Transfer Students Share The Real Reason They Noped Out Of A College
Transfer Students Share The Real Reason They Noped Out Of A College
[rebelmouse-image 18348812 is_animated_gif=College is rough and expensive, and definitely not for everyone. Skills and connections can lead to a career in different ways than a degree, and sometimes the stress and debt are too much, despite the social education and experiences college can provide.
askClint asked, Redditers who switched or left a college/university, what made you finally say "nope, I'm out"?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
Gotta keep those grades up, which ain't easy.
[rebelmouse-image 18361501 is_animated_gif=An academic suspension was the catalyst.
Taking time off between high school and college can be really beneficial.
[rebelmouse-image 18361502 is_animated_gif=I had a professor suggest it. She told me some kids go to college right after high school because they think that's just what they're supposed to do. Some kids need a bit of time after high school before they are ready.
I dropped my next semester and started working. A couple years later I went back and ultimately finished my degree.
There are benefits to having a degree beyond its ability to land you a specific job. But majoring in what you love is no guarantee anymore.
[rebelmouse-image 18361503 is_animated_gif=The moment I realized that as an English major who doesn't want to be a teacher, I'd be in the same position regardless of whether or not I graduated but in one scenario I'm in thousands of dollars of debt.
Learning a trade is essential for the today's and tomorrow's economy, and can save you tons of money. Who knows where it will lead you?
[rebelmouse-image 18361504 is_animated_gif=Was a student-athlete (track/cross country) my first year. Less than two weeks before my second year started coach informed me he was cutting me from the team to make room for his daughter who ended up dropping out of every race and almost every workout. It drove me crazy and I decided to take a break from school for a few years. Ended up doing a three-month dental assisting school with an internship and I don't have any student loan debt. It all worked out for the better.
Being miserable is never worth it.
[rebelmouse-image 18361505 is_animated_gif=Realized that crying on the way to school is a sign that I should find a different one.
Not all jobs require a degree; if you have the skills and connections, use them.
[rebelmouse-image 18361506 is_animated_gif=I left because I had the connections I needed to get a job and the commute was driving me insane, quite literally.
Follow your instincts, just make sure you have a backup plan in place.
[rebelmouse-image 18349582 is_animated_gif=I was driving there one day, and decided I didn't want to go to school anymore.
You don't need to drown in debt to get a quality degree.
[rebelmouse-image 18361508 is_animated_gif=I realized the school wasn't worth me graduating with 100k in debt. Switched to a state school and now debt free :)
That a teacher would knowingly ruin a student's scholarship is really sad.
[rebelmouse-image 18360536 is_animated_gif=Had a GPA based scholarship to a pretty good college. 4th semester in I was taking a freshman-level statistics class. I basically slept through every class, while acing all of her tests. Not surprisingly, she didn't like me. Long story short, at the end of the semester she tells me I am going to fail for not turning in any homework assignments. That was a lie. I did all of the homework. I tore my dorm up looking for some of the graded homework papers she handed back to me. Only found a couple because it was an intro class and I didn't think much about keeping them. Showed them to her, but of course, she didn't see it as proof she was lying about the rest, only that she "must have forgotten to write these ones in as completed" in her grade book. Got a perfect on her final and passed with a C. But that grade kicked me out of my scholarship.
Tldr: Teacher lied about my grade, took away my scholarship.
Edit: Wow, I guess I should update you guys on what ended up happening. I tried convincing her that the homework should not have mattered so much since I aced every test. She didn't care. I went to my counselor. He said without more proof, they couldn't punish her. I tried the head of the business department, got denied there, too. Should also mention that she was a terrible teacher and would have never switched from middle school teacher to college professor, had she not been the dean's wife.
I never completed my degree. Without my scholarship(among other personal things) I had to find a full-time job.
Colleges not accepting credit happens often, and it's all about the money.
[rebelmouse-image 18361509 is_animated_gif=Went on my year abroad to Barcelona, aced all my exams. Came back, did exams at my local uni. Turns out the Barcelona uni forgot to put through my grades from there and I had 9 zeros on my report card. Was already mentally unstable and suffered on top of that from Erasmus-homesickness - as we like to call it. Just had a complete breakdown and didn't leave my house for 3 years.
