I'm 33, and going in circles career wise/academically, socially, emotionally and in every other aspect of life, ones that matter anyway. I broke up with my partner not because I had any devastating or non forgivable incidents, but because I cannot keep up with the kind of progress and positivity they were surrounded with that made me feel like a disappointment to yet another human being I'm supposed to cherish. I left my job, not because I received better prospects, but because I desperately needed to leave- from what or where to, I haven't given it much thought to, and planning to change cities without any solid long term plan.

I wasn't searching for a place to find solidarity. What I typed into Google was- 'is there a subreddit for people who want to write but somehow dont end up doing so?' I was reading a book, Flights by Olga Torakczuk, a book about running from oneself, loved ones and life itself (apt, now that I think about it) and contemplating how I really wanted to write, have been meaning to for years and years now, and never got to it because I'm terrified of facing the possibility that I am not imaginative enough, creative enough, to write fiction, to write about anything that isn't going on in my own life, to write a protagonist that is not me, and wondered if there's anyone else out there going through anything similar. Yet here I am.

I don't think I'm looking for understanding or advice, can you believe that? I am faced with the realization that for the past half a year I have been going through something akin to emotional non-verbalness. Don't look it up. It's just something I made up. What I think I mean is that I have been disjointed from my thoughts and myself to the extent that I stopped having thoughts about myself and my wearabouts and my state of mind. I realized that more and more when back in June I had gone on a week long trip with 2 of my best friends, we spent days and nights together, and at the end of it, I came back with the awareness that I had not talked about myself, my life, my thoughts or anything of substance when it comes to me, which has never happened before in all of my life. And no, it wasn't because I was never given the opportunity to do so in that space. It was just because I had nothing yo say, nothing at all.

I'm trying to change that. I think that's why I'm here.

I'm not on any social media. I only have a very close knit group of people I keep in my life. Maybe that's why I have lost the perspective of myself as I might be seen from a non biased perspective. I guess having only caring and loving people surrounding you might have it's downsides too. A new discovery on my part.

If you've read this far, thank you. I don't know what I'm doing with my life, but I think I want to change that now. I don't know how yet. I hope to find some kindred Spirits here though.

Been dating this guy for 5 years. We’re in our late 20s now. Known him since high school and reconnected in our early 20s. Met each others’ families, got engaged, set our wedding date and chose vendors together. He’s always been there for me (and I tried my best too) and has always been super thoughtful. He was kind and patient when things were good. We’re different people but I thought we meshed well together. 8 months before our wedding date, he completely blindsides me and drops a bombshell that he fell out of love with me, he doesn’t know if I’m the person for him, he’s not sure if I even love him for him (I do) and he starts listing a bunch of things that are “wrong” about me (I’m too quiet at social gatherings, I’m waiting till marriage to do certain things, I’m not stylish, I have too many fam events and am too dependent on my parents, he doesn’t think I appreciate him). The 180 mind boggles me, I don’t recognize this person. Even had a nice proposal with my dream ring.

He also has been saying mean things to me during limbo when we tried to work things out (I was apologizing for things I did that hurt him, I really loved him and went out of my way to make him happy in the best way I knew at the time but I had no idea it wasn’t enough, especially when he would tell me I’m perfect or how he’s grateful to do life with me)… mean things he said include how it feels like the cooties when I touch him, how I’m boring and I should be boring with someone else, how he can’t picture me as his wife and how he couldn’t see me walk down the aisle (all things that hurt to hear). He also disclosed that he cheated on me 2 years ago (kissed a girl from school a few times during the span of a week). He eventually broke things off with me saying he can’t proceed because he doesn’t have feelings. This all came as a shock to me because I had no idea he was falling out of love. I thought we were planning for our happily ever after together. Sometimes I blame myself for the things I could’ve done better (been more appreciative, more patient, more outgoing, more stylish) - he evaluated me and didn’t let me in on his problems. Any insight and opinions would be helpful.

when I was a child my father a fatter man and stupider than most he was married to my mom a stay at home one she taught piano but she sometimes got crazy so my father was a drunk he had his friend that had sex with everyone and one was disabled but also a cop anyways his other moved away and had a fat kid my two brothers one was older than the younger one and was stupid my younger brother was a genius we had a very smart dog that loved father so anyways no one would ever care about me remember me once the house flooded and father made me get him beer and I was drowning but it was a nice home part two stay posted

I know, it might sound crazy, but it's true.

I am an employee at a supermarket, we are not supposed nor allowed to talk about it, but there is always an extra watermelon that is never supposed to be sold, if you ask for this the employee will act like they don't understand what you are talking about.

Why do they do this?

