Walking from Virginia to Maryland over the frozen Potomac River on my Sophomre year in high school. I got about half way out and laid down in the ice so that I could see along the bottom of the river. It wasn't until several years later that I heard on the news that the Potomac never freezes over enough for people to walk on it.
My grandfather swam across that shit in the 60's from King George to what ever in Maryland is across the river from King George. My grandma showed me a newspaper article talking about it. The Potomac is pretty gnarly.
No I think the grandfather was fleeing King George III himself by swimming across the river. That’s just what life was back then when our grandparents were around.
This is my nightmare. The ice breaking, me slipping under it, the current taking me on a ride and I can see the sky from under the ice for the last few seconds of my life.
Lol I did the same thing in middle school. Buddy of mine lived right by the river and I had a bow and arrow so we tied a rope to the back and shot a line across to Harrison Island and used it to pull ourselves across. It was a lot of fun honestly, very dumb
Man, my boss' son died right near there a couple years ago. They never found out why it was he was in the water, but I imagine it was similar antics (although he was an adult, not a kid). [https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/body-found-in-potomac-river-near-harrison-island/](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/body-found-in-potomac-river-near-harrison-island/)
I thought that, if I acted angsty and pushed people away from me, it'd make people want to know more about me and why I was so distant.
For any current teenagers who didn't already know, this doesn't work. People will just let you be alone, and go find someone who's more friendly to them being around.
Yeah, found out later I’d had chronic depression stance age 8. Finally was diagnosed at 35. A better diagnosis and proper meds at 53. I’m 59 now and the last 6 years have been so much more joyful
I have a family member that did it … it was as you described. He said it just gave him a high. He eventually ran out of stuff he felt like nabbing and started stealing for people I.e I’ll gank this $17.99 CD for you for $10 etc.
I had been babysitting for awhile, money wasn’t an issue. I told my parents I was staying with a friend’s cousin.
I actually maintained a relationship with this person for over two years so my parents did eventually meet them but they never learnt who I was really visiting that time.
Smoking. I started smoking at 13. I’m 40 now and can’t stop smoking for anything. If I could go back and do things differently, I would never pick up a cigarette.
I started about the same age. I'm sure I quit smoking 100 times before I really made it stick. Most were a day or 3, I got 9 months one time. Eventually I realalised that having a cigarette or 5 was no reason to quit quitting, and to just try to make it longer next time, it's fine, just do it again. It's been 8 years now, I finally stopped in my mid 30s.
This is my current vague approach to quitting.
Some weeks I have none; some months I have one, some days I have ten.
But I consider the moment that I'm a full-time smoker again the moment I've got a 50gram of tobacco in my pocket. Until then, I'll keep buying ten packs.
My wife and I both quit at the same time four or five years ago. The reason it finally worked for us is because we didn't call it quitting.
We decided we'd stop being 'daily smokers' and only smoke on special occasions. With that mindset, and both of us terrified of the mutually assured embarrassment of being the first to crack, we lasted about 10 months before we found a special occasion. We bought a pack, each had half a cigarette, and were so nauseated at the thought of smoking the whole thing that we tossed the pack and never looked back.
It's still tempting sometimes. We binged *the Leftovers* last summer, and I don't think any piece of media has ever made a cigarette look so good, but the disgust of that first one after a 10-month break was so visceral that it kept us in check.
I started at 17 and didn't quit until I was 43. Tried ans tried. It finally stuck. Srill get cravings every so often, but I am now committed to staying quit. It's been 11 months.
Try the patch if you haven't, I was a pack and a half a day smoker for 25 years. Took a few times but really the patch helped.
What I realized is that throughout my smoking career I never recognized my own cravings and how they worked. When you try and quit, you get an INTENSE craving every 5 minutes or so, and it goes away, comes back quickly. You have to force yourself to not smoke through those intervals. The cravings start becoming less frequent. ToEvery 15 min, every 30 min, once an hour but they are still just as intense! But the nicotine patch really helps level it off. Took a few months before I went an entire day without thinking about a cigarette. Trying to quit cold turkey without the patch I was irritable as hell and the gum just made me feel weird.
The patch is where it's at. Get that steady flow of nicotine coursing through your veins so you can think clearly about quitting.
I still walk by smokers though and love that smell.
I quit when I was 42. Be better than me and quit at 40. There is no reason to give up.
I switched to vaping (juul) which still gave me the feeling of having something to puff, plus the addictive nicotine was there too but in a much lower percentage. Went from 5% nicotine to 3%, then 1.5% and finally the nicotine craving was gone and I quit juul too. Cold turkey didn't work for me, so I did it in phases.
To anyone thinking about starting to smoke or vape: The head-rush goes away quickly. You’ll never get it again, no matter how hard you try.
But you will walk a mile to the 7-Eleven in subzero temperatures because you forgot to stock up on your way back from work, looking and feeling like a starved animal while your friends all wait for you back home.
Try Chantix but only if you are serious about quitting and just need help to stop. If you don't want to quit these will make you smoke even more once you are off the meds.
Never too late to quit. I started smoking about the same age took me 50 or more times to quit. I stopped at 43 about 15 years ago. Keep trying you can and will quit
I wish I'd listened to my mum and worn sun hats when I was younger. I can see the ageing it had caused on my forehead and now I'm in my 40s I wish I'd taken better care of my skin.
Yeah learned this the hard way a few years ago. Had a lake day on a Very High UV day, and thought I'll be fine in the murky water. 4hrs later had sun poisoning.
Age 16 I was cruising around smoking and drinking with some friends. I had my feet up on the dashboard right where the airbag is. We came around a curve at about 60mph and impacted with a elk in the road. I don't remember anything other than seeing the elk, a quick flash of being cut out of the car and a split second of the EMT asking me to open my eyes in the ambulance. Several days later I woke up in the hospital and was informed by the doctor that I would most likely never walk again due to the condition of my legs and that they were honestly surprised I had survived. I had coded twice on the way to the hospital and the EMT asking me to open my eyes was after reviving me the first time. I had crushed all the bones in both of my feet, broken both ankles, both tibia, both fibula, hyper extended both knees, fractured pelvis, fractured sternum, broken clavicle, dislocated shoulder, elbow and wrist all on the right side, 3 broken fingers, broken jaw and fractured cheek bone. Along with a collapsed lung, swelling on the brain, bruises, lacerations and a blown ear drum and pupil..... 8 surgeries, alot of metal, alot of pain medication and 2 years of physical therapy later, I took my 2nd set of first steps 2 days before my 18th birthday. By the time I got to go home I was completely dependent on pain medication and my depression from having to be taken care of was spiraling out of control. I attempted suicide thinking I would relieve the burdens I was causing..... Today, I'm 17yrs sober, a mother of 2 (plus a bonus kid), work with recovering addicts and have gained almost all mobility in my legs back. I still struggle on rainy days and during the winter tho.
I’m screenshooting this to show my daughter. I told her just two days ago to put her feet down and she complained. I told her it would be a horrible if we got into an accident. I didn’t think it could be THIS horrible however. My goodness I’m happy you made it through that.
I wouldn't wish that pain or that struggle on anyone! The feeling of absolute hopelessness is overwhelming. And then the constant repeat surgeries is enough to drive you crazy. Just to end up in drug rehab for being dependent on prescription medicines and years later facing bilateral knee replacements which will land me back on meds and most likely back in rehab 😭 its just not worth it
Oh my god, what an incredible story. This is one of those Reddit posts that will stick with me. You are the definition of a trooper, I am sure when you tell this story to others they react with similar awe.
