Teachers Share The Craziest Student Rumors They Ever Heard That Turned Out To Be True
Speaking as a former classroom teacher, it's impossible to know everything about your students. You do what you can to get as professionally close as possible, to learn their likes and interests, to bring those to into your lessons so you can better educate them, but you can't know everything. They have a whole life outside your four walls, and sometimes that chaos and hilarity comes crashing through your door.
Reddit user, u/OneHundredForcer, wanted to hear from the ones who see and hear it all when they asked:
Bratva = Russian Mob
"Yeah the police is going to scout our school for a few weeks because one of our [Russian-speaking] kids is working as a lookout & courier for the bratva to scare them off doing even more insane sh-t"
We all debated whom of our dozen [Russian-speaking] kids it could be and we were pretty sure which one...
Turned out it was true... this 12 year old little girl was a drug courier for the local bratva.
Truth Is In The Change
I became friendly with one of my students in study hall a few years ago. We would chat about mythology, video games, literature, and other "dorky" topics most other students didn't have too much interest in. One day he wasn't in class, and he came up in conversation. One of the students asked me if I knew about his past, and I'm like, " Not really, I figure he is just a quiet guy who likes to read." So it turns out he was bullied in middle school and one day had a nerdrage on his tormentor and attacked him with scissors shouting about how he was going to take his eyes.
From what I understand it was pretty brutal. The bully transferred schools and most of the other kids left my student alone. It didn't change how I viewed him, but I did notice after that how the other kids treated him. I'm not saying that we're afraid of him but not many people, even other gamers and geeks associated with him. I always thought he was very friendly.
Let's Drink All These Awful Memories Away!
Girl was supposedly hooking up with the band teacher. Never heard any proof, band director left. I moved away and years later met a friend in a pub on a holiday visit. The two of them walked into the place together and I looked him dead in the eyes as he was coming in...he kinda froze and then awkwardly came over to say hello.
They had one drink and then left.
A Fall From Grace
During my first year of teaching I had a 10th grade student who suddenly in the spring was put on emergency expulsion for 10 days. I was really shocked because this student was great! She was chill, very involved in the school community, a cheerleader. I had even written her the recommendation to be eligible for the cheerleading team. Admin gave zero explanation for her sudden removal. I knew nothing until I had overheard little bits and pieces. Apparently, she had gotten caught having sex with her boyfriend in one of the locker rooms at school. Out of the blue during her expulsion she emailed me and asked me to shut down any rumors or sh-t talking about her. Of course I had already been shutting those conversations down and continually told my kids to mind their own business and focus on themselves, so I assured her I was handling it. I think this situation really f-cked her up and she wasn't really the same afterwards.
The next year she ended up running away from home with another boy and she was a missing person for quite some time. Out of nowhere earlier this year (her senior year) she pop's up in my classroom, she's heavily pregnant, and starts talking to me and ultimately asks if she can wait in my room until her mom comes to pick her up. Completely baffled, I let her sit at my desk and notify admin, asking if she still goes to the school and if she was still on the missing person's list. Thankfully she was no longer on the missing person's list and she did go to the school, but through online classes. It was wiiiiiiiild. Definitely one of the more bizarre things that have happened as a teacher.
It's Not Just The Kids That Aren't Alright
I was a student in a French class in Belgium. One of my fellow students from Peru was very distressed one day and left class in a hurry but contacted the teacher afterwards. It turns out My fellow student recognised a new student that joined the class as being a most wanted Shining Path guerrilla fighter from Peru who was hiding out in Belgium under a false name. They alerted the Police and at the next week's class they waited in plain clothes and arrested him when he turned up.
EDIT: this was an adult class aimed at people learning French
netrev08How Is This Spread Without The School Burning Down?
That he was having sex with the principal (41) while dating the principal's daughter.
Edit: Everybody knows this happened, the whole town knows, but no one did anything about it and if there were any court cases, they were really hushed. He started dating her daughter so he could come to their house without it being weird, his grades were amazing and she is still a principal, but is about to retire I believe.
What A Way To Start The School Day
I teach High School English.
One morning I was walking down the hall and I overheard some random student tell her friend "OMG Jake and Sarah were having sex in the stairwell yesterday and got caught by a teacher!" then they both broke down in giggles.
I know this was true, because I was the teacher who caught them.
When The Kids Know More Than You
The rumor was that prior to Christmas break, he brought a gun to school and had a hit list with students and teachers on it.
Not only did it turn out to be true, but the school decided not to tell the teachers. We found out about a major security breach and a potential school shooter from our kids.
How much trouble did he get in
He was expelled and maybe arrested. I don't actually know. Even after we found out no one would tell us much.
The Lives Our Students Lead
When I was teaching middle school (8th grade mathematics) a young lady transferred mid-year, very quiet and very low-achieving, probably at a 3rd or 4th grade level in all subjects. Rumors quickly started to spread that she had a baby and had to leave her last school, which is how she wound up at ours. Turned out, she had TWO babies by two different young men, one of whom was 20 years old.