Finally started taking control of my life by losing weight and found the courage to find a job. Been working this job 2.5 years and became against all odds one of the best agents there, gave me the confidence and courage to finish the last 5 classes and next year my thesis and I will have my diploma and have been maintaining a healthy BMI for over 3 years. Reconnected with a bunch of my friends from uni and doing Hella well for myself all things considered.
This is the downside to pay-for-play college - it's not always about being smart.
[rebelmouse-image 18361510 is_animated_gif=Classes spent more time on the stupid people than on the other 95% people. We were still spending most of the time on stuff we've learned in the first two weeks when we were two months into the course.
Spider infestation? Nope, I'm out.
[rebelmouse-image 18361511 is_animated_gif=The dorm rooms in my first university were absolutely infested with giant spiders that crawled over me as I was in bed.
Sometimes our desired majors turn out to be really boring, and it takes a toll.
[rebelmouse-image 18361512 is_animated_gif=Was going to get 4 year in computer science mostly because it pays and I was alright at it. After about a year every assignment was just so stressful and boring and I would just hate everything about. I never enjoyed it at all and kept telling myself I just needed to finish because I started it and it'll be over until I realized once I finish that's when it begins. Didn't wanna do something I hate for the rest of my life so I quit and now work with plants and am using some of the computer science skills to make a website I'll hopefully be able to make most of my money off eventually so I can continue doing whatever I want.
Sorry students, we're out of business.
[rebelmouse-image 18361513 is_animated_gif=Mine closed.
Tuition + room and board + textbooks + more - it's crazy.
[rebelmouse-image 18350982 is_animated_gif=The thousands of dollars I had to pay on top of the student loans. Universities prey on high school students, man. Also, never go straight to a private University. Get your basics in a community college first. If I had, the private University wouldn't have even been offering tuition anymore and I would have dodged a bullet.
Sorry kids, you need to sit there and sweat.
[rebelmouse-image 18361514 is_animated_gif=The "no shorts in class" rule.
Doesn't every student deserve to pursue their dreams, regardless of their parents' finances?
[rebelmouse-image 18361515 is_animated_gif=Wanted to go to grad school for psychology and become a therapist. But my family's financial situation was quite poor and I don't have very responsible parents. I could only afford one class per semester and I just felt like it wasn't the right moment. So I decided to postpone college, it was too depressing for me to watch my family fall apart and I couldn't just leave them I was worried my family's problems would worsen if I left.
You can always count on revisionist history to be racist - it's not acceptable coming from a teacher.
[rebelmouse-image 18360394 is_animated_gif=I had a history teacher refuse to grade my assignment on "why we no longer have Christopher Columbus Day".
I said it was due to the Native American movement back in the seventies which literally went to the UN and started Indigenous Peoples Day.
He said "nope, no one was paying attention back then" which is straight up bullsh_t.
So I talked to people who wrote on such subjects and ended up talking to the people that were involved, the actual people who started the holiday which is replacing Columbus day... they told me I was correct and my teacher was full of sh_t.
I sent him their emails, and he still wouldn't admit his mistake. He was willfully and deliberately committing historical revisionism and destroying the achievements of people who are still alive or barely in the ground.
After years of having racist teachers making up excuses to refuse to grade my work, I had enough.
There must be more to this story, and it certainly justifies noping out.
[rebelmouse-image 18361516 is_animated_gif=My roommate tried to kill me.
People Share The Best Examples Of 'It Can't Be That Easy' But It Really Was
That pile of laundry has been sitting there, waiting to be folded and put away.
Those emails are waiting to be answered.
A form is waiting to be filled out.
We've all done the thing where we dread and put off something, only to discover later that completing it wasn't that big of a deal.
Redditor UnoAboveAll asked:
"What was your 'it can’t be that easy / it was that easy' moment in your life?"
Auditions
"I Lived in Jersey and a friend invited me to a commercial audition at an NYC bar. I went because of the bar."
"I auditioned after two beers and left thinking it was a waste of time."
"A month later, I get a call that they want to use me for the commercial. The director was the guy who directed the original 'Space Jam.'"
"I got lines and ended up in two of their commercials and got a 40k payday where I thought someone made a clerical error. Started my acting career and am now a writer/director/flight attendant."
- ZDrev10
Home Repairs
"Fixing clogged drains."