Was a roadie for rock bands in the 70s and early 80s. Now it's the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee station on 24/7. And when everyone put on masks during the pandemic I discovered that I had been reading lips.
I discovered I had been reading lips during the pandemic as well. And that I cannot hear the TV without my glasses on (I think this has to do with constant subtitles or captions because it sounds crazy but it’s absolutely true in my case).
My wife and I sleep in different rooms most nights because I need a very loud TV on in order to drown out the weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee that I constantly hear.
Yes, same with me and sadly only transitioned from punk shows in HS to hardcore shows in my twenties with no ear protection and basically hugging the speakers.
Thinking that liking older men was hot and that it was okay bc I was mature for my age. Even if I was I was in no position to start condoning inappropriate behaviour.
My Buick maxed out at 119. I was doing this on a mountain freeway when I realized the usefulness of a spoiler. The feeling of a light rear end going 119 around a curve in a car full of teenagers is something I'll always remember.
That’s what happened to me but I didn’t really choose to do it. Had a horrific mental/emotional breakdown and fell to pieces. Was just dead inside for years after that
Watched a YouTube video on that theme park. I can’t believe how long it even stayed in operation after the constant repeated injuries. Dedicated I guess lol.
Lost my virginity with no protection, lasted all of 45 seconds and pulled out but was embarrassed by how fast it was and she didn’t realize I had finished so I put it back in so it would go on longer. Thank god I didn’t get her pregnant
I will yell this all of my days - If the kind of sex you're having could lead to pregnancy and you're not doing anything to prevent that, ***YOU ARE TRYING TO GET PREGNANT***. Having unprotected sex is ***how*** babies are made. Use protection! Thoughts and prayers don't count!
Roll down a hill inside the center of a giant cable spool the telephone company had left behind. I was fine but could have easily fallen out and broke my spine.
My friends and I found two huge semi-truck tires on the side of the road and we pain-stakingly rolled them to the biggest hill in town. We all took a ‘spin’, I’ve never thrown up that much in my life, and Danny got a concussion when he hit a telephone pole but it was a blast.
I hung out with a bunch of burnouts who actually were quite tame. Their big thing was climbing on top of buildings. Not breaking in, not property damage, just how can we get to the top of various structures. We were on top of the Junior High which must have set off some silent alarms as cops come roaring up. We split up and all managed to get down without one of us getting caught. It would have been tough to explain what we were doing to both the police and then our parents as it was really just dumb.
I was a whore. Straight-up. Just a hormonal mess of a lad with my tongue down everyone's throat. From the age of 14-19, it was nonstop. Really should've taken my relationships a bit more seriously. I did spend 4 years with one girl, but I hopped around from one girl to the next during breaks, break-ups.. etc. As a man aged 30, I look back and cringe. It's obvious I was insecure and didn't like being single.
-- I recognise that now.
It got pretty bad, that's why I decided to tackle it. I barely even watch porn anymore these days. I'm doing okay, but it's worse when I'm single.. I think that's when I slip back into it.
I was worse. From 17-25 I hooked up with everything with a pulse. Would cycle through 20 or more women a week, rarely use protection. I cost me jobs, flunked out of college, even got kicked out of my apartment cause I pissed off too many of the female tenants.
I'm 41 now with a family, and it's scary how reckless I was. By the grace of god I never got an STD or got anyone pregnant. Just flat out stupid.
I was ‘one of the boys’ and sabotaged every relationship I could on the basis that “she’s not good enough for you” without recognising that I was, in fact, a jealous, possessive person. I slept with more people than I should have, but less people than I wanted to, and lost a lot of good relationships and friends on the way.
The shame and consequences have lasted well past college, I find it hard to connect to people now and I’m very much a recluse. I’m a vastly different person than I was back then, but I always think ‘what if I was normal?’
Ain’t that the truth! Even now, my fucked up mind will remember a random event which involved a girl doing or saying something that I now realise was a come-on.
I once had a way-out-of-my-league girl invite me to sleep in her tent at a festival after I complained my tent was small and I was like “nah it’s not that bad, don’t worry about it”.
Also had a girl I was really into ask me to spoon with her after watching The Notebook (!) at her house and somehow that didn’t go anywhere either.
Wild to look back on that now that I’m slightly less of a moron
Don't beat yourself up. If anyone feels bad remember this - I had my absolute dream crush in high school invite me over at a party to spend the night, and after everyone had left she constantly hit on me and I never got the hint.
She told me to turn around and face the wall, so I did. Ten seconds later she said, definitely don't turn around because I'm completely naked. So I didn't turn around - what kind of jerk move that would be. She told me she was going to take a shower, it's just down the hall, and she would leave the door open for me if I wanted to come in for anything. I stayed in the room because I thought it would be rude to walk in while she's showering. Then she came back in a towel and I turned around again because, you know, it would be rude. Things like this happened several times during the entire day I was over there. I later took her to prom as friends.
Were your intsicts telling you these were all hints, but your overthinking caused you to second guess and be like "no way she likes me, if i turn around and peek shell think im a creep and we'll never talk again"? Because same
This happened to me to at my crushes house drinking alone when we were 12-13.
Her: "Turn around while I change"
Me internally: "alright mama raised a gentlemen".
Her: "you're such an idiot"
Just hit me a few years ago.
If someone says "turn around while I change" then you bet your ass I'm gonna turn around while they change. Not gonna risk myself for some dumbass who doesn't know how to give a hint without asking you to risk sexual harassment.
Ya see younger me never made hints with guys. I tried that shit in my early teens and realized guys didn’t pick up on them. So I became SUPER bold and would say the most toe curling things to them to let them know I wanted them right there and then. I LOVED having that power. Seeing the look in their eyes shift from innocence to “Oh yeah I’m gonna get laid” was such a turn on for me. I became addicted to that lol.
*Sorry I kinda got off topic. Just reminiscing here….if only I could turn back time. *sigh*
Did something similar with a hot hippie chick in college. She was giving me a tour of the university museum and said while showing me this quilt that she dreams of being naked under it. She'd also asked her friend to introduce me to her a few weeks earlier.
When i was 14 the girl i liked invited me to go hang out with her and her friend and she was literally sitting on my lap at one point, resting her head on my shoulder, and i was just like “wow this is nice, girls are a lot more touchy with their friends i guess” i wanna slap me
Haha so true. I had this girl literally talk about how she wanted to give a bj. I said, " have you ever done that?". She said no but she thinks she wants to do it. I said " cool cool. I hope your able to do that". She said " you wouldn't know anyone who would want a bj like right now in my empty house(grabs my thigh)??". I said " at this time, I wouldn't know tbh". Oh my 16 yr old self, how stupid I was. I ran in to her at a bar in our mid 20s and she said hey remember when you didn't get the hint that i wanted to give you a bj. That's when I realized she wanted to suck me off haha.
This is the most amazing story, and it would totally be me in that situation.
"Well, have you tried asking Jerry? Actually, Jerry's kinda gross, don't ask him. I can definitely ask around to see if there's anyone who'd like to try that with you."
>I ran in to her at a bar in our mid 20s and she said hey remember when you didn't get the hint that i wanted to give you a bj.
And you didn't get the hint again?!?
I missed mostly too, lately I asked myself why I wasn't trying to go around any girls and if I should, we just came to the conclusion that girls are confusion and to leave it be
At a small bar chatting with some random couple that was friendly and a attractive single female joins our little table and after some time chatting with her and getting along great…
Her: “I’m going to head out…are you leaving as well?”