Her aunt just openly told me all of this at conferences... said her niece was a really good mom though. My Lord, that poor child.
"Several members of the football team..."
Two rumors, but from my sister's high school.
Several members of the football team robbed a local grocery store at gunpoint. They all got arrested and suspended and there weren't games for the rest of the year.
Also another rumor about a male teacher sleeping with a freshman girl. He was fired.
"He had to call the cops..."
Someone started a rumor that a girl in my grade tried to seduce the gym teacher. We thought it was some stupid joke until it was discovered that she showed up at his house one night and wouldn't leave. He had to call the cops to take her home.
My sister is a teacher in a school where about once a semester a different girl gets "pregnant." Last year she actually was.
"She said no."
Not a teacher, but in the 10th grade (1996-97) we had an insanely hot biology teacher. All the "studs" flirted with her, but she was also happily married to an equally insanely hot firefighter. One guy got expelled after he literally dropped his penis on her desk and dared her to say no.
She said no.
"A female teacher quit..."
That the reason why our cranky science teacher Mr. Johnson is always so cranky is because his wife left him for one of students.
This was true, Mr. Johnson was an @sshole to his wife who used to be a teacher and apparently a senior student fell for her and the two eloped. Weirdly, her family supported it.
That members of the football team and the cheerleading team had an orgy in the boys locker room.
True, we were more pissed that they did that after they lost a game.
A female teacher quit because none of the boys wanted to f*** her.
Learned this one later, she was in her 50s and was apparently heavily flirting with any boy she liked but when she didn't get f**ked in the 3 years she was teaching at our school, she left and made a Facebook post about it.
"It gets even more bizarre..."
My mother is a teacher, but she does have a crazy story that sends shivers down my spine. She use to work for a private school that is now in trouble financially and academically as a few rumors went around that a few students brought meth to school and sold it to some parents. They were never caught, but most had thought it was untrue, until one of the students that went to the private school was caught at a magnet high school and admitted to selling meth since 5th grade.
It gets even more bizarre as those students' parents were meth makers and were using their kids as mules. The school district confronted the former and current directors of the private school and asked why they didn't catch the students earlier. Some said they were too busy to notice or didn't bother to confront the students selling the meth.
Nowadays, that private school is known as "The drug trade school". There are now less than 15 students at that school now.
'The Other One'
The other one is about a staff member and it's just kind of sad. So student transfers to my school from other school where teacher used to work. Says teacher left other school because he had to take time off because he had cancer! All the other kids instantly jump on this. So and so has cancer! Did you know? Of course I didn't know and told them that they can't just gossip and speculate about someone having cancer. That they should confront rumors and not spread them. Get the story from the horses mouth. I thought this was a great teachable moment (I think this was my second year so I was inexperienced.) So they won't ask him. I ask him privately. Yep, he most definitely has cancer and doesn't want it to be public. So I lie for him and tell the kids to stop spreading rumors and mind their own business.
"And the moral of the story..."
This happened when I was a student about a teacher.
I was in choir in high school but missed the beginning of class one day to talk to my counselor about classes for next year and college plans for when I graduate. I walk in and see the choir teacher in tears and a lot of the other students crying. Super awkward to walk in on, so I just quietly shuffle to my seat and a buddy leans over and said the teacher just announced she was leaving at the end of the school year.
A few weeks later we hear the principal was also going to leave at the end of the school year. Naturally, students started talking and rumors about the principal and the choir teacher having an affair with each other surfaced. I dismissed them as just rumors.
Nope, it was 100% true. I got the details a few years later from my former theater teacher when I went back to the school as a substitute getting experience while applying to teaching jobs of my own. The theater teacher and choir teacher were friends and the drama teacher had told the choir teacher that there were rumors among the staff about the affair with the principal. The theater teacher did this out of a place of friendship and didn't actually believe the rumors at the time. However, telling the choir teacher backfired and the drama teacher started being targeted by the administration who would do everything they could to make her life miserable at school.
And the moral of the story is don't tell people rumors about an affair they are having when one person is in a position of authority.
"I work..."
Middle school history teacher here. I work in a lower income southern school district. I had an african american student named Trevor in one of my classes. Quiet kid, behaved, finished his work. Then one day Trevor got in a fight with another student. The other kid ripped Trevor's shirt, and underneath his skin was white as snow.. Turns out Trevor was applying makeup every day to his face, neck and arms. He wasn't an african american, he was actually a homunculus the whole time.
"Had a kid..."
Had a kid dumped into my classroom mid semester. The guidance counselor told me has some issues, and not to be confrontational with him.
Rumor mill gets going and I hear that he has been kicked out of 2 schools and the last school he beat a kid with a pipe or club. He is on his last chance and my school took him in with 3 months probation. If he f's it up, then he is out.