"Started out because my sink drain plug wouldn't stay up. Poked around under the sink and found the pop-up rod had rusted completely through and broken. Cost me $5 for a new one at the plumbing supply store next to where I worked at the time. Took five minutes to figure out how to swap, and now I know how sink and shower drains come apart, which makes unclogging them simple."
"Maybe it's just me, but in my brain, it seemed like that was something I'd have to call a plumber to come to unclog, but it's all remarkably simple."
- figmaxwell
Small Claims Court
"Suing someone in Small Claims. It was surprisingly easy because my case was rock solid and I had a professionally printed document of evidence, witness statements, and precise records sent over to the court while the Defendant did literally nothing but send unlabeled loose printouts of my Facebook page as her so-called evidence."
"It was a very quick judgment for the plaintiff!"
- Kelosaurus_Rex
Salary Request
"Got a salary request when applying for a job, accidentally wrote double what I meant to write since the number keys were right next to each other. They accepted anyway."
- ahjteam
Light and Sound
"Worked on an almost five-million dollar lighting rig for a concert as a junior guy on the job. We get it all plugged in and patched but none of it would turn on. All the guys were freaking out trying to figure out why. The team collectively had about 150 years of experience."
"No one checked to see if the generators were turned on."
"I was like no way this is why but I'll just go check if the generators are good. Flipped stuff on and voila."
- Firerobe
Dumpster Diving
"Found a 60” tv by the dumpster. Plugged it in, didn’t turn on. Looked up common problems with the model number, bought a part on eBay for $20, replaced the part, and had a huge TV."
- ThinkIGotHacked
You Can't Win If You Don't Apply
"In college, the professor advertised an internship and wrote the info on the board."
"Out of a class of 150 students, I was the only one to apply and I fulfilled my internship requirement for graduation."
- pendeltonskyforce
Test Retakes
"All the students pretty much bombed a networking final. The teacher said we could retake it but we would be alone (no group). Which worked out perfectly for me; they wouldn't get in my way and I wouldn't have to coordinate them."
"I was also the only person who showed up to retake and brought my final grade up to a 90."
- maiden_burma
Shoelaces
"Tying shoe laces."
"When I was a kid, no one ever managed to teach me how to tie my shoes. I remember never being able to get that last step that ties it all together and in general, I suck with knots. I would have been garbage in the boy scouts. I got into my early 20's relying mostly on velcro shoes."
"But one day, I sat down with a pair of new shoes, determined to figure it out. I put one on and tied it correctly on the first try. I just sat there dumbfounded for a few minutes, wondering how it had been that easy all along."
- IIIMjolNirIII
Renting
"I was recently looking for an apartment and rent in my city, like most cities currently, is outrageous."
"So after three days of looking, I found this two-bedroom apartment with a price that normally would get you a roach-infested one-bedroom or studio s**thole in a bad part of town."
"But these apartments look nice, they're in a good part of town, the reviews online are all positive, I can't figure out the catch."
"Then I see there is a year-long wait list for this place, but I decided to go to the leasing office and after talking to the property manager, I get bumped to the top of the list for an apartment that becomes available next month."
"I keep waiting for the bottom to drop out. Most people spend months looking for places in my city and they'd be paying a third more than I'm paying at a minimum for a similar place. I looked for three days and found this place but I think I just got lucky and it was just that easy."
- C0nqueredW0rm
House Chores
"Actually doing the chore you put off for a few days."
- thebigjuicyman25
Sleeping
"I never slept well, ever."
"There’s an over-the-counter magnesium supplement called 'Calm.' I drink a cup every night and sleep like a hibernating bear."
"It was that easy."
- DomingoLee
Squeaky Doors
"I had a loose hinge on my door. It kind of drove me crazy for three years, but I had no idea how to fix the wood that had been stripped."
"Then I found a product on Amazon for $10 where you shove on a sleeve, break it off and then screw in the new screws. Bought two new hinges that don’t squeak."
"Took about 10 minutes and cost $20 and it’s no longer a problem!"
- captain-flak
Finding the Perfect Job
"I've hated every job I've ever had. At 18 I joined the military for six years... that sucked the whole time, then went into customer service at Walmart, and they were a bunch of a**holes to everyone. Tried security and they were just degrading."