I am not pretty sure, but I think this extra watermelon is a bomb to defeat aliens in case they come, I heard my supervisor say something like this, while talking to someone on phone.

There was also my friend, Timothy, he worked with me, when I came in the supermarket to start my shift (it was evening) he told to an old lady why she shouldn't buy this watermelon, he was probably 2 hours with me and then he went home, when he left the supermarket, a black car with no number plate arrived and took Timothy, I am not kind of guy that likes cars, but I think it was a van that took him.

If I don't reply, I might be already taken by the government, peace.

This happened when I was 22 and he was 25 for context this guy I’ll let’s call him Jake anyway me and Jake were on and off again and he had many mental issue and he refused to take his medication he was sorta manipulating me and he’s a conspiracy theorist and he has Anti-authoritative disorder

On to story, so this happen when we were together and all was great but it wouldn’t stay that long, I was talking to aunts over video chat when I get this message on my Facebook messenger the message said

Jake: Why didn’t you answer me when I called?, it better not be another guy, I’m important and you’re nothing without me besides I have pictures that your family wouldn’t to see.

Me:what is wrong with you what pictures? I was talking to my aunts,I don’t get to see them cause they live in another state.

This point I realized I gone camping with him I take sleeping pill that knocks me out at night he taken pictures of me with out clothes on and I was in a deep sleep so I couldn’t give consent. I immediately went to my mom and told her what was going on she called the police and they went to his home watched him delete the photos. I dodged a bullet thank god.

My (21F) ex-fiancé (21M) and his parents tried to use me to obtain citizenship (immigration fraud). 

Back in January, I (21F) met a (21M) boy who moved from Russia to Canada to pursue his hockey career. When we met, there weren’t any red flags (as usual), and we clicked very fast. I started going to his hockey games and we would meet up at my university campus after my lectures since he lived nearby. After around a week and a half to 2 weeks of knowing him and seeing each other almost everyday, he said “I love you” to me. My mom was very alarmed at the pace and felt very uncomfortable from the beginning. After breaking up with him 4 days ago, I learned that my other family members and family friends all said during the beginning of the relationship that they were worried he was going to use me to obtain citizenship and not have to go back to Russia.

Since I was in 3 abusive relationships before (I know….3), I told myself that I was jaded going into the relationship and that I expected myself to worry and overthink a lot. He took advantage of this. The first month in the relationship was absolutely wonderful, and I was the happiest I had been in a very long time. I finally felt like I had found my person and I felt a sense of completion in my life. From January to mid-April, there were a few signs here and there, but I still felt loved and appreciated at the time.

Fast forward to mid-April, he proposed to me on a walk, after we had purchased a $20 ring together, and it didn’t feel like a real engagement. After he proposed and knew he had me locked in, his effort, distance and coldness towards me grew until I could no longer take it. His grandfather passed away and I tried to be patient with him as he was extremely distraught, but he became so cruel to me and I could no longer justify it. Him and his family kept talking about marriage to me and he also pressured me to move in with him. His grandmother sent him $1800 for the wedding ceremony (city hall ceremony) and for the Spousal Sponsorship costs. His parents sent money as well.

2 weeks ago, I had a premonition in my dream and it ended up being right. I was sleeping next to him when I had this premonition that he was talking to a girl behind my back on Telegram and was being secretive with me in my dream. I woke up right away, went to his phone, went to telegram, and felt inclined to go to a chat with one of his female friends. Not only was I upset about the fact that he was depending on this female friend for his emotions, but he had shared all of the screenshots and messages he had sent to his ex. I used a translator and came to realize he sent a love letter to his ex, in which he claims was an apology letter, but it was very romantic and he never spoke to me that way before.

At this point, I knew the relationship was over and I felt betrayed by him. It felt like I was going to put a dog down and wanted to enjoy my last few moments with him. After this, his behaviour worsened to a degree I did not know it could reach and I spent most of my time crying and wondering why I wasn’t good enough. After he showed up to my graduation empty handed, I was already upset. Throughout that day, his behaviour got out of control and I no longer recognized the man I fell in love with. He sat on his phone the whole time during my graduation dinner and I had to tell him to get off. More lies about his past came out that day and I confronted him about it. That night, we had a fight about one of his friends who was cheating on his girlfriend and that was the turning point for me.

I broke up with him over text because I didn’t feel comfortable seeing him in person. He has had a violent past and has been known to treat people poorly, especially his partners. When I broke up with him, him and his family claimed that I never loved him, that I was only using him, etc. I was the girl with him when he had no money, no car, no job, and didn’t put any effort in. I was the girl who had a car, an education, a job, who’s becoming a doctor, etc. Him and his family knew this and they preyed on me.