So, I am a fairly laid back teacher and usually bond with my students. The kid is an angel in class and no issues. Ends up being a favorite student.
Then the 3 months end. Totally forget about this rumor.
I am in the lunch room on duty and I see the kid get into an argument with another student. They get into it and I run down the entire length of the lunch room and try to break up the fight. I am 23 and 160 lbs at the time. I tackle the kid and he flips on me like he is possessed and grabs me by my tie and starts to strangle me with it. I am like F***. Luckily the other student jumped on him and he let go. Took 5 adults to pin the kid down and he was still screaming he was going to kill everyone.
Well, the rumors were true. He was a psychopath. Never wore a tie after that.
"Apparently..."
I knew a girl, a junior, who was in love with a janitor.
Apparently she had a breakdown during a lunch period about how she couldn't be with him or something. He must have had a crisis of consciousness or something. Apparently nothing ever came up of it, but they were supposedly close. She ended up moving to do homeschooling and the guy never returned the next year.
"We all had to suddenly evacuate..."
We all had to suddenly evacuate the halls into the grounds outside or into the classrooms and have teachers lock the doors because there was some crazy woman running around the school halls screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time as she ran.
From what I heard apparently her son was getting bullied in school and she had lodged multiple complaints and when he kept getting bullied one day she came in and just started screaming and running. She was running for the best part of half an hour. The police came and had to taze her to make her stop when she refused to even communicate and just ran past them each time.
It was a great example of the doppler effect for students each time she ran past though.
"They all three..."
We had a young lady (7th grader) who was in the office after hearing the word she has sex at school with a boy. Admin states she admitted to having sex with 1 boy (who denied it). She then lets out that she had sex the next day with a different boy, getting caught by the after-school group (he couldn't deny it). They all three were suspended for 10 days, parents were called, and the kids had a lot to explain to their parents. As a younger teacher, it blew my mind.
"I didn't believe them..."
I'm not sure if this counts as a rumor but I had a student that was usually at school every day not show up to my class one day. I asked the students where she was. They told me she was suspended because she let the boys in her pe class run a train on her.
I didn't believe them but let it go and decided to ask the PE teacher later. Not only did he confirm it, he told me he was the one that walked in on her mid act with two boys and a few others waiting in line.
"This last year..."
This last year, another teacher told me that my favorite student has a very violent past. This kid was quiet but got along with his neighbors and helped them on their homework. He was the smartest kid I had at this school. He was probably a grade level ahead at a school where everyone else was about two grade levels behind.
He ended up getting expelled for jumping a kid and putting them in the hospital. I had to learn about it from my friend in the HR department who reviewed long term discipline plans for kids because my principal didn't tell me squat about why my student was no longer in my class.
A slightly more fun rumor but still kinda sad was that some student had 43+ cats. They lived out in the country and so they weren't house cats, but all came by for meal times and eliminated a rodent problem they used to have. Parent confirmed they had had that many cats when student told me, but the rodent problem turned into a coyote problem and they lost about half the cats now, but apparently those that survived were the favorite/smartest cats do it was ok
My previous school was a small farm town, pretty good kids that never get in trouble. One of the girls allegedly sent nude Snapchats to a boy in the town over and they were spreading like wild fire. None of the girls wanted to be her friend any more. When I mentioned to another teacher how bad I thought the others were treating her, the teacher's response was about how provocative the photo was and how the other girls now feel pressured to be sexual if they want to date any of the boys at "next town over school." I was flabbergasted that this teacher had seen the photos. I understand even teachers sometimes getting curious about rumors, but this teacher asked to see for herself if it was really Student.
"You keep hearing..."
You keep hearing about students touching themselves under the desks. You tell yourself it can't be, you pretend it's not true. And every year you find out that it is.
"He wasn't her student..."
So this is from when I was in school, but I am a teacher.
My sophomore year in high school, halfway through my senior year the choir teacher was asked to resign because she was sleeping with a senior. He wasn't her student and he was 18 and she was on the younger side. Technically, there's nothing illegal about that, but still creepy nonetheless.
"Private Christian schools..."
Student rumor about teacher turned true.
My male HS gym teacher was rumored to be "flirtatious" and found out to be a predator. It was eventually exposed he was having an ongoing relationship with a JV cheerleader as well as providing her with alcohol. His fiance at the time was the principal's daughter, who was also the JV cheerleading coach.
Several years later said principal was arrested for soliciting prostitution/open container.
The MS history teacher was rumored to be gay. Never married, no kids, very witty and compassionate. This was confirmed later when he was murdered, while meeting a male stranger for sex at a well known hot spot for that in town. The school officially announced it as he was robbed due to their religious 'integrity'. He was an incredible and very beloved teacher.
Private Christian schools are so messy.
"One of my kids..."
One of my kids swore a sub got arrested for drunk driving. She was a good kid so I figured I would Google the dude and prove her wrong... She was right.