"Job after job doing what I thought was the right thing. I decided to apply for a local HVAC company just working call center, nothing big, I think there's a total of nine of us on phones. Honestly, it's the best job I've ever had, we all get along, spend hours a day on our group chat sharing memes, and our management has one on one meetings every two weeks with the goal of 'this meeting is not work-related but we want to know just how you're doing, how life's treating you, what do you need?'"
"There's constant communication about expectations and how we can better meet them and how they can help us perform better. The majority of the company's profits are used to better employee lives (I get monthly commission and residuals, and $30 a month healthcare with BCBS) along with monthly potlucks, paid lunches, and competitive pay starting at $17 an hour."
"I haven't seen any turnover... literally none, my position was only hiring because too many people got promoted."
- zombiem00se
Self-Improvement
"Self-improvement and reflection. Stopped looking at outside factors in my life and started looking at what I could control. Weight, time, who I spent time with, etc. I didn't need to change my whole life in one day. I needed to make small progress."
"Spending one day less a week on gaming and one day a week on improving myself is better than not improving at all. Allowing myself to fail *with intent* to improve is so much easier now that I don't spend time with negative people who demand perfection."
- livinglitch
This particular group of Redditors proved that not only is it possible to get ahead and to accomplish something, but it can be fairly easy to do so.
People Break Down The Absolute Best Examples Of 'Welp, Society Is F**ked'
No matter how positive each of us may try to be, there are moments when it's easy to feel hopeless about how the world looks.
Some have become fairly certain of society's demise because of a specific event they witnessed.
Redditor FlyingStudio22 asked:
"What's the best example of 'Welp, society is f**ked'?"
Work Comes First
"When I lost three of my closest family members to a drunk driver accident, and I couldn’t get time off work to plan and go to their funeral because, 'you need to find coverage and if nobody will cover for you… you have to come in!' Yeah, none of my coworkers wanted to cover my shift. This happened very recently also."
"After I posted this, a lot of people asked if I went to the funeral. I did, and I’m so happy I did. It really helped me find some closure and take some time with my family. I’m going to request time off to see the motherf**ker who hit them get sentenced, and if they won’t let me go… I simply won’t show up again.)"
"(I also politely told my manager to f**k off and that he can fire me if he isn’t happy with my decision to attend… still not fired.)"
- Beneficial_Cat9225
The Story That Should Have Been
"I saw a news story of a high school student paying off a teacher's student loans."
- greenaidsdaog
Student Loan Problems
"There was a game show where the contestants played for the show paying off their student loans. If that doesn’t scream, 'we’re f**ked,' I don’t know what does."
- Stillwater215
Poor Medical Care
"Pretty much any ER in any major city. Spend a few days in one and see just how incredibly f**ked up a significant percentage of the population is."
- Stock-Bid-9509
Stress's Impact
"I think about my friends, family, and colleagues, and I cannot name a single person who does not have a malady or six. Depression, anxiety, stomach ulcers, heart issues, etc."
- neomattlac
The Price to Pay
"How people with illnesses have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars just to survive. I swear, it's so messed up. 'Oop, you don’t have enough money for a heart transplant that will save your life?… well, not our problem, say goodbye to your family.'"
"Like, if you don’t have money, they will let you die. Literally. And then they’ll be like, 'There's nothing we can do about it, sorry.' YES, YES THERE IS. This is someone’s life and you’re gonna let them die because they don’t have enough money? It really shows you how people don’t care about other people's lives."
- nilyat07
The Rent is Too Darn High
"Stagnation of wages since the 1980s combined with the increased cost of living in the 400% mark in key areas such as rent and food."
"Future's pretty bleak."
- uredoom
Distributed Wealth
"2/3 of wealth created throughout the pandemic went to the top 1%. Income inequality is going to be the downfall of civilization eventually."
- Crime_Dawg
Unconfirmed Sources
"People mindlessly believing propaganda that is easily disproven by a ten-second google search."
- Wild-Striker
Environmental Crisis
"The fish fillets are getting smaller, but staying the same price."
"If ocean ecosystems are no longer able to sustain consistently harvesting large fish, that shows deep problems that cannot be covered up. Couple that with the cost of the poorest, staple foods increasing while wages stagnate, and you have a perfect recipe for societal collapse."