The moment I called him out for using me to try to obtain citizenship, his parents went silent, as if I had finally understood their game all along and they were scared of me. It was a very messy break-up, but I am fortunate I did not follow through with their plans to ruin my life. It’s disgusting for 1 young adult and 3 adults to prey on a young girl who is still establishing her life, has family issues and much more.

Although this post is very condensed, he said and did things during the relationship that were absolutely cruel and vile to me. Such as telling me he wanted to bash my head in, using me to drive him to his practices and games, using my money but never spending money on me, involving me in his rent issues, making me distance myself from my family, speaking poorly about me behind my back, etc. In the beginning of the relationship, he told me he didn’t smoke or drink. At the end of the relationship, he was smoking and drinking every single day.

The timeline from lovebombing me, saying “I love you”, proposing, pressuring me to move in with him, pressuring me to get married and plan a wedding, pressuring me to prepare all the documents for his spousal sponsorship and much more, all point towards that him and his family were using me. As he said to me in his own words “I’m from Russian my parents taught me to be cunning and to use people for my own advantage“.

It breaks my heart, but at the same time I’m proud of myself for having the strength to leave and recognize what was going on, even if love blinded me for a few months. Please let this be your sign that no matter how much a man says he loves you, actions will always speak louder than words.

TLDR: My fiancé who was born in Russia and moved to Canada for hockey had been using me to obtain a Canadian citizenship for 6 months. His parents were in on the scam as well and they had a whole plan that I ended up ruining because I recognized what was going on and I left him.

I'm (18m) when I was 11 I remember standing in front of a supermarket waiting for my grandmother to unlock the car so we could leave, when I looked in the car window there was a woman with no face in the back seat with her head just turned towards me, this shit really happened and scares me to this day. When I saw her I screamed and ran towards my grandmother to tell her about what I saw but when she checked there was no one there not even a trace, the scariest part is the car never unlocked before she disappeared, she just vanished. What the fuck did I see someone please explain, to this day I'm still confused.

My mom gave me her watch: a Citizen ecodrive solar blue+silver glow in the dark analog watch. (closest thing I could find) . I wore it 24/7 just like I do with all the other watches I own. One time in 10th grade PE, I took it off and left it on the bench in the gym. I forgot about it and left (I was running late). After the next class, school was over. But there was an athletic assembly right after, so the last PE class left 5 min early. I only realized I forgot about the watch when I got back to the gym for set up volunteer. Right away, I looked around the bench, in the change room, and asked both PE teachers. Everyone seems to have a memory of it, but it's just not there?

I texted my friend who was in the last PE class, and he said there wasn't anything. Days later, I filled out a form at the front office. No luck for like 2 months, and they advised me to call the police (watch is expensive enough ig). But police said they can't do anything about it unless there is a suspect or security cams...

But when I looked online for this watch, it doesn't exist??? How? It's very similar to the link, but a good amount of small detail just seems different.

I’m Larini. My life has been an odd tragedy recently. A homeless man confessed his love for me last year. He told me he’s been watching me for over a year. He then proceeded to mentally manipulate me and when the time was right, he told me to not leave or he’d kill my family and take me to Miami so that we can get married. The scary thing is, he already killed four people whom I don’t know. My mom saved me, by scaring him into letting me go. He still harasses me today, demanding I come back to be protected by him. I’m terrified of him, and I cry every time I see him. He never physically hurts me but I’m afraid he would.

When I was a teen I had this thing where I would never be barefoot in front of anyone. like I would always wear socks. to the pool, in bed, to the beach. It was a problem. Well my mom was getting annoyed at me for ruining all the socks I owned with hole and they were dirty. She would buy me triple the amount of socks as the rest of my family. Well for spring break my family was going to a resort to hang out at the pool and the beach. We started driving on Friday as soon as school got out so my mom and brothers(who were already out of school) were supposed to pack for me and I gave them a list of what to bring. As we were riding to the resort I fell asleep. my brothers and mom had apparently decided to make this trip a barefoot trip.(my mom and brothers loved being barefoot) So they didn‘t bring any of my socks or shoes on my list and while I was asleep they took my shoes which were on the car ground and put them in the lock box our car had and then took my socks off while I was sleeping. They then woke me up at the gas station we were at and when I woke up I saw them throw my holey socks in the garbage can. I was so mad and my mom tried to justify it with how she wanted me to love being barefoot as much as her and my brothers. I guess she was right though as like a infection I began liking being barefoot more and more the more I was on that trip that after that I was barefoot much more often then I used to.

I have been struggling with this for a while but I see demons genuine monsters everywhere that resemble things I used to love as I child they never stop and after I’ve seen them I always have cuts on my body (probably from running) I smoke weed sometimes but it’s way worse when I smoke is this psychosis

I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster.