"One day after school..."
Not a teacher but a student. My last year of high school out of nowhere the drama teacher disappears. Rumor starts going around that she's under investigation of having relations with a student.
One day after school the play cast (there was like 12 of us) were hanging around waiting for our director (not the drama teacher, this dude only ran the play). We all start discussing the rumors and the guy sitting next to me, who had the lead role, pipes up and says he was the one in a relationship with the drama teacher.
He was 18 but she was still being charged for having relations with a student and investigated to see if there was anyone else (there was). Dude's little sister was the one who reported it because she was worried (thank god). Last I knee the former teacher got a jail sentence, had to sell the deli she owned, was divorced by her husband (who from what I understand is happily remarried to a very nice guy my uncle works with) and she is not allowed to see her son.
"The rumor was..."
The rumor was that prior to Christmas break, he brought a gun to school and had a hit list with students and teachers on it.
Not only did it turn out to be true, but the school decided not to tell the teachers. We found out about a major security breach and a potential school shooter from our kids.
"Her aunt..."
When I was teaching middle school (8th grade mathematics) a young lady transferred mid-year, very quiet and very low-achieving, probably at a 3rd or 4th grade level in all subjects. Rumors quickly started to spread that she had a baby and had to leave her last school, which is how she wound up at ours. Turned out, she had TWO babies by two different young men, one of whom was 20 years old (she hadn't yet turned 14 when I found out).
Her aunt just openly told me all of this at conferences... said her niece was a really good mom though. My Lord, that poor child.
She transferred to our school for 8th grade because everyone knew at the last school that she was pregnant. Her reading was about a 3rd grade level, no computer at home, phone was often disconnected. By the start of the year her son was already 7 months old. She rarely came to school because her mom couldn't always drive her. I don't know who the father was and never asked because it's not my business but I can only hope it was another middle schooler.
Almost nobody knew about her baby at the school. Only a few admin, a few teachers, but no friends knew about the baby. At her 8th grade promotion, I was telling her how proud I was of her and she said she was very determined to show up and do well in high school. None of her older brothers had finished high school and she wanted to be the first. She brought her son to graduation (family passed him off as her brother) and I had to make my goodbyes quickly so I could go and cry in my classroom. I'll never forget her and I hope she is doing well.
"One morning..."
I teach high school English.
One morning I was walking down the hall and I overheard some random student tell her friend "OMG Jake and Sarah were having sex in the stairwell yesterday and got caught by a teacher!" then they both broke down in giggles.
I know this was true, because I was the teacher who caught them.
"Never heard any proof..."
Girl was supposedly hooking up with the band teacher. Never heard any proof, band director left. I moved away and years later met a friend in a pub on a holiday visit. The two of them walked into the place together and I looked him dead in the eyes as he was coming in...he kinda froze and then awkwardly came over to say hello. They had one drink and then left.
"The next year..."
During my first year of teaching I had a 10th grade student who suddenly in the spring was put on emergency expulsion for 10 days. I was really shocked because this student was great! She was chill, very involved in the school community, a cheerleader. I had even written her the recommendation to be eligible for the cheerleading team. Admin gave zero explanation for her sudden removal.
I knew nothing until I had overheard little bits and pieces. Apparently, she had gotten caught having sex with her boyfriend in one of the locker rooms at school. Out of the blue during her expulsion she emailed me and asked me to shut down any rumors about her. Of course I had already been shutting those conversations down and continually told my kids to mind their own business and focus on themselves, so I assured her I was handling it. I think this situation really fucked her up and she wasn't really the same afterwards.
The next year she ended up running away from home with another boy and she was a missing person for quite some time. Out of nowhere earlier this year (her senior year) she pop's up in my classroom, she's heavily pregnant, and starts talking to me and ultimately asks if she can wait in my room until her mom comes to pick her up. Completely baffled, I let her sit at my desk and notify admin, asking if she still goes to the school and if she was still on the missing person's list. Thankfully she was no longer on the missing person's list and she did go to the school, but through online classes. It was wiiiiiiiild. Definitely one of the more bizarre things that have happened as a teacher.
"The problem..."
One of my students was really smart. The problem is she rarely goes to school and nearly dropped out because of it. There was a rumor that she got raped by her brother and stressed out so she rarely goes to school and went to the park instead. Turn out, it was true. So sad because she was my best student that year, always got the highest mark in maths (the one I teach).
"I was assigned..."
I was assigned a group in highschool of only 11 students. Basically there happened to be a teeny bit of budget extra. And they took my group of 22 and split it into two classes. So my colleague got the other 11.
So I got really close with these kids. We had a blast. Some days felt more like summer camp than normal class.
Anyways one day, two guys just could not stop ANNOYING one another. So I sent one to the far back corner because I knew he was instigating.
I was focused more on the board and the kids on front, but I turned in time to see corner boy stick a metal rod into the heater and essentially a giant blue explosion followed, with this kid sitting dead straight and then turning green.