"People are kept docile by all governments with bread and circuses. Well alas, the bread is getting more expensive and has for decades, while the circuses kinda suck and are rapidly going bankrupt."
"I have been recently re-reading Asimov's 'Foundation,' and his discussion of how powerful empires collapse through a gradual shrinking of ambition and will until all that the smartest are trying (and failing) to achieve is the maintenance of the status quo was rather disconcerting. Sound familiar to anyone else working in the public sector?"
- e-girl
No Teamwork
"When I saw how everyone reacted to the pandemic outbreak. Turning health issues into political ones. That basically cinched it."
- sharpshooter188
Lack of Priorities
"I know the exact moment I realized this. It was during the republican debate in 2015. I forget who made a comment about trump's hand size in a suggestive manner, but Trump responded by saying there's no problem there."
"Think about that, during a presidential debate, arguing about literal d**k size, and no one batting an eye. That's when I knew."
- Manimal31
Politics Aside
"I knew when they booed McCain simply for saying Obama was a decent family man."
- DogsAreOurFriends
"Negotiable"
"The fact that human rights are 'negotiable.'"
- teddyslayerza
All of the Above
"gestures broadly at everything all the time"
- nude-rater-in-chief
Many of the points made here are deeply troubling, and it makes sense that some people would view them as signs for societal doom.
Unfortunately, it's all about perspective, and what may be perceived as terrible today may seem slight in comparison tomorrow.
Generally in the eyes of many young students, educators are inspiring individuals who are passing on their wisdom to prepare the future leaders of the world.
But as with all humans, they have flaws. The difference that sets certain teachers apart are the ones who maintain their professionalism and don't let their deeply-shelved insecurities interfere in the classroom.
And then there are the kinds of teachers who were just never meant to be in an academic setting at all and are eventually dismissed for various indiscretions.
Curious to hear examples of educators who fall in this category, Redditor CynicalHomicider3248 asked:
"Why did that teacher get fired from your school?"
These teachers couldn't be trusted to handle fundraisers.
Pocketing School Funds
"Embezzled something like 20,000 from the school field trips she was in charge of scheduling for the whole school. Overcharged the students but only deposited the amount for what the trip cost and kept the rest. Did it for decades. Not only fired but was charged and found guilty. Not sure how much time she was given."
– skith843
Partners In Crime
"Had one of those at my HS. The lady worked in the main office, also coached cheer and flag squads. I never heard what she did, exactly, but it was a big chunk of money she embezzled over time. Iirc, she got found out because her husband, the Ag teacher, allegedly got a student pregnant. So when everything about that came out, her husband told everyone what she had been doing. The whole family was pretty messed up."
– Regular_Sample_5197
Side Hustle
"She made us pay $5 for homeworks that hasn't been done."
– MoleHester
It took one bad decision for these educators to be shown the door.
A Violent Impulse
"He was the gym teacher for over 30 years. He volunteered to stand near the trash cans during lunch every day to ensure the students dumped their food and gave their finished trays to the cafeteria workers in an organized way. He had done this for decades. Even when my father attended that junior high."
"One day, a student decided to toss her entire tray in the trash instead of dumping the contents and giving it to the cafeteria work. He removed the tray from the trash and gave it back to her. She threw a carton of chocolate milk at his face, close range. He responded by punching her in the eye."
– kelham3005
Demonstration Gone Awry
"He was actually just a substitute. Left quicker than he arrived. He told our class he practices judo so one student told him to show a move. The move he chose to demonstrate on this student in front of the class was a sleeper hold. Put that motherducker right to sleep and got charged with assaulting a minor."
– Jurtaani
Love Found A Way
"He was asked to resign because he was engaged to one of the other teachers. They’re still happily married and he made more money as a carpenter. Great guy."
– Leona_Faye
There are those who are naturally fit to be a teachers. These individuals don't fit that category.
Emotionally Unstable
"History teacher never really taught history. Sometimes he'd just yell at the kids in class. It got worse when his son died in desert storm. Then he spent half the class time crying. Assistant principal had to take over one too many days. Eventually he stopped coming to school and we never saw him again."
– Anom8675309
The Magician
"My Dad subbed (teacher) for a while after he retired. He got personally escorted out of a school once for doing 'black magic' for 5th graders….. he did a card trick…. And he was in the process of cutting a sheet of paper in a way that makes it possible to walk thru it. He is currently banned for life from Deer Park public schools in WA."
