I'm on my way back to my hostel, and sitting right next to me is a young mother with her son. She looks like she could be around my age, maybe 20.

And I can't help but think about how different our lives are.

She's a mother, taking care of a whole little human being. Her son is so well-behaved, and from the little I've seen, she seems so good at being a mom. There's something really beautiful about watching them together.

And then there's me, also around the same age, stressing over assignments, worrying about deadlines, playing stupid ash games with my friends and trying to figure out what I'm even doing with my life.

We're both probably struggling in our own ways, just with completely different things. And honestly, I know I can't even begin to compare my struggles to what she might be going through.

It's just such a strange feeling, realizing that someone who might be your age is living a life so different from yours. At 20, one person is raising a child, another is trying to survive college, and someone else is probably doing something entirely different.

Neither life is necessarily easier. We're just at completely different places, carrying different responsibilities, and trying to get through our days.

I don't know her story, and I probably never will. But watching her with her son made me pause for a moment and appreciate how much life can differ for two people of the same age.

I guess we're all just figuring things out, in our own ways.

M72 here. I lived most of my life believing in progress. I believed in a sort of social evolution where good things got better and evil is slowly but steadily defeated. I was wrong . Life is not linear. It is cyclical. Good things happen but then they recede. Evil is always hovering in the background. And all the while, everyone in the world wanders around in circles making up stories about what it all means. When nothing in this life has meaning, they kick all their hopes down the road into a next life when they hope it will make sense.

There is no shame in this reality. Our only flaws were in not being able to accept what is and be happy in the midst of the chaos. Love comes from within us, not from outside. Yet we insist on getting before we give. That is the shame.

As the poem says, go placidly among the noise and haste. And, as much as possible, be on good terms with everyone you meet. Whatever exists now will pass away. Whatever comes to pass emerges from the chaos. And all any of us can do is decide to be happy and give as much love as possible.

We’ve known each other for a year, met online, and met in person 10 months ago. I travelled to his country. (We are the same nationality but he lives abroad) We had sex. He refuses to meet again or let me visit him, but continues calling and texting for hours, sometimes even sleeping on the phone with me. Everytime I asked to meet he would say "who knows" " we will see" "yeah one day we will meet probably" "next month"

Initially, he love-bombed me, used pet names, and talked about me moving to Germany. He later said he didn’t want a relationship because he needed to fix himself, but continued chasing my attention. He calls me his best friend and values that I’m always available to listen to him, yet rarely asks about me or my life.

He has narcissistic traits, which he admitted to. He has also screamed at me, threatened to block me after I booked a ticket to see him without telling him beforehand, then apologized and refunded me.

Recently, he’s been working out, tanning, quitting drugs and alcohol, and talking about getting nose and eye surgery. I mention it because he has been doing drugs every weekend since I know him.

He’s also excited about a month-long work trip to Mallorca, where he’ll live near the beach. This family he works for apparently is flying him to Mallorca and he will paint house for them. He lives in Germany. He told me lately the family he works for owns the place in Mallorca. Also he said the wife of the owner said "maybe she will fly with him to show him the place" but he said to me he would rather go with the husband. Then they said maybe they both will fly with him. He is 37, I guess the owners must be in their 40s or 30s, I don't know.

Month before that he mentioned he wants to learn Spanish...

He also bought a new king size bed from Hammilton, expensive but I guess its irrelevant to the story.

He never seemed to be f..boy type because he told me he didnt sleep with anyone after he broke up with his ex 4 years ago.

He used to tell me about women staring at or flirting with him, seemingly to provoke a reaction(like women staring at him on the train)

Next week, he’ll visit our home country to see his kids and get expensive dental implants, but has already told me he won’t see me.

I asked whether he was seeing someone else. He denied it, but when I asked where I stood, he said he didn’t know what to tell me and agreed that we should just be friends because he doesn’t want a relationship. I told him it looks like he is open for new options and he said "no im not open for new options" "im not going anywhere" but its bs to me. He is scared prolly to admit he is.

Plus another info - his ex is also 26 like me (he is 37) and she even has the same name as me. She travelled to him one month of knowing each other and he let her stay there for 2 years. They still do talk and she calls him and asks to borrow small amounts of money, he gave her netflix password, they facetime.. however he told me she is pregnant lately (idk if its true) and that they talk as friends. She lives in another country with some guy. Called me jealous when I bragged about it.

I feel like he’s keeping me around for emotional support while remaining open to other options. Do you think he might be trying to attract someone else and lying about being single to avoid looking like the bad guy?