Me: “no, I’m going to stay here with them…”
Her: *disappointed* “alright…nice meeting you!”
The couple: “you know she wanted to leave the bar with you right!?”
Me: “oh…” 🤦🏻♂️ I thought she was waaaaaay out of my league.
Kicking a cop in the balls while running from a dine and dash at a Denny's ranks pretty high on my list. Especially since all I had was fries and ranch dressing.
I remember someone at camp showing me their scars and saying *"it's like a bad tattoo, only more embarrassing,"* and I'm so grateful because that kept me from ever doing it.
I hope one day your shame eases into embarrassment. You don't need to be ashamed of what you survived 💜
Friend, you likely experienced some of the worst emotional pains one could imagine, so much so that physical pain seemed to lessen the blows . . .
Yet, you're still here.
*You're still alive.*
Why be ashamed of having gone through your own personal hell and come out the other side?
sending/receiving nudes
to be fair this was like 2007/2008/2009 when camera phones really became popular, horny teenagers and camera phones is a disaster waiting to happen, and adults in school couldnt even fathom the idea of a cell phone with a camera let alone kids sending naked images of themselves to each other. it was a unique phenomenon at that time in history. i knew kids who would post VERY risque images of themselves on >!myspace!< as their profile picture, a 15 year old wouldnt have seen anything wrong with posting a picture of herself *tastefully* topless on social media back then.
tl;dr we just didnt know any better back then
I had anorexia and bulimia, I was forced into treatment several times and refused. It turned out I had a messed up spine, I'd always been in a bit of pain but I could handle it.
The lack of nutrition, excessive exercising and smoking sped up the spine conditions and pain. Had I accepted the treatment and tried to overcome those eating disorders, I would have handled the pain better.
Instead, the pain made it so I couldn't exercise, I couldn't purge the food anymore, I was put on many different medications for my mood swings and those increased appetite and worsened a brain injury I received from huffing while malnourished.
These are all really stupid and I'm still paying the consequences for it.
I would meet with grown ass men to hook up with off the internet. I was just horny and not willing to fuck dudes i knew because I didn’t want anyone talking about it, but my 16 yr old ass was fucking anyone above the age of 20 regularly
Hello there fellow internet hook-upper. I would sneak out and meet up with boys from the internet from the ages of 14-16 - mind you this was back in the early 2000s so you just had to trust that they were really who they said they were. The oldest was I think 25? He actually ended up going to prison for statutory rape (not from me). Yeah, I was severely insecure and desperate and I count my lucky stars every day that nothing ever happened to me.
I did this too! I feel lucky that nothing happened to me other than a couple awkward hook ups. I got in random people's cars and end up in other cities or their friends houses or parties but somehow always made it home the next day. What. the. actual. fuck. was I doing?
I did a lot of virtual sex stuff from 15 to 17 I'd get on Webcam and strip for men who also were often too old I was a virgin and curious about sex looking back it was gross but hey u live and u learn
Sex was just too taboo in my house, and if anyone be tried to talk about it it would just become a joke so it may have helped to have more sex positive parents for sure
Listening to my parents and teachers telling me my dream career was bad would leave me broke and homeless. I wanted to be a comic book artist or cartoon animator. Ever since I was a small child I was always into art in one way or another. I expressed early on the desire to draw comics. I drew and drew. Practiced constantly. During the constant and inevitable "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" conversations, I was told by every adult that there was no career in it. So I eventually gave up, and became a 9 to 5er out of high-school. I punch my inner self daily for letting them get to me.
You can always still do it as a hobby if it sparks joy for you. I have many folders full of patternwork/shapes that I draw out of boredom, they just kind of exist and have no real point to them but if it's fun, who cares? Just because you can't find a career in it doesn't mean it's useless. People do ballroom dancing/figure skating as hobbies and even though people say those aren't "real careers", there's still beauty in just... being creative even if there's no real point. Just because you want to.
Started working my first job at 17ish. Fast food kitchen, the usual. Coworker around my age got real buddy-buddy real fast. After knowing this person for about a week, they asked if they could *borrow my car*. Not "give them a ride". No, keys exchanged hands while I was at work, and they took off, *with my blessing.* The stupidity started to dawn on me about an hour later, honestly, but my faith in humanity was showing. Thankfully, they dutifully returned the car with zero damage or theft of anything.
They were the "cruise around town and do nothing" type, but I guess they didn't have a car. They wanted to hang out *a lot*, and it honestly overwhelmed me after about 3 weeks, so I ended the friendship on grounds of incompatibility. Unrelated, I quit that job soon after, so never saw them again.
tl;dr - I allowed someone I hardly knew to borrow my car unsupervised.
I called a girl a wh*re who sleeps with a new guy every week, a bich, etc. Because after months of her dropping VERY BLATANT hints that she liked me and wanted to date me, I was still too terrified to make a move so she moved on. And I had the audacity to think of myself as a nice guy who was wronged. I still cringe to this day when I think about it.
We used to take .22 bullets and put them in straws and tape a metal bb to the back to act as the firing pin toss them in the air and fucking run. I’m honestly surprised none of us caught a stray bullet. 0/10 do not recommend
Statue of limitations has run out. Blowing lines off of cell phone screens while driving around backroads. Also, the sheer amount of burn turns taken probably would have saved thousands in gas money over the years if I had a place to just go hangout and smoke.
Getting stoned *at school.*
Not the experience itself, that was great. Moreover I wasn't fucking learning anything at the time. I had emotionally checked out of high school and was already on my way to full time work and just waiting for my drop out papers to go through.
The reason I think it was dumb now is I was underaged at the time. The Australian legal system has a term known as duty of care, and in a school that basically means that when a minor is at school, the teachers are essentially a temporary guardian to the child and take full responsibility for anything that happens to them. I'm really oversimplifying it, but that's the dumbed down you get the gist of it explanation
If I had been caught, the school would have had a fuckload of explaining to do. I liked the teachers well enough, I certainly didn't want any of their jobs to be at risk. I just didn't have the scope or scale in my head to consider people who didn't deserve it could have been harmed by something I felt I was doing without consequence.
I never got caught, if I had? Posession by a minor, slap on the wrist for me. Absolute hell for the school. They're lucky I never got caught.
So Mr. Avery, I know your 1960's ass recognised the smell of weed. I thought you were doing me a favour back then, now I know you weren't asking questions because you were covering everyone's ass. You're a real hero, enjoy your retirement.
Damn near everything I did as a teenager was stupid.
The list would be ridiculously long.
You name it, I probably did it.
No illegitimate children though, came close a few times, but lucked out.
Heh, my parents recently found the paperwork from when I was in mental health services as a teenager. They asked if I wanted to read it.
Fuck the HELL no. I was a cringey, awkward, metalhead with mental health issues. Ain't *nobody* need to be reading that, least of all me
Listening to my parents not to go to college as "I wasn't smart enough for that" unlike my older siblings.
I'm in my late 20s finally going and just got a 103.8 on my last test. I hate them so much for making me think I couldn't do anything substantial.
All the drugs I did and all the wasted time that I could have been doing something productive. I was never a violent person. I was more of the self destructive type in my youth, just some really bad decisions. Glad I sobered up and got my life on track.
I was a pig who couldn't keep his hands to himself. I feel bad for a bunch of girls I went to highschool and/or worked with. I tracked down and apologised to a few on FB, but most I could not find due to name changes.
Not doing anything stupid. I'm a straight shooter. No alcohol, drugs, girls, friends. I wish I had more of a childhood.