"Side note: when I went to visit once we went to a bar. The bartender said, 'Holy sh*t, it’s [insert full name] Dude! I named my bong after you, Mr. [name]!' I guess he really influenced the youth 🤷🏼♂️"
– DrNefarious11
Alarming Show & Tell
"Had a samurai sword in his trunk, proceeded to unsheathe it during a fire drill because his lineup location was next to his car and show people…"
"The best part was that after he got fired people posted flyers around the school of him photoshopped with a samurai outfit with a caption of 'free my homie samurai so and so.'”
– LeccaTheTrapGod
The problem with the US public school system is the fact that educators are grossly underpaid for the amount of work and dedication they set aside for students.
It could be one of the main reasons why there seems to be a shortage of qualified teachers.
If the pay grade was at a respectable level, schools in the country might have more teachers who take their positions seriously and are less likely to lack common sense since they know that the needs of their students will always come first.
Many folktales and fairy stories began owing to unusual things sailors might have spotted out at sea.
Mermaids, sea serpents, lost colonies, the list goes on and on.
Sadly (or thankfully) there is no photographic evidence of monstrous sea life, such as giant squids or dinosaur-like sharks.
But that doesn't mean that sailors and people stationed out at sea haven't seen some unusual things.
Things they still have trouble explaining to this day, and will never forget for the rest of their lives.
"Sailors of reddit,what's the most unusual thing you've experienced while at sea?"
Don't Even Want To Know How It Got There...
'Out of a submarine periscope, we saw a fully inflated, pink, unicorn floaty toy."
"We were very far from any civilization."- mbreinich
blow up summergram GIF by SummerfestGiphyThe Ordinary And The Extraordinary
"We were sailing (330ft. ship) from the North Sea to west Africa."
"I was off shift and sleeping."
"I woke up and for some reason decided to go up to the bridge, which is something I usually never did when I could be sleeping or eating."
"It was night, so all the lights were off on the bridge save for a few red ones, and I noticed how bright it was outside."
"I went over to starboard and the f*cking white cliffs of Dover were completely illuminated by a full moon."
"Just beaming moonlight."
"It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."
"Of course the mate on duty was English and was nonchalantly like 'yeah, that's Dover'."
"This one isn't me, but a Welsh guy I met in the Caribbean."
"He had done a few transatlantic trips in a small sailboat so had tons of ocean experience."
"A big storm caught him, with huge rolling waves."
"He decided to heave to to ride it out (basically using your sail and the rudder to put the brakes on and give yourself a smoother ride)."
"He was in the cockpit and was riding up one of the bigger waves."
"The next part is wild."
"He swears to god on his grandmother's grave that a giant whale just below the surface cruised up the wave beside him and just stared straight at him."
"He describes looking into this animal's huge eyeball, just looking back at him, for what was probably a couple seconds but he said felt like minutes, from a few feet away."
"He's never lied or really even exaggerated otherwise, so I believe him."
"Can you imagine seeing that?"
"Sometimes I really miss being at sea."- Zebulon_V
blue whale sea GIF by Monterey Bay AquariumGiphyLes Poissons!
"Flying fish timed a wave right and jumped out the water and through an open hatch directly into the galley."
"Freeboard was like 7 metres."
"The chefs sh*t themselves haha."- BassEvers
Not A Sight Anyone Wants To See
"I was on a run between California and Hawaii, and I was out on deck doing rounds on deck equipment, checking oil levels etc."
"I saw one of those free fall lifeboats just hanging out in the distance and was like wtf."
"I called the bridge, they said a ship accidentally dropped their lifeboat a few years ago and now it turns up from time to time."
"Was glad to know no one was on it, but it gave me a brief scare."- thecactuswrench
Heartbreaking
"Lots of crazy little things, but I was on a ship that lost a man overboard in the Atlantic."
"Reports were that a life saver was thrown immediately after he fell in, the lookout said he saw a swell overtake him as he was going toward the life saver."
"And that was it."
"We searched for hours, never seeing a single sign."
"Search lights in the water."
"Dark shaped swimming past them.'
"Makes you realize how small we are in nature."