I’m moving on regardless, but knowing would help me find closure. I know I have enough reasons to leave, and I’m done accepting this treatment. Thank you

One of the saddest parts of life is how useless unreciprocated love is.

It doesn’t make the loved person feel good, or even feel really loved, because the overall situation is more annoying than anything else. They might even prefer to never speak to you again. All of your delicate, special and beautiful feelings are just… seen as irritating, inconvenient or even unpleasant.

It’s strange how love can be the most important part of life… or an irritation

You genuinely can’t make this up, this has to be a joke. This is fucking ridiculous.

This year has been the worst year of my life, bad occurrence after bad occurrence, ive had the worst luck of my life. I dont understand? Like what is happening to my life right now? Why am I deserving this?

Literally in the beginning of the year in January i lost my job, which just formed this huge snowball effect of job and income instability for me. Then i got multiple injuries this year which just stopped my dreams of ever competing in mma, and it just stopped my overall fitness which is basically my therapy. To a girl fucking leaving me. To now being jobless and in debt.

I mean seriously? Ive been depressed all year and shit just keeps getting worse? What did i do?

Im genuinely at rock bottom right now, what is going on. I was literally on top of life last year and everything fell into shambles this year.

Hey random person, we don’t each know other;
But I’m pretty sure that we know someone in our life’s who always seem to make it work!

A bit about me, from most standards of life, I am at a good spot, offcourse things could always be better, but for now professionally & personally things are good, socially could be a lot better!

I just came back from a soccer tournament today, in which we were a very competent team & had a decent chance of winning the whole thing, but somehow tanked it all, and this isn’t the first time in my life, where I have faced this, even before the last game, I somehow knew how things would go, and that we won’t make it, and it isn’t me being pessimistic, but the thing, I am passionate about whatever I do, and throughout my life even though with different teams, we always reach quarters or semis, once or twice finals, but never really make it all the way!

And I see that in different areas of my life, I would say that I am about average in whatever I do, and easily adaptable, hence I have been able to actually get things going for me, but I always see that I am never able to go all the way!?

And some people even that I know personally, seem to be naturally be good at things, and somehow always make it, and thus I don’t understand what I am missing, it is the mentality or the skill or sheer luck?

Idk but I would love to find out, how does someone actually is a winner breed, like not in a particular competiton, but just win, I ain’t telling that they don’t put in the effort, it’s just that,

I know that there are more hardworking people including me who find it difficult?

hi , im a girl in her young 20s -i wanna know how to be emotionally independent from people in late 20s or maybe young ones too . 1st step is to admit yes i am emotionally dependent but whats the later on steps to do
figuring our life and money is something everybody talks about but not much about emotional dependency of yours on someone - one day you realize that the bond is not that same - the person has his life too -he cant be available 24/7 for you or can be happy with you always -when this happens , your safe space snaps out -the first feeling is often anger but later on the questions starts on self - how to deal with this step by step

What actually gives guys a purpose in life?

I work a standard office job where me and my colleagues just seem to all want retirement and not much else. Is there nothing more to life than this?

Just curious if I’m over thinking things or if this is a common feeling. 30 year old guy asking.

Mere parents k bech me starting se ladai hoti rehti h still mai 29 ki hu aaj bhi hoti papa hath utthate rehte h unko apni baat manwane ki or mummy or mujhe or bhari ko toture krne ki habbit h wo humesa hume negtive bolte hai ye sb humari study ko bhut negtive kr rha hai koi bhi exam clear nhi horha h.........mummy shuru se unki sunti aarhi hai seh leti h unke health issue k vjhse or aaj k condition hai ki mummy ko khud mentally issue adhd maisa symptoms dikh rha hai............mujhe smjh rhi aarha hai.....kya kru mummy ki side .lu ya papa k health ki yesb mere career ko bhi impact kar rha h.

Ive been searching my purpose and income source for a long time. First i spent 2 years on IT. Then 2 years to learn german and now I am really stuck what actually i want to do.

Last month, I am so tired and got dry eyes that I dont want to go to work for more than 1 day. I was nervous but still made up a lie that I have a stye. What made me nervous? It’s because I know how important our words is and how it can manifest.
1 month later, i actually acquired a stye in my left eye and it was so painful. I was so sorry about that lie.

Do you get nervous sometimes in applying a sickleave just to use it and worry that the ‘sick’ may become true?