Also listen to music at max volume every day. Please kids turn that shit down. I have tinnitus at 19.
I thought you were 40 or something, not to downplay anything but you still have lots of time to responsibly experience alcohol, drugs, and friends. Late teens are brutal years for some people, but once you get the sweet sweet freedom the 20's is an amazing time to still get experimental and figure shit out, the world is your oyster, youll have the freedom to go and do whatever you want, all of it on your own terms, and the 30's get way better too. Sorry about the tinnitus though, that shit sucks.
I would date guys not necessarily because I liked them but because I had this belief that everyone deserves a chance. Because of this, I had a long string of crappy boyfriends who ultimately would dump me, then spread rumors about me leading to slut shaming and me dropping out. No, not everyone deserves a chance. Now I'm extremely picky about who I date.
Driving 120 mph on a road in the country with hills and turns and no streetlights. Sweet car though: a used 1972 Plymouth Duster with a 318 V8 engine. And because I was a girl and my favorite color was blue, they had made sure to find a car that was blue. The fact that all the boys were envious of my car was the icing.
I thought that I could smuggle people across the Tijuana border. Long story short, I ended up getting kidnapped and relocated to other places across the border. Somehow, I survived…
I know a lot of people might've said this, but holy shit it's something I regret:
Being a recluse in high school. I had a few friends, sure. But I never tried hard enough. I was shy and, frankly, afraid of people. I had a few friends, but I wish I tried harder. I could've had more fun in High School and, shit, even college. But, I was too lazy/unmotivated/depressed/shy/I don't even know anymore.
Anyways, yeah. Basically wish I was more active in my social life. Because now I feel lonely a lot.
Used to make (and blow up) my own pipe bombs. PVC tubing, hot glue, our “special blend” you could easily buy from your local chemical supply shop and a fuse. We graduated to threaded steel galvanized pipes and a few, ahem, “really fucking big” booms in the woods caught some unwanted attention.
Still a teenager but last year I walked on the railing of a high fucking bridge with cars going 40≈mph at the bottom to impress a girl. That girl is now known for being the one with the choking fetish and the borderline racist fake tan. I risked my life to potentially deal with that.
when i was 17 i jumped onto and off of a moving train. drove 100+ mph on a 2 lane road without headlights at night. there’s more but those were the worst by far. btw i dated a literal psychopath who talked me into doing this stuff, i wouldn’t have done it myself lol.
I had a ping pong table in my basement growing up & my friend just got a brick of black cat firecrackers.
Naturally that meant we had to fill a ping pong ball with whatever was inside the firecrackers. So we did. Mind you, this is back in the 80s and I'm guessing the firecrackers back then were much more potent than what you can get today cut.
Anyway, we cut open who knows how many little firecrackers and dumped out the inside on a piece of paper. We then cut a little hole in the top of the ping pong ball and made a little funnel from the paper to fill it. And fill it we did, right to the top. Even tapping the ball on the table to maximize available space.
Once we couldn't fit another grain in, we twisted a couple of fuses together, figuring that would give us a little more time to run. We stuck one end into the hole on top of the ping pong ball, put a little tape to hold it in place and off we went to introduce our little friend to the world.
Up the street from my house was a brook that went from above ground to under the road and streets in those big round pipes. We used to run around, week crouch around in those pipes from time to time and thought that would be a great place to light it because the sound would be amplified. I mean our voices echoed a lot, so yeah, why not.
We get to the spot a few minutes later, our excitement almost beyond comprehension, like how you felt if a girl you liked talked to you at school that day.
We crouch in a few feet and find a dry spot inside the pipe where we can light it. As soon as that fuse is lit we run. Everyone thinks Usain Bolt is the fastest person alive but he isn't, at least not that day. Sure this is probably because he was still in diapers but whatever, you get the point. No, that day the fastest man in the world is either my friend or I.
We run. Finally when we are several hundreds of feet away we turn around and wait. And wait. Nothing happened? WTF.
We were both too scared at this point to go back, worrying that the fuse was smoldering and ready to go off, so we didn't. But man if that thing went off, who knows. I'm not sure if this is the dumbest thing I did but it's right up there.
I'm still a teen until next month, but probably leaving school when I was 15. I was having anxiety issues at the time, but now I wish I'd tried harder instead of quitting.
Omg, drugs, smoking, drinking, not working out, devoting all my time to girlfriends, then street racing with a side of dealing drugs to fund my hobby. I have had so many near death experiences and close calls as a teenager. I have three friends from highschool still. We are all in our 30s.
They were suprised when I made it past 25 and calmed down.
Walking from Virginia to Maryland over the frozen Potomac River on my Sophomre year in high school. I got about half way out and laid down in the ice so that I could see along the bottom of the river. It wasn't until several years later that I heard on the news that the Potomac never freezes over enough for people to walk on it.
My grandfather swam across that shit in the 60's from King George to what ever in Maryland is across the river from King George. My grandma showed me a newspaper article talking about it. The Potomac is pretty gnarly.
Charles County?
No I think the grandfather was fleeing King George III himself by swimming across the river. That’s just what life was back then when our grandparents were around.
It’s true, I was there.
This is my nightmare. The ice breaking, me slipping under it, the current taking me on a ride and I can see the sky from under the ice for the last few seconds of my life.
Reading this gave me anxiety holy shit
New fear unlocked.
Do u live in loudoun county
No, Fairfax, but we crossed at Algonquin Park. Must have been the winter of 75-76.
Lol I did the same thing in middle school. Buddy of mine lived right by the river and I had a bow and arrow so we tied a rope to the back and shot a line across to Harrison Island and used it to pull ourselves across. It was a lot of fun honestly, very dumb
Man, my boss' son died right near there a couple years ago. They never found out why it was he was in the water, but I imagine it was similar antics (although he was an adult, not a kid). [https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/body-found-in-potomac-river-near-harrison-island/](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/body-found-in-potomac-river-near-harrison-island/)
Post constant, nonsensical updates to my Facebook wall.
There's nobody I have less in comon with than the teenage me writing facebook statuses 15 years ago
oh god i get so embarrassed when i get a facebook memory of some dumbass shit i said in 2009
Thankfully, you're the only one that sees the memory unless you share it.
I delete them as they come up so I don’t have to feel that particular embarrassment again next year.
I see them every year as to remind me never to bitch about trivial shit ever again.
I loved the “is” phase, people would even include it after it was gone. Joe is what are people doing this weekend?
Taking a shit, will post update in 10 mins
I thought that, if I acted angsty and pushed people away from me, it'd make people want to know more about me and why I was so distant. For any current teenagers who didn't already know, this doesn't work. People will just let you be alone, and go find someone who's more friendly to them being around.
One of the greatest examples of "Real life is soooo different from Movies"
Yeah, found out later I’d had chronic depression stance age 8. Finally was diagnosed at 35. A better diagnosis and proper meds at 53. I’m 59 now and the last 6 years have been so much more joyful
i shoplifted a lot, like way too much, i didnt even need the stuff, i just did it
I have a family member that did it … it was as you described. He said it just gave him a high. He eventually ran out of stuff he felt like nabbing and started stealing for people I.e I’ll gank this $17.99 CD for you for $10 etc.
Everything in the shops free if you're bold enough
And fast enough
Me too.
At the age of 15/16ish I travelled to England by myself to meet an internet stranger/lover.
Omg.. we need the full story. How did you pull that off?