"Still think about it to this day."- ConstantTheory255
A Literal Whale Of A Tale
"Was sailing off the coast of the big island Hawaii in February."
"We were mostly interested in fishing since the wind had died down."
"There were no other boats around that were visible and it was a very calm and peaceful day."
"Now often you'll see Humpback whales breaching in Feb and you can also hear them singing if you are underwater."
"That is cool enough, but this encounter was awesome."
"I was baiting a hook, and suddenly on the starboard side of the boat a pod of about 20 melon head whales comes up right beside the boat and they just start staring us down."
"I lean over and this one dude moves a little closer and just keeps moving his head so he can eye me up and down."
"They all just kept staring at us with an expression of 'WTF are these? Hoo interesting, don't look like they can swim at all'."
"They eyed us at close quarters for about 5 min and then just took off."
"The weirdest part of the encounter was the close eye contact I had with the first whale was definitely two individuals sizing each other up."
"Best part of the whole day."- CalEPygous
Ocean Wildlife GIF by BBC AmericaGiphyA Unique And Magical Experience
"Was gently sailing down the northeast cost of New Zealand heading into Auckland at about 2-3 am."
"I was on watch and the other crew member was asleep below."
"It was a pitch black night, no moon, and the sea was very still so as soon as you look overboard all you saw was black!"
"Eventually you saw stars but it was impossible to distinguish sea from sky."
"As I was keeping a watch I saw what I thought was a shooting star just MUCH bigger!"
"It came again and again agin until there were about 30 of these shining glittering trails shooting around the boat."
"It was very disconcerting and it took me a few minutes to click what was happening."
"We had sailed into a patch of luminescence while dolphins were swimming around the boat planing on both it and our wake."
'I had not noticed them due to it being so dark!"
"For something so simple it was a very moving almost spiritual experience and it will remain one of my all time most fondest memories!"- Smh_nz
Never Leave Port If You're Not Prepared To Do So
"French Navy navigator here."
"A few years back, went underway from Toulon on a high sea patrol ship for a routine patrol."
"The sea was very rough out of the roadstead, coming from the west, which was completely contradictory with what our weather briefs were indicating."
"Captain decided to go ahead nonetheless."
"We took a heading towards the east to enter Hyères Bay, when we entered in the pass, sh*t went down."
"I was outside, starboard wing of the bridge to take bearings when the ship took a 35 degrees list on starboard."
"If I had held my arm out, it would have been underwater."
"I held on the compass for dear life, because going overboard in that weather would have probably meant death."
"Needless to say, I sh*t myself.
"When the ship leveled, my boss went out to check if I was still there, and ordered me to go below to check how bad the damage was to some of our gear."
"I went, and when I was at the main deck, the ship took a 43 degrees list to starboard."
'I was then blessed with the horrific sight of a washing machine that was strapped in a room by the hull on portside punch a hole through the bulkhead and go straight to starboard WITHOUT touching the deck."
"Also, a lot of the firefighting equipment (axes, hoses, pumps...) was just flying all over the place, with guys from the security department desperately trying to catch it and fasten it."
"At that point, we had entered the bay and had better weather."
"We had lost electricity in the bridge and CIC, so the captain decided to wait in the bay for the weather to calm down."
'When it did the next day, we pulled back into port for repairs."
"This little escapade resulted in a few bruises, the electrical network of the bridge and CIC being badly damaged (the guys that were supposed to strap down sh*t didn't do it correctly and got punished) and for me, a reminder of my mortality."
"On a more positive note, I once saw a stork land on our 100mm turret after a sandstorm off Libya, and stay there for several hours."
"Also, we had a couple of sperm whales with a calf swimming alongside, for almost a day off Ivory Coast."
"When you see that kind of stuff, it doesn't matter if you are 3 months in or 20 years in."
"You feel like a kid again."- Hans_Von_Seemann
All Aglow
"My area occasionally gets phytoplankton blooms."
"If you're boating at night and sail into a bloom, the wake of your boat will suddenly start glowing blue."
"It's pretty darn bright, easily seen with the naked eye, and appears out of nowhere."
"One minute you're sailing in complete darkness, the next you're in glowing water."- MyNameIsRay·
climate change animation GIFGiphyLife out on the open sea is unpredictable, and sometimes scary.
But those brave enough to venture into it, always return with a story to tell.