He was so scared he couldn't talk. But he was fine physically. It was terrifying seeing a 15 year old boy go completely mute.
Left class with a supervisor. Took him to get help. Had to call his dad...started off I was shitting myself. How do you tell a father their teenage son found metal and stuck it in a heater!? Ended up with the dad making me cry of laughter. Kid got checked out. Everything was fine.
But for like a month rumours circulated that someone got electrocuted
Meanwhile. When he came back and started joking about it, it became the class motto. Everytime someone acted up, a student would point to the corner and shout "It's your turn!"
Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
We aren't perfect. There's plenty of things in our pasts that we look back and cringe at.
That being said, sometimes those cringe moments go far past cringe. Sometimes they get to the point of no return awfulness because that's where our human nature took us in this moment.
He's Not Dead
<p>When I was 17 my brother walked into a room where I was lying down on my back and stamped on my chest. </p><p>I saw red and stood up and punched him square in the face, unfortunately this was in a doorway in front of a staircase, which he fell down backwards and when he hit the wall at the bottom folded up in such a way I thought I'd killed him. </p><p>He didn't move for what seemed like forever and I was certain he was dead, the world just spinning out around me. </p><p>He wasn't dead, obviously, but knocked out briefly and he never laid a finger on me again, after being the kind of nasty bully who had spent much of my childhood just randomly beating on me for his own enjoyment.</p><p>Those were the longest seconds of my life.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MrSpindles/" target="_blank">MrSpindles</a></p>Complete And Total Taking Over
<p>I don't know about "haunts" but it makes me cringe. In public school we had this thing in our school called 'Jumpstart for Kids' where you'd go around, often door to door, collecting money for this charity once a year. </p><p>Anyway I was 12 and I liked a boy in highschool and he convinced me to take the envelope and go door to door and collect money... to give to him so he could buy a drum set. </p><p>I walked around collecting from all these sweet people who told me I was so nice for collecting money for underprivileged kids. Fortunately I got caught and my parents made me donate it instead. So embarrassing.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/heather-rch/" target="_blank">heather-rch</a></p>Scene Of The Crime
<p>Provincial Park, pay shower, 12 years old, line-up to get in. Towards the end of my turn in the shower, get the urge to poop. Cannot hold it. Using a sock to smoosh the last of it down the drain, water turns off. Out of quarters. Put a towel over my head, run out of there past the line-up.</p><p> Get back to the camp site, immediately change clothes, shoes, hairstyle, put on a ball cap. Work up the courage to go by the area later on, it is all cordoned off. Hear people angrily discussing how someone took a dump in the shower.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/eskerhobolo/" target="_blank">eskerhobolo</a></p>When Bullying A Bully Isn't Worth It
<p>We had a camper in this large campground at a lake when I was growing up. Tons of families with kids riding bicycles and golf carts up and down the gravel roads through the property. </p><p>There was this one kid that was a few years older than me (I was 10, he was probably 12 or so) who's dad was the security guard and they lived on site and he was the biggest punk in the park. He'd try and wrestle you in the pool, throw rocks at you as you were fishing, ride off on your bike if you left it laying around, bully and hit smaller kids, even girls. </p><p>I was driving the golf cart down a pretty steep, gravel hill one day when I came up on him on his bike, going the same way as me. He never turned around to acknowledge I was there so I got up just to the side of him and turned HARD right into him. We were both going probably 10-15 miles an hour down this hill. </p><p>He took a nasty spill and rolled off the side of the road and wasn't moving. I kept on going, acting like nothing happened. We were completely isolated so no one saw me. I remember him getting taken away in an ambulance and hearing that he'd been hurt pretty bad.</p><p> I immediately felt remorse for what I'd done but never said a word to anyone. He or anyone else never had any idea I did it either. I look back now and think about how much of a financial strain I put on that family, seeing as how they were already living in a camper. That was a really REALLY evil thing I did and it still crosses my mind quite often.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/harp9r/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">harp9r</a></p>Not Hurting
<p>So you know the carnival horses you can sit on outside of grocery stores (back in the 90's). Well I wanted to ride one and this sweet old woman tried to help me get on, slipped, and really really hurt herself falling into the ride. I just remember hearing her scream and I got scared and ran away.<br></p><p>I'm 31 years old and think about that day at least once a week.</p><p><span></span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/packhawk2689/" target="_blank">packhawk2689</a></p>Gotta Get Up, Gotta Get Out
<p>Easy. When I was 5, I burned my house down.</p><p>We were living in a small home, me, my sister, mom, dad. I was supposed to be in the bed, but I wanted a toy or <em>something</em> that was under my bed, and I didn't want to wake my parents by turning on my light... soooo I grabbed my dad's cigarette lighter and light the flame under my bed. Needless to say it went up like a match. </p><p>My dad tried to stomp the fire out after I started screaming fire, burning his leg horribly. My room and the source of the fire was blocking EVERY other bedroom from escape, so everyone had to jump out of a window. Funnily enough, I don't remember the world-class a** whipping I must have received for that. I just cringe at the thought that I almost killed all of us being a dumb kid.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Paradigm_Pizza/" target="_blank">Paradigm_Pizza</a></p>Escape