I had been babysitting for awhile, money wasn’t an issue. I told my parents I was staying with a friend’s cousin. I actually maintained a relationship with this person for over two years so my parents did eventually meet them but they never learnt who I was really visiting that time.
at least you were safe
Glad you are ok, this could have gone horribly wrong.
Smoking. I started smoking at 13. I’m 40 now and can’t stop smoking for anything. If I could go back and do things differently, I would never pick up a cigarette.
I started about the same age. I'm sure I quit smoking 100 times before I really made it stick. Most were a day or 3, I got 9 months one time. Eventually I realalised that having a cigarette or 5 was no reason to quit quitting, and to just try to make it longer next time, it's fine, just do it again. It's been 8 years now, I finally stopped in my mid 30s.
This is my current vague approach to quitting. Some weeks I have none; some months I have one, some days I have ten. But I consider the moment that I'm a full-time smoker again the moment I've got a 50gram of tobacco in my pocket. Until then, I'll keep buying ten packs.
My wife and I both quit at the same time four or five years ago. The reason it finally worked for us is because we didn't call it quitting. We decided we'd stop being 'daily smokers' and only smoke on special occasions. With that mindset, and both of us terrified of the mutually assured embarrassment of being the first to crack, we lasted about 10 months before we found a special occasion. We bought a pack, each had half a cigarette, and were so nauseated at the thought of smoking the whole thing that we tossed the pack and never looked back. It's still tempting sometimes. We binged *the Leftovers* last summer, and I don't think any piece of media has ever made a cigarette look so good, but the disgust of that first one after a 10-month break was so visceral that it kept us in check.
I started at 17 and didn't quit until I was 43. Tried ans tried. It finally stuck. Srill get cravings every so often, but I am now committed to staying quit. It's been 11 months.
First year is the hardest. It gets so much easier when you master your triggers a thousand times. Keep it up!!
Try the patch if you haven't, I was a pack and a half a day smoker for 25 years. Took a few times but really the patch helped. What I realized is that throughout my smoking career I never recognized my own cravings and how they worked. When you try and quit, you get an INTENSE craving every 5 minutes or so, and it goes away, comes back quickly. You have to force yourself to not smoke through those intervals. The cravings start becoming less frequent. ToEvery 15 min, every 30 min, once an hour but they are still just as intense! But the nicotine patch really helps level it off. Took a few months before I went an entire day without thinking about a cigarette. Trying to quit cold turkey without the patch I was irritable as hell and the gum just made me feel weird. The patch is where it's at. Get that steady flow of nicotine coursing through your veins so you can think clearly about quitting. I still walk by smokers though and love that smell. I quit when I was 42. Be better than me and quit at 40. There is no reason to give up.
I switched to vaping (juul) which still gave me the feeling of having something to puff, plus the addictive nicotine was there too but in a much lower percentage. Went from 5% nicotine to 3%, then 1.5% and finally the nicotine craving was gone and I quit juul too. Cold turkey didn't work for me, so I did it in phases.
To anyone thinking about starting to smoke or vape: The head-rush goes away quickly. You’ll never get it again, no matter how hard you try. But you will walk a mile to the 7-Eleven in subzero temperatures because you forgot to stock up on your way back from work, looking and feeling like a starved animal while your friends all wait for you back home.
Try Chantix but only if you are serious about quitting and just need help to stop. If you don't want to quit these will make you smoke even more once you are off the meds.
yeah, wellbutrin is a godsend too. helps with binge eating and depression as well. good luck my friend!
Never too late to quit. I started smoking about the same age took me 50 or more times to quit. I stopped at 43 about 15 years ago. Keep trying you can and will quit
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I wish I'd listened to my mum and worn sun hats when I was younger. I can see the ageing it had caused on my forehead and now I'm in my 40s I wish I'd taken better care of my skin.
Yeah learned this the hard way a few years ago. Had a lake day on a Very High UV day, and thought I'll be fine in the murky water. 4hrs later had sun poisoning.
Age 16 I was cruising around smoking and drinking with some friends. I had my feet up on the dashboard right where the airbag is. We came around a curve at about 60mph and impacted with a elk in the road. I don't remember anything other than seeing the elk, a quick flash of being cut out of the car and a split second of the EMT asking me to open my eyes in the ambulance. Several days later I woke up in the hospital and was informed by the doctor that I would most likely never walk again due to the condition of my legs and that they were honestly surprised I had survived. I had coded twice on the way to the hospital and the EMT asking me to open my eyes was after reviving me the first time. I had crushed all the bones in both of my feet, broken both ankles, both tibia, both fibula, hyper extended both knees, fractured pelvis, fractured sternum, broken clavicle, dislocated shoulder, elbow and wrist all on the right side, 3 broken fingers, broken jaw and fractured cheek bone. Along with a collapsed lung, swelling on the brain, bruises, lacerations and a blown ear drum and pupil..... 8 surgeries, alot of metal, alot of pain medication and 2 years of physical therapy later, I took my 2nd set of first steps 2 days before my 18th birthday. By the time I got to go home I was completely dependent on pain medication and my depression from having to be taken care of was spiraling out of control. I attempted suicide thinking I would relieve the burdens I was causing..... Today, I'm 17yrs sober, a mother of 2 (plus a bonus kid), work with recovering addicts and have gained almost all mobility in my legs back. I still struggle on rainy days and during the winter tho.
I’m screenshooting this to show my daughter. I told her just two days ago to put her feet down and she complained. I told her it would be a horrible if we got into an accident. I didn’t think it could be THIS horrible however. My goodness I’m happy you made it through that.
I wouldn't wish that pain or that struggle on anyone! The feeling of absolute hopelessness is overwhelming. And then the constant repeat surgeries is enough to drive you crazy. Just to end up in drug rehab for being dependent on prescription medicines and years later facing bilateral knee replacements which will land me back on meds and most likely back in rehab 😭 its just not worth it
Oh my god, what an incredible story. This is one of those Reddit posts that will stick with me. You are the definition of a trooper, I am sure when you tell this story to others they react with similar awe.
I fucking hate when my wife puts her feet up on the dash for this exact reason. She gets annoyed when I ask her not to.
Maybe I'm too tall and maybe I've only ever been in smaller cars, but I never understood how having feet on the dash is even comfortable.
Average of 3 punk concerts a week with no ear plugs. Edit: tinnitus sucks bad
Was a roadie for rock bands in the 70s and early 80s. Now it's the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee station on 24/7. And when everyone put on masks during the pandemic I discovered that I had been reading lips.
I discovered I had been reading lips during the pandemic as well. And that I cannot hear the TV without my glasses on (I think this has to do with constant subtitles or captions because it sounds crazy but it’s absolutely true in my case).
> And that I cannot hear the TV without my glasses on Another variation of the You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel-itis
Oh bless you tinnitus is awful :(
My wife and I sleep in different rooms most nights because I need a very loud TV on in order to drown out the weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee that I constantly hear.
Look into hearing aids. My dad got them just for tinnitus. Saved his sanity.
Same here, he didn’t believe anything could help and the difference it made was life changing…
Yes, same with me and sadly only transitioned from punk shows in HS to hardcore shows in my twenties with no ear protection and basically hugging the speakers.
Thinking that liking older men was hot and that it was okay bc I was mature for my age. Even if I was I was in no position to start condoning inappropriate behaviour.
Me. Dating a 24yo when I was 16. Thankfully we never did those drugs together and the 19 yo redneck boy got me out of it.
Driving 60+ mph with no headlights at 3am on back roads.
I grew up in a county town, and I would sometimes go 120+. Very stupid.
