Picture the most fun thing you could ever imagine doing.
Maybe it's an enviable career path that has always felt inaccessible. Or perhaps it's some kind of social activity that feels more elite than you'll ever be.
Really picture it. Imagine all the elements of this ideal, euphoric experience. Who is there? What is everyone wearing? Is it all ages or just peers in your age bracket? Where in the world are you?
The imagined fun seems so compelling. You might even be frustrated that you haven't done all the things required to put yourself in that spot.
But there's one major catch. You, a person who by definition has not experienced what you're picturing, were the one who concocted that image.
And you are, by definition, unqualified to create an accurate picture. Every second you spend imagining that fun thing is a second spent being further from reality.
Some Redditors learned the hard way that fantasy and reality are, often, like apples to oranges.
interpid_dinosaur asked, "What is A LOT less fun than what it seems?"
Just Another Chore
"As a kid I always thought getting mail when you're an adult would be awesome. Boy, was I wrong." -- The_Tell_Tale_Heart
"There was a brief period in the 2010s when my hipster friends and I went back to writing physical letters and it was actually really really nice."
"A nice surprise to receive, and if you're going through the trouble of writing it out you end up putting a lot of thought in."
"It was also too much work compared to the convenience of sending someone a funny link on Facebook, so, only lasted a year or two. Ah well." -- holysh**reddit3
Ungrounded
"Job that requires a lot of traveling."
"At first you think 'Cool, I'll get to see many different places' but consequences of this lifestyle are pretty bad."
"Your social life gets destroyed, you don't get to see your family or friends. You barely even visit your home, and sleeping every night at different place gets tiring really quickly."
-- Cas_D
Frozen Sardines
"Times Square NYE. It's famously horrific."
"It's the middle of winter at night standing still for like 6 hours at least with no bathrooms with bright neon screaming at your eyes."
A Tough Work Environment
"Cooking professionally."
"Yeah it has some perks. Learn new techniques, sometimes try really good food, able to talk sh!t with a bunch of people, etc."
"But it kills you. Almost never have a holiday off, days off are either broken up and rare, or you're given sh** for taking them."
"Money is pretty shi**y, even when you eventually get to a position where you're making something decent, most other jobs would be paying way more with the experience you'd have and now you're basically stuck in the industry."
"Substance abuse is so wide spread that if you don't eventually OD someone you know will, sometimes right on the line."
"This isn't even considering how shi**y you get treated by customers if your boss doesn't have your back."
-- tatsuedoa
Not Just Blasting Away at Keyboard Keys
"Hacking." -- SharaCake
"Hacking is fun but its more like doing a puzzle and takes a ton of time. And learning everything you need to know to be a good hacker is not fun, because most of it is boring and learning how stuff works." -- ButtScientests69
The Industry Behind the Magic
"Working in movies."
"Mainly for the long hours - I regularly worked 12-16 hour days for days on end, week after week. It takes its toll."
"There's also the stress of working so fast - I worked in costume so for certain things I needed to dress 20-50 actors and extras in about an hour so that shooting can start."
"It was a fun job to be honest but I didn't end up pursuing it as a career."
Drudgery
"Not working, unless you are a wealthy person who can travel anywhere and do what you want and can live off of unemployment money, not working is just as soul crushing, and boring as working a crappy job, except you barely get any money."
"Yes you have tons of free time, but it's not as glamorous as you think it is, and the average joe who is unemployed is not traveling to cancun on the weekends or living it up..."
"...he's either looking for work, is depressed, and feeling like [he's] empty."
Over-Hyped Maneuvers
"Sex in a swimming pool. Water is not a lubricant." -- nstb3
"sex in the shower" -- lil-strawberry
"Sex in a hot tub."
"It's long and very weird. Water slows speed down."
"Overall 4/10 it's still sex but uncomfortable tiring and can just be downright a pain." -- SuperSaiyanSkeletor
It's Not Always Sunset Out There
"Farming."
"People have this picturesque vision that it's just frolicking among the animals and plants and such."
"No its long hours outside busting a** in every kind of weather. I love it but its not for everyone."
Fondon't
"Chocolate fountains. I will never help at another event/wedding where I am in charge of one. They are terrible to fill and worse to clean." -- Super_Abbreviations9
"You know what's worse? A Ranch fountain."
"I was on the prom committee and our teacher in charge was convinced that teens would love a ranch fountain more than a chocolate fountain. We pleaded with her but she refused to budge."
"Took like 3 seconds and the inside machinery was clogged. Also the teens at prom didn't touch the fountain or the vegetable tray next to it." -- cooldart61
Supposed to Be a Nice Thing
"Owning high ticket items like a pool, boat or camper. The sheer amount of nickel and diming is pure death."
"Plus, owning one makes you feel obligated to use it all the time, which saps the fun out real quick."
"Thinking about buying a camper? Go borrow one for a month and then get back to me."
-- chili317
Intimate Diplomacy
"Definitely not the first person to say it, but Tandem Bicycles look fun, even cute as a couple. I do not recommended to even the people I dislike." -- doorknobsandboxes
"Also two seater kayaks. They're known as 'divorce boats' as only the person at the back can control the rudder." -- Nolfolk_in_hope
The Seedy Truth
"Venice beach, it looks cool on tv and in movies but in reality it's a dump."
"Once you see one store selling supreme 420 shirts and a couple of bums you've pretty much seen everything. The smell is pretty bad too in certain areas, it just smells like weed and pi**."
-- Ace0916go
A Pricey, Painful Hour
"trampoline parks!! It's super fun for like 20 minutes & after that I'm sweaty, exhausted & dizzy but I've already paid for another hour" -- riarum
"I went to a trampoline park but made the mistake of going on an empty stomach, when we left I almost passed out in the parking lot, I've never felt like that before." -- WillSpanner666
Devil is in the Details
"Driving. Couldn't wait to drive as a kid, now that I can drive I hate it. Traffic, bad drivers, pedestrians that aren't watching and run in front of your car."
"There's just so many things to stress you out while driving. Give me an empty highway, no cops or other cars and I'm fine. But driving in the city? F*** that"
-- Klown1327
(Written the Morning After...)
"Nightclubs."
"You pay $20 to get into a nightclub, then wait 10 minutes at the bar to pay for overpriced drinks. For then to have your ears blasted with terrible music where you have to get up to someone ear to talk to them."
"Finally hoping your flatmates don't get themselves into trouble with security or police..."
"...and stopping them from getting into a complete stranger's car. (I didn't get a thank you from her when I told her the day after)."
-- Lex_Ambr
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