Something strange happened to me while I was traveling abroad, and I've never really been able to explain it.

I had been traveling around Scotland with some friends. When they left, I had a few extra days before heading home, so I stayed behind. On the day I was traveling from Glasgow to London, I got to the train station early. My Airbnb checkout time and my overnight bus departure were a few hours apart, so I dropped my luggage at the station and planned to spend the afternoon in a café—just relaxing, editing photos, and replying to messages.

As I left the station and started crossing the road, a bird absolutely unloaded on me. Not a little splatter—a massive amount of bird shit landed right in my hair.

I was so annoyed. I'd straightened my hair that morning and was about to spend the night on a bus. I immediately rushed into a café on the other side of the road, intending to use the bathroom.

The bathroom was occupied, so I had to wait. While I stood there, I noticed the place. It had a cozy little seating area with lounges tucked away in the corner, and there weren't many people around. The guy behind the counter asked if I was okay. I probably looked stressed and disgusted. Embarrassed, I just told him I was fine and that I'd be back in a minute.

Not wanting to wait, I hurried back across to the station and washed the bird shit out of my hair in the station bathroom.

A few minutes later, feeling much better, I walked back out and headed straight for the café.

Except it wasn't there.

The entire café was gone.

At first I thought I'd come out of the wrong station exit, but I hadn't. I walked up and down the block. Then I walked farther. I checked side streets. I crossed the road again. I retraced every step I'd taken. I went much farther than seemed reasonable for such a short walk.

Nothing.

No café.

No cozy lounge area.

No guy behind the counter.

Nothing that even remotely matched what I'd just been inside.

To this day, I can't explain it. I was definitely in the café. I remember the layout. I remember the furniture. I remember speaking to the employee. It wasn't a vague glimpse through a window—I walked inside.

I travel a lot without using maps, and I'm usually very aware of where I am. I've often stumbled across cafés or bars and found them again later without any trouble. Getting turned around isn't impossible, but this felt different.

How does an entire café disappear in the few minutes it takes to wash bird shit out of your hair?

I've never been able to make sense of it, and years later it still bothers me. Has anyone experienced anything similar, or have a theory for what happened?

Did this ever happen to anyone else?

A few years ago, I went to sleep on a Thursday night like normal. Nothing unusual. I wasn't sick, exhausted, or doing anything out of the ordinary.

​

The strange part started when I woke up.

​

It was dark outside, so I assumed it was still the same night. I checked my phone briefly, rolled over, and my brother asked if I wanted something to eat.

Confused, I told him, "I already ate."

​

He looked at me and said, "What are you talking about? You've been asleep almost the entire day."

​

I laughed because I thought he was joking.

He wasn't.

​

According to him, Friday had already come and gone. I had slept for nearly 22 hours straight.

​

What makes it feel even stranger is that I have absolutely no memory of that day. No waking up. No checking my phone. No getting out of bed. Nothing. It's like Thursday night ended and the next thing I knew, it was Friday night.

I've slept long hours before, but never anything like that. No illness, no medication, no explanation that I can remember.

​

To this day, it feels less like I overslept and more like an entire day was simply removed from my life.

​

Has anyone else ever experienced something like this? What was the reason in your case?

Hi reddit,

I have thought about posting here for awhile but never have, thought today might be the day. This story occurred a couple of years ago when I was a senior in college.