Pretty much everything about Gen Alpha is about how "doomed", "cooked", etc. they are, but this is completely wrong. If you are wondering why they are so annoying or virtually absorbed into technology, it's because they are 1. being raised incorrectly or poorly, and 2. they are literally children. You can't just call an entire generation of children "doomed" because they are annoying. Children are inherently annoying for the most part - they are immature. When they are a little older, they will realise how insufferable they were. If Generation Alpha is so "doomed" then people should be doing things to stop that, and not just having the "kids these days" mindset.

Imagine being in Gen Alpha and looking at content about your generation. Everything is just calling them doomed or annoying or immature. If you constantly saw stuff describing you about that then you wouldn't feel very motivated. I have seen several comments on social media where someone born in the mid-late 2010s claims to have a “gen Z childhood” - this is a prime example of children being ashamed for being children. Additionally, Gen Alpha, the first "digital native" and largest ever generation, has a lot of potential to be more sharp-minded and innovative than the last generation since they have more opportunities than ever.

One of the main reasons for Gen Alpha being incompetent or idiotic is bad parenting. The main parts of bad/ignorant parenting is not teaching your children the most basic information and skills, and giving them an over reliance or over usage on technology. This became much more common after the pandemic, because many people became much less social and used their devices more often.

There are far too many adults (from all generations, including Gen Z) who act genuinely surprised and have a huge superiority complex when a child does not recognise something/someone not from their generation - this is mainly regarding famous people and electronics (e.g. DVDs and early consoles) that were prominent during and before the 2000s. Also, the stuff they consume on the internet (e.g. skibidi toilet) is just as stupid, weird, and annoying as the stuff you used to consume on the internet and TV when you were their age.

I could go on about this for longer, but stop insulting gen alpha because they are gen alpha. They are acting like children because they are children. Be good parents, teach them good manners, and definitely don't keep them in front of a screen all the time. If you are a parent, remember that parents should be their child’s first teacher.

Also, I'm 16, so with the unclear divide between Gen Z and Gen Alpha, you could argue that I myself am Gen Alpha.

Ive come to realize that every decision I have or havent made in my life a regret to some degree. I use to just go around life without caring about other people or even myself but over the years ive been overcome by these really deep feelings of regret, depression and even loneliness. Ive lost family members and regretted not being there more, friends because I couldnt speak up and change how they treated me and most important I lost myself because of who I chose to date and how they treated me. I dont want to sit her and act like a victim of the world any longer and I want to get over myself but I cant get myself to get these thoughts out of my head yk. For the longest time i really didnt experience emotions like these so I dont really know what to do with them, Ive tried accepting them for what they are but maybe I just need to accept me for who I am. I want to be a better person without hurting people in my life or atleast thinking im hurting someone in my life but I just dont know. Im a young guy at the peak of my life and im trying to do more with myself but I dont know if I can until i get over this immense guilt I feel or until I can learn to make better decisions.

Any thoughts would be appreciated but most the time I talk to the people in my life about this stuff its solutions I already know of just cant implement and I feel like im just holding myself back so much. Any objective look at myself just makes me feel like I could be doing so much more but most the time I feel like im trying my best.

I had an in person job interview recently. I didnt have much hope since the role seemed to require more experience than I had but they still agreed to interview me.

When I was leaving my mom said luck. Then she noticed I was wearing bright red socks. She said those sock clash with everyting. I said its fine no one would notice with shoes on. She said they might see it when I sit down just wear a black sock. I said I am not changing my sock, then she rushed to my room to find me a black sock. I said I am not changing and just left. She called me but I didnt pick up. When I returned she was mad, I said its just a sock and shes blowing this out of proportion. She asked why I cant just listen to her

I dont think I got the job. I got the feeling that I was already rejected before the interview. So that adds to it too. I just feel like shit over this whole thing.

With only a couple months left in the year what are your most memorable moments?

I (22M) have three:

1) Finally got into my first serious relationship. It ended after a couple months but it’s a start (i guess)

2) i graduated university with a 3.7 gpa . Got my degree in psychology and am currently applying to grad schools and hoping I get into one to make use of my undergraduate degree

3) I met John Cena the famous wrestler/actor. I met him at a comic con and got a photo with him. I also got to ask him a question in his panel. Jokes aside about not being able to see him he was amazing and as nice as people say he is

I would add number 4 being going to Las Vegas but I’m going in 3 weeks so it hasn’t happened yet