<p>I was married to an insanely abusive man. After two years I escaped and he killed himself shortly after. Not sure if it was him avoiding charges, or avoiding his deployment but his family decided it was 100% my fault. They told the police I gave him the gun and encouraged him. </p><p>That was investigated and unfounded. What they didn't know was he'd scanned and emailed me his suicide note the wee hours of the morning of. The police didn't find the note. Of course I handed it over when they asked. His family would not believe I wasn't involved or at fault and harassed me for a long time. </p><p>If I got a job and they found out about it they'd call and leave so many complaints I'd get let go. Found out what I drove and had their other kids and their friends follow me. </p><p>I ended up having to leave that town and disappearing to avoid them. But before I did, I printed a copy of his suicide note, found his moms car at her job, and left it on the window shield. That note detailed the abuse his father put him through, his rage at his mother for never leaving him and making himself and his siblings live with the SOB. </p><p>That he never wanted me to blame myself, that this was his way of getting the hell away from them and the damage he caused. I felt pretty bad for awhile. But at the same time.... they literally wouldn't leave me alone and stalked me for 5 years.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/TinyTinasRabidOtter/" target="_blank">TinyTinasRabidOtter</a></p>If You Give A Pup A Shower
<p>Bored in the house one day alone when I was about 10, so decided to give my dog a shower, I genuinely loved my dog, he was my best friend growing up, but for some unknown reason I decided to turn the shower onto hot water only (extremely hot) and started showering him. There was a delay I guess in him reacting because his fur was so thick, which meant I kept it on him for a few seconds.</p><p>suddenly He started yelping like dogs do when in pain, his instincts were to not be aggressive or try to escape but just looked at me scared and confused.</p><p>I panicked smashed on the cold and cooled him down as quick as I could.</p><p>Fortunately he was not 'burnt' or had any ongoing issues, he never even lost trust in me.</p><p>I felt physically sick and ashamed in myself for days after, and obviously it still bothers me 20 years later.</p><p>The good thing to come from it is that I was so disturbed by my action that I have never knowingly inflicted pain on anyone or anything since.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/ChrisLeeHD/" target="_blank">ChrisLeeHD</a></p>Caught In The Act
<p>I was at school and for no reason at all, I eavesdropped a very private and delicate conversation between one of my teachers and her husband. </p><p>Then she opened the door and saw me eavesdropping. It was beyond humiliating and I deserved the scolding afterwards. I was young and stupid obviously, but when I remember the look on her face, I still cringe hard, even if it's been almost 20 years.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/naydeilinsei/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">naydeilinsei</a></p>Shunned
<p>Second grade, I had a classmate (fake name Sasha) who was kinda awkward. Crooked teeth, quiet, not too bright. Didn't really have any friends within the class, though she did have some people she would hang out with at recess. </p><p>In any case, a boy in the grade above us, a friend of my brother's actually, for some reason decided to spread a rumor among all of us that Sasha had lice and to stay away from her. </p><p>I bought it without a second thought, and so did most of us; as far as I know, she wasn't particularly teased, but she was just shunned. No one talked to her. </p><p>She was around till the end of the year and didn't come back for third grade. No clue what happened to her, but I really hope we didn't mess her up too much.</p><p>Next summer, I got the worst case of head lice my pediatrician had ever seen. Karma, my dudes.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Isabel79540/" target="_blank">Isabel79540</a></p>| Image by elizabethaferry from Pixabay |
I don't miss high school or the people in it. People who seem to have peaked in high school also weird me out. How? Why? I can definitely tell you that life got much more interesting the older I got (my 20s were way more fun than any of my time in high school). If you were to ask me if I have any regrets, I suppose I would say that I wish I had been more assertive and stood up for myself more. Depression has a way of complicating goals like that, though. Let me tell you: It feels nice to be so much healthier than I was then.
After Redditor Sub2735 asked the online community, "What's your biggest regret from high school?" people shared their stories.
"I'm sure the mentality..."
<p>Being too shy, I'm sure the mentality that everyone hated me wasn't very good for making friends.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpad84o?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">aeflare</a></p>"I'm not sure how it could have gone differently..."
<p>Dropping out. I am not sure how it could have gone differently, but I do wish it had. It was expensive to upgrade all that education to get into post-secondary, and I also missed out on a lot of social things.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpafhng?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">DaughterEarth</a></p>"I was already pretty cynical..."