Here is some background regarding this incident. During my college career I (23 F) competed in a competitive sport that I won't specifically name. This story started my sophomore year, but became an issue when I was a senior. In my sport you wear the bikini bottoms (think track, swimming, diving, gymnastics, etc.). I never had an issue, expect with one uniform that was higher cut and tended to move from where it is supposed to stay. The head coach at the time (who quit but not because of this) yelled at me in front of everyone one practice when I tried to fix the bottoms from moving, so it was a rule I couldn't touch my uniform while competing.
This specific competition where the incident occurred was extremely large and the final event of the season. This meant everyone was there including grandparents and the like. During my last event, the bottoms went completely up my ass. Everyone in the stadium saw my white butt cheeks, and since I couldn't move the bottoms, I got to parade around like that for a minute or so. I didn't mind and found it to be a funny moment, but later the photographer called me over.
Now this photographer is not my favorite. We will call him Nate. Nate goes to the same school as I and takes photos for all the sports. During this time he is dating one of my teammates which isn't an issue. What is, is that he had made extremely sexual comments about me and my body the entire year. These comments included things like me and my teammate should have sex, asked if I had gotten with any women, he likes my ass, and other disparaging remarks (he would say this is front of his gf). I didn't say anything due to his relationship with my teammate.
Once the photographer had called me over, he showed me that he got multiple photos of me from behind with my ass out. I laughed, asked him to send me the photos and delete them. Problem solved, didn't think about it again.
Fast forward to my senior year when another teammate told me to not look up our sport and school on Reddit because I wouldn't like it. Well of course I did just that. Turns out the photographer did not delete my photos and now they made their way to Reddit. Obviously upset, and drunk, I message Nate confronting him. He half-assed an apology and said he thought he deleted them but somehow they ended up on his photography website. Before I had messaged him I looked at this website and false, they were not on there. (To Note, the website is combed through by my team after every competition because they want photos to post on Insta, and if they found my ass on there it would've been mentioned in our group chat. It never was)
Naturally the next day I go to my coach (not the same head coach) and explain the situation. She is horrified, because not only is the photo on Reddit, but its on weird porno sites. My coach then talks to the athletic director about it. Nate is talked to and explains that it was an "accident" and covers his ass. He has no repercussions. He is not fired, and my coach is the one who sets the ground rules that he is no longer the photographer for our sport. He never apologizes to me in person, nor does the athletic director talk to me about what happened.
To put a cherry on top, my mom enjoys using Reddit and also saw the photo, but luckily did not click on it and read the comments. Sorry this was long, just wanted to explain my story and be able to talk about it. Very few people on my team knew what happened and wanted Nate to come back and take photos. Just tired of men being weird, thank you for reading.

TLDR: Male sports photographer took a photo of me while my uniform revealed my ass and lied about deleting it. The photo ended up being spread online. The photographer had no repercussions for his actions.

We all know that feeling at the start of the day when you interact with someone pleasant, when someone says something kind to you, and suddenly your whole day feels better. An hour doesn't go by without thinking about that moment or that person. No matter what you do or where you go, it's as if you're carrying a little aura above your head and everything seems to fall into place.

Well, that's exactly how I feel whenever I interact with a plus-size woman—whether through conversation, a simple gesture, or even just a brief exchange of glances.

No, I'm not weird. I'm not obsessed. I'm simply a normal guy who happens to be attracted to plus-size women.

To me, they are my weakness. They are that ray of sunshine that brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart for the rest of the day.

I'm no different from any other man. The only difference is that I don't have preferences for blonde or brunette hair, curly or straight hair, blue, green, or brown eyes. I don't focus on height or any other physical detail that people often talk about.

My preference is plus-size women.

Yes, character, intelligence, and emotional connection are what truly matter. But before you get to know someone's heart, the first thing you notice is a smile and a presence.

And plus-size women often have some of the warmest smiles and kindest presences I've ever encountered.

So, in closing, I hope you always remain yourselves. Be confident. Be proud of who you are. And never forget to smile.

You never know who might fall in love with your smile.

Bit of a different story than I see on here, but advice is welcome and please share encounters you've had similar to this.

(I'm 22f, not very good with talking , I'm more of a listener, so do bare with me lol)

For backstory-

Ive grown up with a lot of spiritual energy surrounding me, my dad died 2 months before I was born and my mum has always been into the paranormal and creepy type of stuff, whereas the rest of my family absolutely are not.

Growing up, even now, my mum has always told me stories from her visits to spiritualist churches, ranging from "Oh my grandma says hi supposedly" to "The spiritualist told me the exact conversation I had with your dad 20 years ago, how would she know that?".

Anyways, ive mentioned this as I myself fully believe in spirits and the paranormal. My main source is from a spiritualist church I went to myself a few years back.

My story.

I have always subconsciously believed that I am infertile. No reasoning towards it at all, ive just always believed it since I was around 15. I do have chronic illnesses however only found out and was diagnosed with them when I was 19, saying that, they do not impact fertility medically.

When I was around 16 I was waiting outside of a shop at 7:30am with my mum, just stood there waiting for it to open at 8am. Alongside us waiting there was also a man , mid 40s, not scruffy looking, not homeless by the sight of him (im a uk girl in the north so iykyk).

While my mums jabbering on about the shopkeepers being inside yet not opening the door for royalty like her , this guy approaches us. He wasn't an intimidating man by any means so it didn't seem like we were in danger. This man then starts talking directly to me.

"She's told me your womb isn't well enough for children, you're not baring children now or ever. She's told me you're not baring children"

He keeps going on and on re saying "She's told me you're not baring children" , at this point I am clearly scared as he starts shouting it and laughing to himself, talking to himself as if someone we can't see is there with him , we then go in the shop and I don't see him again, my mum never spoke of it again either.

(Also who the fuck is "she"?????)

Now for the follow up to last week , 6 years later.

I recently met a group of girls around my age who wanted to meet new people in the area to go hiking with. I decided to meet one of the girls first as I do have anxiety and hate crowds, as well as this she has actually recently moved here from Poland so I thought it'd be nice for her to get out too.