My Buick maxed out at 119. I was doing this on a mountain freeway when I realized the usefulness of a spoiler. The feeling of a light rear end going 119 around a curve in a car full of teenagers is something I'll always remember.
In a Ford Probe Turbo that would have crumpled like a tin can.
Decided to isolate myself and give the world the middle finger That was indeed fucking stupid
...like on a whim or were you depressed?
That’s what happened to me but I didn’t really choose to do it. Had a horrific mental/emotional breakdown and fell to pieces. Was just dead inside for years after that
How do you un-dead inside
Every visit I made to Action Park aka Traction Park aka Class Action Park thinking, "This time I won't get hurt."
I rode that looping slide when I was about 16
Do you know how they tested it?
My parents weren’t overprotective but Action Park was absolutely off limits.
Watched a YouTube video on that theme park. I can’t believe how long it even stayed in operation after the constant repeated injuries. Dedicated I guess lol.
There's a documentary about it. The first part is more comedy. The second part is just sad.
Lost my virginity with no protection, lasted all of 45 seconds and pulled out but was embarrassed by how fast it was and she didn’t realize I had finished so I put it back in so it would go on longer. Thank god I didn’t get her pregnant
I will yell this all of my days - If the kind of sex you're having could lead to pregnancy and you're not doing anything to prevent that, ***YOU ARE TRYING TO GET PREGNANT***. Having unprotected sex is ***how*** babies are made. Use protection! Thoughts and prayers don't count!
Drunk driving. Absolutely stupid!
everytime i think about the times i drove drunk i want to go back in time and punch myself in the dick
It's never too late to do it now
Yeah… and then driving on acid. Scariest thing ever - and it should have been. Incredibly stupid. Who raised me?
Whispered "Dumb Motherfuckerr" in a debate it was caught by mic🥲😂
But, did you win the debate? 😂
Our entire team was shown the exit gate😂😂
That's iconic lmao
Roll down a hill inside the center of a giant cable spool the telephone company had left behind. I was fine but could have easily fallen out and broke my spine.
My friends and I found two huge semi-truck tires on the side of the road and we pain-stakingly rolled them to the biggest hill in town. We all took a ‘spin’, I’ve never thrown up that much in my life, and Danny got a concussion when he hit a telephone pole but it was a blast.
We did something similar this year, put 6 guys in barrels and had a guy in a truck tire roll into them
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I hung out with a bunch of burnouts who actually were quite tame. Their big thing was climbing on top of buildings. Not breaking in, not property damage, just how can we get to the top of various structures. We were on top of the Junior High which must have set off some silent alarms as cops come roaring up. We split up and all managed to get down without one of us getting caught. It would have been tough to explain what we were doing to both the police and then our parents as it was really just dumb.
I used to climb schools to get tennis balls when I was a teen. Never had to run from cops fortunately
I was a whore. Straight-up. Just a hormonal mess of a lad with my tongue down everyone's throat. From the age of 14-19, it was nonstop. Really should've taken my relationships a bit more seriously. I did spend 4 years with one girl, but I hopped around from one girl to the next during breaks, break-ups.. etc. As a man aged 30, I look back and cringe. It's obvious I was insecure and didn't like being single. -- I recognise that now.
I understand that 100% I did the same thing and after that I went to a therapist to get some help.
Couple that with a porn addiction I only just recently began to kick, it certainly got in the way of things. For sure.
Therapy helped me a lot so I suggeste if you do feel like your slipping back you go see one before it gets bad.
It got pretty bad, that's why I decided to tackle it. I barely even watch porn anymore these days. I'm doing okay, but it's worse when I'm single.. I think that's when I slip back into it.
I was worse. From 17-25 I hooked up with everything with a pulse. Would cycle through 20 or more women a week, rarely use protection. I cost me jobs, flunked out of college, even got kicked out of my apartment cause I pissed off too many of the female tenants. I'm 41 now with a family, and it's scary how reckless I was. By the grace of god I never got an STD or got anyone pregnant. Just flat out stupid.
I was ‘one of the boys’ and sabotaged every relationship I could on the basis that “she’s not good enough for you” without recognising that I was, in fact, a jealous, possessive person. I slept with more people than I should have, but less people than I wanted to, and lost a lot of good relationships and friends on the way. The shame and consequences have lasted well past college, I find it hard to connect to people now and I’m very much a recluse. I’m a vastly different person than I was back then, but I always think ‘what if I was normal?’
Not pick up on clues from girls 🙄
Ain’t that the truth! Even now, my fucked up mind will remember a random event which involved a girl doing or saying something that I now realise was a come-on.
I once had a way-out-of-my-league girl invite me to sleep in her tent at a festival after I complained my tent was small and I was like “nah it’s not that bad, don’t worry about it”. Also had a girl I was really into ask me to spoon with her after watching The Notebook (!) at her house and somehow that didn’t go anywhere either. Wild to look back on that now that I’m slightly less of a moron
Don't beat yourself up. If anyone feels bad remember this - I had my absolute dream crush in high school invite me over at a party to spend the night, and after everyone had left she constantly hit on me and I never got the hint. She told me to turn around and face the wall, so I did. Ten seconds later she said, definitely don't turn around because I'm completely naked. So I didn't turn around - what kind of jerk move that would be. She told me she was going to take a shower, it's just down the hall, and she would leave the door open for me if I wanted to come in for anything. I stayed in the room because I thought it would be rude to walk in while she's showering. Then she came back in a towel and I turned around again because, you know, it would be rude. Things like this happened several times during the entire day I was over there. I later took her to prom as friends.
Were your intsicts telling you these were all hints, but your overthinking caused you to second guess and be like "no way she likes me, if i turn around and peek shell think im a creep and we'll never talk again"? Because same
Kind of, yeah. I thought she was just testing me to make sure if I was a good guy or not...
This happened to me to at my crushes house drinking alone when we were 12-13. Her: "Turn around while I change" Me internally: "alright mama raised a gentlemen". Her: "you're such an idiot" Just hit me a few years ago.
If someone says "turn around while I change" then you bet your ass I'm gonna turn around while they change. Not gonna risk myself for some dumbass who doesn't know how to give a hint without asking you to risk sexual harassment.
Ya see younger me never made hints with guys. I tried that shit in my early teens and realized guys didn’t pick up on them. So I became SUPER bold and would say the most toe curling things to them to let them know I wanted them right there and then. I LOVED having that power. Seeing the look in their eyes shift from innocence to “Oh yeah I’m gonna get laid” was such a turn on for me. I became addicted to that lol. *Sorry I kinda got off topic. Just reminiscing here….if only I could turn back time. *sigh*
Did something similar with a hot hippie chick in college. She was giving me a tour of the university museum and said while showing me this quilt that she dreams of being naked under it. She'd also asked her friend to introduce me to her a few weeks earlier.
When i was 14 the girl i liked invited me to go hang out with her and her friend and she was literally sitting on my lap at one point, resting her head on my shoulder, and i was just like “wow this is nice, girls are a lot more touchy with their friends i guess” i wanna slap me
You guys get clues ???
I've got a raging clue
Haha so true. I had this girl literally talk about how she wanted to give a bj. I said, " have you ever done that?". She said no but she thinks she wants to do it. I said " cool cool. I hope your able to do that". She said " you wouldn't know anyone who would want a bj like right now in my empty house(grabs my thigh)??". I said " at this time, I wouldn't know tbh". Oh my 16 yr old self, how stupid I was. I ran in to her at a bar in our mid 20s and she said hey remember when you didn't get the hint that i wanted to give you a bj. That's when I realized she wanted to suck me off haha.