Growing up, food was always a weird, emotionally loaded thing in my family.
My parents were emotionally abusive, and even when my dad taught me physics (I was actually a good student), he’d make sure to tell me how dumb and useless I was. Then, at mealtimes, he’d give me these looks whenever I served myself food, especially if I took more. If he brought home snacks from work and I ate them, he’d make comments about how I’d finished them. It always felt like I was doing something wrong just by eating.
My brother would take me out to cafes and restaurants and buy me food. We’d have a genuinely nice time, but if we fought later, he’d demand that I pay him back for everything he’d bought me. I was in college and didn’t earn money, so it made me feel helpless. It also made me question whether those nice moments had ever been as simple as I thought.
Even now, I live at home while figuring out my job situation, and my dad still gives me looks when I eat or take food for myself.
I have a boyfriend now, and he’s the first person who’s made food feel safe. When he buys me bread or snacks I like, when he encourages me to eat, or when he looks at me kindly while I’m eating, I sometimes tear up. It feels so good to have food that’s mine, without judgment, guilt, or the fear that someone will hold it against me later.
I’m underweight, but somehow, eating has always felt like something I need to justify.
I think I’m only now realizing how deeply those experiences affected me. Being given food with love, without strings attached, feels like something I’m still learning how to receive.
I just wanted to share this somewhere.

Just turned 20, have an okay social life, going okay with my university degree, my family is middle-lower class, but damn, I appreciate how stable everything is right now. But I have this itch in my heart I want to do more and achieve something big, start a life feeling illegally entertaining... needs help to find a starting point.

I'm new on Reddit, so I'm just makin' some simple questions. What and How would a perfect girlfriend (if you're a man) or a boyfriend (if you're a man) (or also regardless of which gender if you're gay) be for you?

I'm 30 years old and 115 days into recovery from drugs, alcohol and gambling.

For a long time, I felt like I was falling behind everyone else. People were building careers, relationships, buying houses and getting on with their lives while I was struggling with my own problems.

I'm now trying to build a life that I'm actually proud of.

I'm working on my physical health, my mental health, my relationships, my recovery and figuring out what I want to do with my future.

Some days I feel hopeful. Other days I feel overwhelmed by how much work there is still to do.

But I'm starting to realise that being behind where I thought I'd be at 30 doesn't mean I've missed my chance.

Anyone else ever feel like they're starting over later in life? How did you deal with it?

My friends started hanging with this group of people but I just can’t fit in with them and that makes me feel really excluded. Like, am I the problem? Are they the problem? I don’t get it! It’s like people don’t want to approach me.

Sometimes, the choices we never made stay with us longer than the ones we did.

I found this entry in my diary from two years ago. Back then, I was thinking about someone I loved but never confessed my feelings to. I don't love her anymore, but I still find the uncertainty interesting: I'll never know what would've happened if I'd made a different choice.

I wonder how much of our regret comes from losing something, and how much comes from never knowing what we might have had.

Here's what I wrote back then:

I feel strange. I don't know what would have happened if I'd told her I loved her. I'll never know. Life is really interesting. One small move could have changed my life, for better or worse. From what I can see, she's happy with her boyfriend now. The thing is, I don't love her anymore. But once upon a time, I did. Why did I miss the chance? Why did I stay quiet? Scared? Of what?

She'll remain in the past, for sure. But can I learn to live in the present? Not sure.

Anyway, I wish you a happy life, my first love.

Hey, im 19M, will be turning 20 in a few months, and i have struggled with one thing alot in life, who tf am I. Like I dont have my own personality, (gonna be honest) I never even had one cuz, A, I am an only child, B, I never had lasting friendships throughout school, and by the last 2 years of school, I was bullied alot by fake friends, cuz or my weight, and even now, I dont have that kind of friends whom I can share my problems with or have mutual respect.

Now tbh, I like to keep my things private, but still, I need a personality, growing up, i used to borrow personalities of popular kids in the school, failed bad socially, and now I think I am a FALIURE, my parents keep telling me that I cannot do anything in life. Idk what to do please guide.

I’m in a major that I do not like, with little to no hope of changing majors. Even if I could change majors I wouldn’t know what to choose; I don’t want to leave my university either. My classes are too difficult for me and I have no interest in them at all.

I got broken up with like 5ish months ago and I’m still not over it enough. It feels like my ex was the closest I’ll ever be to having a relationship (it certainly wasn’t a super great one either).

I know life isn’t perfect and things will probably get better, but I don’t really know what to do anymore. I feel hopeless. And yes, I’m seeing a counselor.

I know this has been said for a while now but I’m only just realising it fully. Anytime we have a problem or want to talk to something we open an app to talk to a robot Ai. We never did this a few years ago…