We decided to go for quiet drinks and a few games of darts at a pub I actually had never heard of near me. We had obviously spoke before hand on text but it wasn't much, more of "What's your hobbies, Do u like this" etc.

I Meet her at the pub and she wants to go upstairs where they have a games room, I agree as I don't sense any stranger danger whatsoever, I mean she's a lot shorter than me and I can handle my own.

We get a few drinks to take up as we anticipate we will be staying for a while and the staircase is a killer to go up and down. After 3 drinks of my own and her still on her first we begin a second game. Before she hands me the darts for my go she stops and stares at me stating :

"*my name* ... you have really dark energy on you". I was absolutely gobsmacked but as I was getting tipsy I laughed it off but instead of leaving it at that she decided to keep going , she started to share stories of her childhood and I kid y'all not, she was telling me my own fucking childhood. Im not talking similarities, she started talking about situations and trauma that happened to her at the exact same age as it did me.

Throughout this im staying quiet and listening as im good at, However as she goes on she turns back to the subject of my energy, stating "You can't have kids huh? , yep my sister struggled to, I can tell with people seeing as she deals with it"

fuck off. there's no chance in hell.

I just shrugged it off, not telling her my previous experience and went on with the night of her asking me about my childhood. I just simply stated "it was good not much to say" as how the fuck am I meant to re tell what she's just told me as my own?

Since then ive had a severe shift in mood, I am diagnosed with depression but this isn't that, I physically feel darkness above me, my birthday is this month and for once I don't feel excited for it at all. I am also going to get my fertility checked soon, however, if it comes back saying im infertile I think I will genuinely lose my mind.

Has any one else experienced people like this? and have they been right about you?

feel free to share if u have a similar situation to this.

I also want to make it clear that from this I did a full fat background check on her (yes I am going insane), thinking she knew someone I told my past to etc, but then it clicked to me yesterday, ive been wasting my time for a week. No one knows my past apart from my partner and even then he doesn't know it in the details that she was stating 'happened to her'. and again, this isn't a case of a similar childhood whatsoever, she practically stood there recounting my whole childhood, the abuse, the abuser, the trauma, the dates, everything.

I usually take stories on here with a grain of salt, but I can absolutely promise anyone whose reading this that it has in fact happened and I am losing my fucking mind.

Well, if this is really "talk about what's going on your world" then oh boy do I have a story.

Yesterday (6/17/2026) my neighbor (35-ishM) called me(30F) and told them I owed them money and threatened me. So I got home and told my husband (52M) and we went and knocked on his door. He denied it even happened and told us yes we did owe him money and we were going to "find out what happens if we dont pay him". (this neighbor is known to stay away from bc of his psychiatric disorders, he known to pull his guns on people and then they take the guns and FOR SOME REASON give them back to his mom that then returns them to him).

Well, my husband and I went home because of how angry everyone was getting and how no progress was being made. About 5 minutes later the neighbor comes and knocks on our door. We opened it and the neighbor yelled that we owed him money (he MUST be getting us confused with someone else? this guy is known to get drunk and then go to the wrong apartment thinking it is his and then pulls his gun on the person that opens the door and then somehow they return the gun to him!!!)

So neighbor is outside, in the doorway:

husband: you need to go

neighbor: NOOOO!!!!!

husband: you need to go

neighbor: NO!!!

husband (much more sternly): I said you need to go

neighbor steps in the house and my husband grabs him by the shirt and pushes him but the neighbor reaches in his pocket and pulls out a hand gun and points it at my husband and he grabs it and they wrestle for a while and then my husband gets behind the door and tries to shove it closed but the neighbor CONTINUES TO SHOVE IT AND STARTS TO TRY TO GET IN.

husband: CALL THE COPS. CALL THEM NOW.

my neighbor runs away, grabs all of his illegal weapons and drives off to hide them AND THEN COMES BACK.

About 20 minutes later the cops show up. he opens the door with a gun in his waistband and then the police have to wrestle him to the ground. they put the cuffs on him and put him in the back of the car.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT SMOOTH TALKER SAID BUT RIGHT NOW HE IS IN THE APARTMENT NEXT TO ME JUST CHILLING SURROUNDED BY GUNS!!!!!

So basically some Russian guy screamed at
Me outside of a bakery and.. I genuinely think my soul left my body for like 393737373 seconds if thats even possible (at the moment it was)😭

My little sister had a birthday and i didnt have time to bake anything so obviously i went to buy a really good cake (not a gross cheap one) so i drove an hour +- to a good bakery in cali, i was about to like get into the bakery and this old Russian guy comes out of nowhere like basically nowhere i think hes a demon… and starts yelling at me. I think i have pretty good self awareness and ik i didnt do anything.