<p>I was told I had received a full-ride scholarship, so I stopped putting in any effort on other scholarships. When the time came, it wound up being awarded to someone who applied late, got it due to their family's income level, and then dropped out of college after one month. My first two years of college were a financial nightmare as I had to pay my own way on everything (except rent, as I lived at home and commuted across state lines for work and college). If I had $50 at the end of the month, that was a damn good month. I couldn't get student loans and my parents refused to help, so I had worked out a deal with the financial office at college to pay something like $550 a month, which was about 90% of my income.</p><p>I regret not confronting whoever made that decision about the scholarship. I somewhat regret not putting in the effort to get other scholarships at the same time, but I can't blame myself for it either.</p><p>I was already pretty cynical at that point, but that was when I realized just how quickly your back becomes a knife block for someone else's optics.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpalo5m?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">A_Garbage_Account</a></p>"I used to daydream..."
<p>I used to daydream about going back one day and burning it to the ground, but it's just been demolished by land developers. So I guess that dream's dead.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpafcpx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">EducationTangle06</a></p>I suppose the phrase, "Always follow your dreams"...
<p>...doesn't apply in this case.</p>"Acting like a clown..."
<p>Acting like a clown, annoying everyone to the point where no one really stayed in contact with me after, and taking my precious little charter school for granted.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpae5ak?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">SalFunction12</a></p>I have a friend who has expressed similar concerns about his time in high school.
<p>He ended up spending his college years going to therapy and maturing. His clownish antics were a coping mechanism for a lot of crap going on in his life at the time. He's happier and healthier now and that's what matters.</p>"To be fair..."
<p><span>Dating my best friend. To be fair that's how I found out a lot of people weren't really my friends but getting ghosted afterward really hurt.</span></p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpasudw?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">kannacantplay</a></p>"She got tired..."
<p>I took my crush to Daft Punk Alive 2007 instead of my best friend. She wasn't responding all day, and I was with my friend. We were about to leave when she called. She'd been with her boyfriend all day and had forgotten about the concert. I took her. My buddy was disappointed but cool about it.</p><p>She got tired of being on the floor halfway through so we sat in the bleachers. We started walking out before the encore because she wanted to get home sooner.</p><p>Always wanted to take my buddy to a Daft Punk show after that, and was going to, no matter where or how much it cost. But I'll never get the chance.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpbd6so?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">spanishgrapelaw</a></p>"Looking back now..."
<p>I regret not telling my crushes how I felt about them. Looking back now, I know that those puppy love relationships probably wouldn't have developed into anything long term and I no doubt would've had my heart broken when they inevitably ended but, I can't help but wonder: What if?</p><p>Having cultivated a host of insecurities by the time I got to high school, I was really good at hiding my inner thoughts and feelings - I also probably didn't see myself very clearly. So, I just assumed that there was zero chance of my crushes reciprocating my feelings and never said anything to them about it. I also probably sub-consciously ignored any signs that they were interested in me (again, didn't see myself clearly, was very insecure).</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpazwl2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Vegoceraptor</a></p>"The world is wider..."
<p>Not engaging with opportunities available to me and just looking at it like a holding pen just before adulthood.</p><p>It may seem hokey, but join clubs, try out lots of sports, pursue interests, pay attention in class and engage with your peers.</p><p>The world is wider for adolescents than I allowed myself to believe it was at the time.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpaxnsf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Big_Requirement_3540</a></p>"I already knew I was quitting..."
<p>Senior year I had the option of a guaranteed internship and doing half days at school. Turned it down because my parents wanted me to be in band (and I enjoyed it so didn't put up a fight).</p><p>I already knew I was quitting when I went to college. The internship would have been great experience to propel my studies/career.</p><p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv5ytu/what_is_your_biggest_regret_from_high_school/gpatszd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">ClubbsMcLubbs</a></p>High school isn't easy.
<p>Nor is it particularly fun for a lot of people. Remember how awful being a teenager was? Remember what it was like to feel like you were at the whim of your hormones all the time? It's an emotional rollercoaster. It's no wonder so many people would rather close the book on high school once it's over (or have some regrets related to their time there).</p><p>Have your own stories? Feel free to share them in the comments below.</p>When we are on the outside looking in, it can feel so obvious that a relationship is doomed.
When we offer advice to friends, family, or people oversharing at a party, the correct next move often seems wildly obvious: get out of that relationship.
