps on."
- anonmomanonnin
Cuddles and Fidgets
"My grandma made me a pillow when I was born. She sewed the pillow together and the pillow case, which had kittens all over it."
"I’m 33 years now she passed when I was 31, and I sleep with the same pillow in my arms every night."
"The pillow case is worn to bits because I guess I use it as a fidget thing I rub in between my fingers. Yes, I’m weird."
- Valuable_Panda_4228
From the Beyond
"I bought my wife a big stuffed seal for our first Valentine's Day. This seal has a slight green tint to it, so we named him Sealo Green. She had Sealo for a couple of years before she passed away."
"I hug Seal-o every night and pray to my wife, tell her about my day, things coming up, etc. I'll start using her perfume on Sealo soon, so I can smell her while I pray to her. My heart can't take it right now."
- Cubbycupcake-Uther
A Gift from Grandma
"I am one. My grandma gave all the grandkids a cat plush. A cat food brand had a promotion, if you bought enough cat food you'd get a free plushie. With 14 grandkids, a lot of food was bought to get there. Her cats didn't complain though, lol (laughing out loud)."
"I still sleep with it, it's a feeling of comfort, safety, and home."
- DavyJonesLocker2
An Evolving Friendship
"Stuffed dog I've had since my mom was squeezing him while giving birth to me. That dog has seen some s**t."
"He's a 'Sad Sam,' and his eyes used to break my heart when I was a kid, so I buried him under other stuffed animals or made him face the wall so I wouldn't have to look at him."
"Then I felt really guilty because I didn't want him to feel punished when all he wanted was to be loved. So I've been sleeping with him for almost 40 years now."
"I recently bought an original one off eBay to see the comparison and man, I have loved the daylights out of that dog!"
- dumdadumdumAHHH
A Special Bond
"I now sleep with my girlfriend's stuffed bunny she has had since birth. He’s my best friend now! I love you, Bootstin!!"
- silversauce
"Aww, that's awesome. My partner is the only person I've ever been with who didn't make me feel like crap for still having my blanket. When I travel, I leave it with them, and I think they probably cuddle up with it as much as I do after a rough day."
- the_Ozz
Keeping a Partner Close
"Sometimes when I take a nap and my wife doesn't, I'll take her pillow to sleep with because I like the smell."
"It smells like baby powder, vanilla, and her."
- TrailerParkPrepper
Very Considerate
"Huge jellycat bears. I don’t even wanna, but I’m just afraid I’ll hurt their feelings if I don’t."
- CommonAd9606
"As a kid, I routinely slept with a zillion stuffed animals on the bed because I didn’t want any of them to feel left out."
- PumaGranite
"As a kid? I'm 26 and still have to hug them all as I go to sleep or they'll feel left out!"
- Scymber
Lower Back Pain
"I sleep with a body pillow (plain cover). Doctor recommended it a few years ago to help with my lower back pain and it really does help."
- HappyTimeHollis
"I sleep with a body pillow but it's an alligator. My grandparents gave it to me when I was 11 years old. It has a huge open mouth you can put your arm through or use to prop your phone. Had it 24 years. Love it to death."
- smoretank
Full Body Support
"Squishmallows. I have sciatica and they're great for when I go to bed. I put one between my knees at night (side sleeper) and I snuggle up with one."
- Raging_Utahn
Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty
"I'm not one to sleep with plushies, but my cat likes to snuggle up to me and sleep with his fluffy little head on my shoulder."
- imaybeacatIRL
"Cats have to count. My previous cat actually slept as the little spoon, snuggled in my arms."
- disapprovingfox
The Long-Distance Relationship
"I am a guy, I recently got to sleep with a stuffed animal for a week, I won't go into the details as to why or how, just know that I lovvveeeed it. I would get called a weirdo if I confess to this to the world, so I have kept this to myself and my bestie only."
"The stuffed animal was a large teddy bear, since then it has been taken away and now it is placed in the living room, my bedroom has one small stuffed toy that I sleep with, it's not super large and not as comfortable as the teddy but it works."
"It makes me feel good and less alone, the closest person in the world to me is 700km away, what I'm about to say is weird but hugging the teddy and pretending it's her makes me calm and makes me want to sleep."
- uninformed-but-smart
Build a Friend... with IKEA
"Ikea Hippo, Ikea Elephant. The Ikea bigs are the superior sleep companion. I also have the shark, but he is not right for my shoulder when cuddling so he guards."
- pm-me-neckbeards
"I also keep my Ikea shark on guard at night! The Ikea octopus is the guard when I sleep at my boyfriend’s house."
- jeff-buckleys-teeth
A Comfort Become Real
"When I was a toddler, I got a stuffed animal as a present from my uncle. It was a light brown rabbit with button eyes and ears with rainbow stripes on the inside. I'm unsure of when I got it, but I was either one to two years old or four years old."
"I don't know how or why, but it had a distinct scent, not particularly noticeable unless you shoved your face in its fur, like I did, haha. As I grew up, I needed to have this rabbit with me or I would not be able to sleep. I remember this one time when I couldn't find it in time for bed, and I was so distressed trying to fall asleep that I started hallucinating."
"Over time she lost an eye, her ears became frayed, her fur fell out in patches, and she looks like a well-loved creature (because she is) or hot garbage, depending on who you ask."
" Even in my rebellious teen years, I couldn't pretend to dislike her because the scent and texture of her fur gave me a feeling of comfort and safety, even when it felt like everyone was against me."
"I live by myself now at age 34 and you better believe I still keep her in my bed. The scent is gone but sometimes I can trick my brain into thinking it's still there, and when I touch the texture of her fur, I will still get a wave of comfort and reassurance the same way I did as a child."
"It's amazing not only how humans will bond with anything, but also the effect these things will have on a person."
"This got sappy, my apologies."
"PS: Her name is Ninni."
- Mwuuh
"'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'"
"I'm reminded of this quote from 'The Velveteen Rabbit.'"
- tinycole2971
While everyone might feel a little silly about their sleeping arrangements, most of those who still sleep with a cuddly friend have spent a great deal of their life with their companion already.
From sentimental reasons to physical needs, everyone needs comforted from time to time, and there's nothing quite like the unconditional love of a favorite stuffie friend.