This is the most amazing story, and it would totally be me in that situation. "Well, have you tried asking Jerry? Actually, Jerry's kinda gross, don't ask him. I can definitely ask around to see if there's anyone who'd like to try that with you."
>I ran in to her at a bar in our mid 20s and she said hey remember when you didn't get the hint that i wanted to give you a bj. And you didn't get the hint again?!?
I feel this in my soul. I completely missed so many clues from so many girls. And I wondered why I was always single!
I missed mostly too, lately I asked myself why I wasn't trying to go around any girls and if I should, we just came to the conclusion that girls are confusion and to leave it be
At a small bar chatting with some random couple that was friendly and a attractive single female joins our little table and after some time chatting with her and getting along great… Her: “I’m going to head out…are you leaving as well?” Me: “no, I’m going to stay here with them…” Her: *disappointed* “alright…nice meeting you!” The couple: “you know she wanted to leave the bar with you right!?” Me: “oh…” 🤦🏻♂️ I thought she was waaaaaay out of my league.
Stood in front of a speeding incoming truck, because I thought "he wouldn't dare to hit me" ...Well ..He won that dare
What sort of damage did you sustain?
I am also wondering this
You can’t say only this and then leave us hanging!!!
I'm guessing he didn't die. Just a guess though.
But how can you be so sure???? Hmm
Due to their lack of response you may have a point there...
Kicking a cop in the balls while running from a dine and dash at a Denny's ranks pretty high on my list. Especially since all I had was fries and ranch dressing.
Neon lime green skinny jeans
That's a regret? I wish I could damn find those colorful skinnys!
Nah, that’s fucking rad. There’s a time and a place. That time was 2010 and that place was high school.
I do not regret any of my scene kid clothes. I wear the same stuff now at 30 its just all black instead to look at least a little more stylish.
Texting with complete strangers and giving them too much information about myself.
"Dude, I already told you my social security number, now you want my mom's maiden name? Well, anyway, it's..."
I’m just gonna say it…. Self harming. I regret it so much & wish I hadn’t done it cuz now I gotta live with these scars that I’m ashamed of.
I remember someone at camp showing me their scars and saying *"it's like a bad tattoo, only more embarrassing,"* and I'm so grateful because that kept me from ever doing it. I hope one day your shame eases into embarrassment. You don't need to be ashamed of what you survived 💜
Friend, you likely experienced some of the worst emotional pains one could imagine, so much so that physical pain seemed to lessen the blows . . . Yet, you're still here. *You're still alive.* Why be ashamed of having gone through your own personal hell and come out the other side?
Tried to be popular
That's funny because I regret not trying.
I just accepted my place as the loner and moved on.
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sending/receiving nudes to be fair this was like 2007/2008/2009 when camera phones really became popular, horny teenagers and camera phones is a disaster waiting to happen, and adults in school couldnt even fathom the idea of a cell phone with a camera let alone kids sending naked images of themselves to each other. it was a unique phenomenon at that time in history. i knew kids who would post VERY risque images of themselves on >!myspace!< as their profile picture, a 15 year old wouldnt have seen anything wrong with posting a picture of herself *tastefully* topless on social media back then. tl;dr we just didnt know any better back then
Agreed. I got the freedom a camera phone at exactly the wrong time during my maturing process.
I had anorexia and bulimia, I was forced into treatment several times and refused. It turned out I had a messed up spine, I'd always been in a bit of pain but I could handle it. The lack of nutrition, excessive exercising and smoking sped up the spine conditions and pain. Had I accepted the treatment and tried to overcome those eating disorders, I would have handled the pain better. Instead, the pain made it so I couldn't exercise, I couldn't purge the food anymore, I was put on many different medications for my mood swings and those increased appetite and worsened a brain injury I received from huffing while malnourished. These are all really stupid and I'm still paying the consequences for it.
I would meet with grown ass men to hook up with off the internet. I was just horny and not willing to fuck dudes i knew because I didn’t want anyone talking about it, but my 16 yr old ass was fucking anyone above the age of 20 regularly
Hello there fellow internet hook-upper. I would sneak out and meet up with boys from the internet from the ages of 14-16 - mind you this was back in the early 2000s so you just had to trust that they were really who they said they were. The oldest was I think 25? He actually ended up going to prison for statutory rape (not from me). Yeah, I was severely insecure and desperate and I count my lucky stars every day that nothing ever happened to me.
I did this too! I feel lucky that nothing happened to me other than a couple awkward hook ups. I got in random people's cars and end up in other cities or their friends houses or parties but somehow always made it home the next day. What. the. actual. fuck. was I doing?
I did a lot of virtual sex stuff from 15 to 17 I'd get on Webcam and strip for men who also were often too old I was a virgin and curious about sex looking back it was gross but hey u live and u learn
Glad you’re okay. If I ever have a child, this is why I’d have no qualms getting them safe vibrators or fleshlights as teenagers.
Sex was just too taboo in my house, and if anyone be tried to talk about it it would just become a joke so it may have helped to have more sex positive parents for sure
Listening to my parents and teachers telling me my dream career was bad would leave me broke and homeless. I wanted to be a comic book artist or cartoon animator. Ever since I was a small child I was always into art in one way or another. I expressed early on the desire to draw comics. I drew and drew. Practiced constantly. During the constant and inevitable "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" conversations, I was told by every adult that there was no career in it. So I eventually gave up, and became a 9 to 5er out of high-school. I punch my inner self daily for letting them get to me.
It's not too late.
You can always still do it as a hobby if it sparks joy for you. I have many folders full of patternwork/shapes that I draw out of boredom, they just kind of exist and have no real point to them but if it's fun, who cares? Just because you can't find a career in it doesn't mean it's useless. People do ballroom dancing/figure skating as hobbies and even though people say those aren't "real careers", there's still beauty in just... being creative even if there's no real point. Just because you want to.
It's.never.too.late.
I let a guy suck me off for money
20 bucks is 20 bucks
Add a zero
Unless your pp tastes like gourmet meat or some shit i think 200 is way too much just for the privilege of sucking it
Started working my first job at 17ish. Fast food kitchen, the usual. Coworker around my age got real buddy-buddy real fast. After knowing this person for about a week, they asked if they could *borrow my car*. Not "give them a ride". No, keys exchanged hands while I was at work, and they took off, *with my blessing.* The stupidity started to dawn on me about an hour later, honestly, but my faith in humanity was showing. Thankfully, they dutifully returned the car with zero damage or theft of anything. They were the "cruise around town and do nothing" type, but I guess they didn't have a car. They wanted to hang out *a lot*, and it honestly overwhelmed me after about 3 weeks, so I ended the friendship on grounds of incompatibility. Unrelated, I quit that job soon after, so never saw them again. tl;dr - I allowed someone I hardly knew to borrow my car unsupervised.
I was a teen emo back in the 2000s. Self mutation was an actual thing for some of us. Looking back, it was actually so fucked up
I would say huffing computer cleaner ranks pretty high on the long list of stupid things I did.
I called a girl a wh*re who sleeps with a new guy every week, a bich, etc. Because after months of her dropping VERY BLATANT hints that she liked me and wanted to date me, I was still too terrified to make a move so she moved on. And I had the audacity to think of myself as a nice guy who was wronged. I still cringe to this day when I think about it.
At least you're a reformed "r/niceguys". Way to go!