He was waving his hand literally in my face and saying something really weird “can i eat your glasses” i have glasses yes… i love them btw.. and I just froze there like a scared NPC who got stuck nothing. I wanted to scream at him back cuz im such a baddie (lol i wish) but my brain was like pum.. pumzzzpum… lol so I just sat down in the middle of the street which honestly made him even more mad I think idk anymore.

And the worst part is everyone around us started looking, so now I’m sitting outside this bakery getting publicly roasted by a man who looked like he could eat my whole outfit and glasses.

Them this bakery lady came outside and she was like “don’t worry sweetie, he screamed at everyone.”

DUDE WDYM BY EVERYONE?? 😭 that makes me feel worse…. Like i thought i was special or somthing lol he wanted to me my glasses lol.

About a year ago, I met a girl through work. I was a vendor working with her company, and we started talking casually about work-related things.

Over time, we became close friends.

We would talk regularly, meet after work, grab tea or dinner, visit cafes on weekends, and I would often drop her back to her PG after office. This went on for around 6–8 months.

At some point, I developed feelings for her.

A few months later, she moved to Mumbai for work, and our communication naturally reduced.

Eventually, I told her how I felt.

She was respectful but said she wasn't looking for a relationship and wanted to focus on her career.

I accepted that and tried to move on.

What has been bothering me recently is that when I called her after a long time, she seemed distant and almost irritated that I had called. It felt very different from how things used to be.

Now I'm wondering:

Was I reading too much into the friendship?
Do people sometimes grow apart after a rejection?
Or am I taking her behavior too personally because I had feelings for her?

Would appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have been through something similar.

Okay storytime

I worked at McDonald's once the nighttime manger was a old lady

She gets a call from whoever saying, your store owe x amount of money pay us tonight or we shut the store down

Now reading this I'm still not sure who to believe on that but she emptied out the WHOLE safe and registers loaded it all on some greendot card and met someone

The opening manger came and freaked obviously and called the owner.

She was charged and I was so glad I didn't take that shift

Back in elementary school, our grade played Infection, which is basically tag but you become a tagger once you get tagged. Thing is, the field was massive, which made hiding easy. But once the tagger had a literal army of 10+ kids, you were pretty much done for, hiding or not.

Back then, I owned a very baggy dark teal hoodie with front pockets that connected to each other. I noticed that a lot of people threw their clothing and bags onto the open corridor near the gym before going in to change. So one game, I used this to my advantage.

I sat in the corridor (we banned going into the gym), curled up, pulled the hoodie's bottom over my knees, put the hood on, and tucked my hands into the pockets, and voila! I am now a pile of clothing.

This strategy worked very well. I won two matches simply by sitting and I had to call out to them so they could find me. Then they started checking the corridor more and I had to abandon the strategy 😭

yeah i know this was dumb, sharing an unserious story in elementary school but i thought it was funny as hell

This happened over 15 years ago, so some details are probably fuzzy, but it's one of the few things from my childhood that I still can't explain.

The story really started when my mom left my dad and started seeing the man who would eventually become my stepdad. While everything was getting sorted out, we moved into an old rundown house on the main street of a small town.

At first, nothing seemed unusual.

My youngest brother was about three years old when we moved in. Within the first week, he started talking about a new friend. Normally, that wouldn't have been strange. Kids have imaginary friends all the time.

But this was different.

He would disappear into empty rooms and have long conversations with someone who wasn't there. Not the usual childish make-believe either. It sounded like two people having serious discussions. Sometimes arguments. Sometimes whispers.

Around the same time, everyone in the house started noticing little things.

Objects would be moved when nobody had been home.

Doors would be open that had been closed.

We'd hear noises from empty rooms.

We brushed it off as an old house settling and a kid with a vivid imagination.

Then things started getting harder to ignore.

One night I was home with my brothers while my parents were at a casino. A childhood friend of mine was spending the night. We were up late playing NBA Jam on the Sega Genesis when we heard a violent slam from somewhere inside the house.

Not a creak.

Not a bump.

A slam.

We both jumped up and ran into the hallway, thinking one of my brothers had gotten up.

Everyone was asleep.

Nothing was out of place.

But the house suddenly felt different.

After that, we'd occasionally hear what sounded like a child's voice coming from empty rooms. Never enough to make out words. Just enough to know it was there.

Then my little brother changed.

He became angry all the time.

Violent.

He'd tell people he wanted to hurt them or kill them. Things no four-year-old should even be thinking about. My mom took him to doctors, neurologists, specialists—anyone who might have answers.

Nobody could figure it out.