Enough Was Enough
<p>"He was mentally ill, possibly with Paranoid Personality Disorder, definitely delusional, maybe schizophrenic. I was accused of all types of things, affairs, being part of plots to 'get' him, even urinating on his toothbrush."</p><p>"I stayed for 3 years after I knew I no longer loved him because I knew he would spiral without someone to look after him. He had destroyed every relationship with his friends and family because they were all also out to 'get' him."</p><p>"I finally told him I would only stay if he got help, which he refused. So I left."</p><p>"I was right about him spiralling. He went from sharehouse to sharehouse as all the other tenants were 'out to get him'. He eventually ended up homeless for a while is now facing 18 different charges so will probably end up in jail."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpal6ip?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">damekl</a></p>An Unfortunately Common Response to Fading Love
<p>"She threatened to kill herself and even though I wanted out of the relationship, i didnt want her to be hurt or die. I remember us arguing about something very trivial but she was getting very upset. She walked out mid conversation and came back with cuts all over her legs and thighs."</p><p>"I tried getting help from parents, school counselors, doctors. None helped. So i just tried to manage as much as I can. Eventually she joined the military & moved away and that was the moment I was finally free."</p><p>"Years wasted though."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpab7fm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">corazon_im_hurt</a></p>A Bare Bones Story
<p>"Short version: domestic violence."</p><p>"Long version: I was afraid to leave because I believed he would find me and kill me."</p><p>"Conclusion: He pushed me too far and I ran."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpaizjk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">AliceMorgon</a></p>Tipping Over the Edge
<p>"He was a violent drug addict and I was scared of what he may do if I left. I never truly loved him but our relationship became very codependent very quickly."</p><p>"He cheated on me, took advantage of the fact that I had a car and money, but I still stayed because he was always threatening to kill himself or to kill my cats."</p><p>"Then one night he literally backed me into a corner and tried to punch me in the head so that finally made me open my eyes and realize I had to get out."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpb5z6l?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Theging96666</a></p>Optics
<p>"She's terminally ill, and dying of Cancer, even though she is abusive now, and was before, I can't really leave, the social pressure to be a *good man* plus the cost of divorce and everything else is just too much, at this point it's just easier to wait it out."</p><p>"Plus I really like her family, and if I left her when she was sick...it would pretty much kill that relationship."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpbm18j?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Boise_State_2020</a></p>Always a Reason to Stay
<p>"We were living together at 16, she cheated on me and I told her I wanted her to leave, she begged me not to send her back to her moms house because they have like 8 people in a 2 bedroom house and because she would've had nowhere else to go."</p><p>"I was 16 I didn't know how to handle a girl literally begging me so I let her stay against my better judgement and it created a hurtful cycle of falling in and out of love."</p><p>"Feeling like things could get better and then having my world come crashing down every time I look at her because I think of reading the message of the guy saying he loved watching her get on top of him."</p><p>"A couple of years go by and we're not in love, just tolerating each other at this point and then we got pregnant, stayed together through the pregnancy but the stress was too much for both of us and caused fighting, sleeping apart, more cheating."</p><p>"When the baby was born she had finally turned 18 and we moved away our relationship got much better with each other, we're best friends now and are just trying our best to raise our daughter to be healthy and happy and know she's loved."</p><p>"Neither of us had good childhoods."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpa47ed?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Lapidot-Wav</a></p>For the In-Laws
<p>"I lived with a man I never loved. His mum was also living with us and I loved her more than my own biological mum."</p><p>"She was the nicest, kindest and the most caring soul I have ever met in my life. I left that man when he told me that he knew I was only with him because of his mum. That was 20 years ago but I still miss her every single day."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpbz7av?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Mayfl21</a></p>A Sudden Shift
<p>"I was with my wife for 14 years. For at least half of that, I wasn't happy with the relationship. But I had decided I was ok with it because everything about our life together was acceptable, for lack of a better word."</p><p>"We owned a house, made good money, got along well, shared hobbies, etc. We were basically roommates/best friends who just didn't love each other the way you would normally expect from a married couple."</p><p>"When the pandemic hit, and we were forced to stay home more and spend time with each other EVERY DAY, we started to get a better sense of how well we actually tolerated each other. It didn't go well."</p><p>"She ended up getting really into online gaming and met some other guys and basically cheated on me. In retrospect, it was obvious it would reach that point."</p><p>"But I was content to stay there as long as I could because it was a comfortable life with very little stress and obligation."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpaadi2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">knucklehead923</a></p>Slow Fade
<p>"I was no longer as 'in love' with her. But I still loved her. After years together it could become tricky to figure out exactly what It's just a lull and what is it really going away."</p><p>"I was still living with my best friend. But ended it because once we really realized that I wasn't feeling the same way anymore. I was just hurting her for me to stay since she was still in love."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpa6h2s?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">collin3000</a></p>Wise, But a Little Sad
<p>"We have good chemistry and built a life together. After a lot of years, love comes and goes. It is like the seasons."</p><p>"As cold as it can be in the winter, if you put the effort in, the spring will always come back."</p><p>-- <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/lv3k1j/seriouspeople_who_have_stayed_with_someone_they/gpa41jl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3" target="_blank">Aizpunr</a></p>| Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay |
Some people don't take breakups very well. And those that don't can sometimes engage in behavior that others might view as bothersome, unsettling, even toxic.
Others engage in abusive behavior during the relationship, a major red flag that some people might not take seriously until it's too late.
After Redditor XYZ3110 asked the online community, "What's the creepiest thing an ex has done?" people shared their stories.