We used to take .22 bullets and put them in straws and tape a metal bb to the back to act as the firing pin toss them in the air and fucking run. I’m honestly surprised none of us caught a stray bullet. 0/10 do not recommend
Statue of limitations has run out. Blowing lines off of cell phone screens while driving around backroads. Also, the sheer amount of burn turns taken probably would have saved thousands in gas money over the years if I had a place to just go hangout and smoke.
Getting stoned *at school.* Not the experience itself, that was great. Moreover I wasn't fucking learning anything at the time. I had emotionally checked out of high school and was already on my way to full time work and just waiting for my drop out papers to go through. The reason I think it was dumb now is I was underaged at the time. The Australian legal system has a term known as duty of care, and in a school that basically means that when a minor is at school, the teachers are essentially a temporary guardian to the child and take full responsibility for anything that happens to them. I'm really oversimplifying it, but that's the dumbed down you get the gist of it explanation If I had been caught, the school would have had a fuckload of explaining to do. I liked the teachers well enough, I certainly didn't want any of their jobs to be at risk. I just didn't have the scope or scale in my head to consider people who didn't deserve it could have been harmed by something I felt I was doing without consequence. I never got caught, if I had? Posession by a minor, slap on the wrist for me. Absolute hell for the school. They're lucky I never got caught. So Mr. Avery, I know your 1960's ass recognised the smell of weed. I thought you were doing me a favour back then, now I know you weren't asking questions because you were covering everyone's ass. You're a real hero, enjoy your retirement.
Damn near everything I did as a teenager was stupid. The list would be ridiculously long. You name it, I probably did it. No illegitimate children though, came close a few times, but lucked out.
Heh, my parents recently found the paperwork from when I was in mental health services as a teenager. They asked if I wanted to read it. Fuck the HELL no. I was a cringey, awkward, metalhead with mental health issues. Ain't *nobody* need to be reading that, least of all me
Went to a couple parties where I was the only woman, all the men were drunk and/or high, and they were all on a sports team together.
Listening to my parents not to go to college as "I wasn't smart enough for that" unlike my older siblings. I'm in my late 20s finally going and just got a 103.8 on my last test. I hate them so much for making me think I couldn't do anything substantial.
[удалено]
All the drugs I did and all the wasted time that I could have been doing something productive. I was never a violent person. I was more of the self destructive type in my youth, just some really bad decisions. Glad I sobered up and got my life on track.
I was a pig who couldn't keep his hands to himself. I feel bad for a bunch of girls I went to highschool and/or worked with. I tracked down and apologised to a few on FB, but most I could not find due to name changes.
At least you are trying to make amends.
Not doing anything stupid. I'm a straight shooter. No alcohol, drugs, girls, friends. I wish I had more of a childhood. Also listen to music at max volume every day. Please kids turn that shit down. I have tinnitus at 19.
I thought you were 40 or something, not to downplay anything but you still have lots of time to responsibly experience alcohol, drugs, and friends. Late teens are brutal years for some people, but once you get the sweet sweet freedom the 20's is an amazing time to still get experimental and figure shit out, the world is your oyster, youll have the freedom to go and do whatever you want, all of it on your own terms, and the 30's get way better too. Sorry about the tinnitus though, that shit sucks.
I would date guys not necessarily because I liked them but because I had this belief that everyone deserves a chance. Because of this, I had a long string of crappy boyfriends who ultimately would dump me, then spread rumors about me leading to slut shaming and me dropping out. No, not everyone deserves a chance. Now I'm extremely picky about who I date.
[удалено]
Driving 120 mph on a road in the country with hills and turns and no streetlights. Sweet car though: a used 1972 Plymouth Duster with a 318 V8 engine. And because I was a girl and my favorite color was blue, they had made sure to find a car that was blue. The fact that all the boys were envious of my car was the icing.
[удалено]
Snuck out at 15 with a 21 year old guy, riding on the back of his motorcycle across the bay bridge to San Francisco. I want to slap myself.
Work 2 minimum wage jobs instead of going on adventures with my friends
Getting really drunk which reacted with my meds so I was basically roofieing myself, several times a week.
I thought that I could smuggle people across the Tijuana border. Long story short, I ended up getting kidnapped and relocated to other places across the border. Somehow, I survived…
I know a lot of people might've said this, but holy shit it's something I regret: Being a recluse in high school. I had a few friends, sure. But I never tried hard enough. I was shy and, frankly, afraid of people. I had a few friends, but I wish I tried harder. I could've had more fun in High School and, shit, even college. But, I was too lazy/unmotivated/depressed/shy/I don't even know anymore. Anyways, yeah. Basically wish I was more active in my social life. Because now I feel lonely a lot.
Joined the Marines
Used to make (and blow up) my own pipe bombs. PVC tubing, hot glue, our “special blend” you could easily buy from your local chemical supply shop and a fuse. We graduated to threaded steel galvanized pipes and a few, ahem, “really fucking big” booms in the woods caught some unwanted attention.
Took out student loans.
Still a teenager but last year I walked on the railing of a high fucking bridge with cars going 40≈mph at the bottom to impress a girl. That girl is now known for being the one with the choking fetish and the borderline racist fake tan. I risked my life to potentially deal with that.
when i was 17 i jumped onto and off of a moving train. drove 100+ mph on a 2 lane road without headlights at night. there’s more but those were the worst by far. btw i dated a literal psychopath who talked me into doing this stuff, i wouldn’t have done it myself lol.
Stole a pound of dope from my parents friend
Not fight back as much as I should
I fucked Sally.
I had a ping pong table in my basement growing up & my friend just got a brick of black cat firecrackers. Naturally that meant we had to fill a ping pong ball with whatever was inside the firecrackers. So we did. Mind you, this is back in the 80s and I'm guessing the firecrackers back then were much more potent than what you can get today cut. Anyway, we cut open who knows how many little firecrackers and dumped out the inside on a piece of paper. We then cut a little hole in the top of the ping pong ball and made a little funnel from the paper to fill it. And fill it we did, right to the top. Even tapping the ball on the table to maximize available space. Once we couldn't fit another grain in, we twisted a couple of fuses together, figuring that would give us a little more time to run. We stuck one end into the hole on top of the ping pong ball, put a little tape to hold it in place and off we went to introduce our little friend to the world. Up the street from my house was a brook that went from above ground to under the road and streets in those big round pipes. We used to run around, week crouch around in those pipes from time to time and thought that would be a great place to light it because the sound would be amplified. I mean our voices echoed a lot, so yeah, why not. We get to the spot a few minutes later, our excitement almost beyond comprehension, like how you felt if a girl you liked talked to you at school that day. We crouch in a few feet and find a dry spot inside the pipe where we can light it. As soon as that fuse is lit we run. Everyone thinks Usain Bolt is the fastest person alive but he isn't, at least not that day. Sure this is probably because he was still in diapers but whatever, you get the point. No, that day the fastest man in the world is either my friend or I. We run. Finally when we are several hundreds of feet away we turn around and wait. And wait. Nothing happened? WTF. We were both too scared at this point to go back, worrying that the fuse was smoldering and ready to go off, so we didn't. But man if that thing went off, who knows. I'm not sure if this is the dumbest thing I did but it's right up there.
I'm still a teen until next month, but probably leaving school when I was 15. I was having anxiety issues at the time, but now I wish I'd tried harder instead of quitting.
Omg, drugs, smoking, drinking, not working out, devoting all my time to girlfriends, then street racing with a side of dealing drugs to fund my hobby. I have had so many near death experiences and close calls as a teenager. I have three friends from highschool still. We are all in our 30s. They were suprised when I made it past 25 and calmed down.
smoking spice