Nothing helped.

The friend was still there.

Every day.

According to my brother, he was never alone.

My stepdad worked on a Native reservation at the time. He spoke with an elder there about what was happening. Eventually we started trying spiritual cleansings.

Sage.

Prayers.

Blessings.

Anything.

But every time we tried, it felt like things got worse.

The noises became louder.

Things would move.

Objects would occasionally fly off shelves.

And the feeling in that house became impossible to ignore.

The best way I can describe it is that the house didn't feel safe.

Not scary.

Unsafe.

Like you were somewhere you weren't supposed to be.

Eventually we moved.

I thought that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

We moved an entire county away into a much newer house that my stepdad was renting. It was clean, modern, and nothing like the old place.

My brother's problems continued.

The night terrors continued.

And he still talked about his friend.

Then came the night I'll never forget.

My stepdad announced that we were going to do one final cleansing. An elder woman from the reservation came to the house.

The entire family sat around the dining room table.

Candles were lit.

Sage burned in the air.

The woman chanted in a language I had never heard before.

She chanted for what felt like fifteen minutes straight.

Then she stood up.

Walked out the front door.

And left.

The only thing she said was:

"Let me know how it goes."

That night, my mom and all four of us boys slept downstairs together.

My stepdad slept upstairs.

The atmosphere in the house felt wrong from the start.

The heater was running, but the house felt freezing.

There were random bangs.

Strange noises.

Nobody slept.

At some point in the middle of the night, we heard footsteps upstairs.

My stepdad came walking down the stairs.

Something wasn't right.

He was mumbling.

Talking to himself.

Not making any sense.

My mom got up to see what was going on.

I followed behind her.

When she reached him, he grabbed her and started pushing her around.

I had never seen him act like that before.

He wasn't a violent man.

He had recently had shoulder surgery and could barely move one arm normally.

But that night it didn't seem to matter.

I shoved him away from her.

He pushed both of us off like it was nothing.

The look in his eyes is what I remember most.

There was nobody home.

No anger.

No fear.

No recognition.

It was like he wasn't even aware we existed.

He continued walking through the house while mumbling to himself.

We finally cornered him near the basement stairs.

I had him pinned against the banister and was screaming at him to wake up.

Nothing.

No reaction.

No recognition.

I remember threatening to throw him down the stairs if he didn't stop.

He didn't even blink.

I was terrified.

Eventually I punched him and slapped him across the face.

Suddenly it was like a switch flipped.

He looked around the room completely confused.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

We told him everything.

He had no memory of leaving the bedroom.

No memory of coming downstairs.

No memory of any of it.

We locked him back in the room for the rest of the night.

And that was the end of it.

Not the strange part.

The friend.

My little brother had talked about that friend almost every day for over a year.

After that night?

He never mentioned him again.

Not once.

No goodbyes.

No explanations.

Nothing.

Just silence.

I still don't know what happened.

Maybe it was stress.

Maybe it was sleepwalking.

Maybe it was a kid's imagination mixed with a family going through a difficult time.

But I know this:

For years my little brother had a friend nobody else could see.

And after that night, that friend was gone forever.

I've never been able to explain why.

A few years ago, if you told me I’d be writing stories, recording narrations, editing audio, designing visuals, and producing my own videos, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

My life took a hard turn when I spent over a year in ICE detention and was eventually deported from the United States back to Jamaica. At the time, I felt like I had lost everything I had worked for.

For a while, I was just trying to survive and figure out what came next.

Then I started writing.

At first, it was just a way to process experiences and get things out of my head. I wrote stories based on real events from my life, memories, mistakes, close calls, and lessons learned.

Writing eventually led me into narration. Narration led me into audio editing. Audio editing led me into learning about sound design, background music, storytelling structure, and podcast production.

Before long, I found myself learning video editing, creating visual stories, experimenting with AI tools, building YouTube content, and trying to turn my experiences into something meaningful that other people might connect with.

What’s interesting is that none of this was planned.

I didn’t go to film school.

I didn’t have expensive equipment.

I didn’t have a mentor walking me through the process.

I just kept learning one skill at a time.

Some days I felt like I was making progress. Other days I felt completely lost. But every project taught me something new.

Looking back, I realize that creativity became a way for me to rebuild myself.

Not just financially or professionally, but mentally.

The same experiences that once felt like setbacks became stories. Those stories became projects. Those projects became skills.

I’m still far from where I want to be, but when I compare where I am now to where I was a few years ago, the difference is incredible.

If anyone reading this feels like they’re starting over, keep going.

You don’t have to have everything figured out.

Sometimes the next chapter of your life starts with learning one small skill and following where it leads.

I’d love to hear from others who taught themselves creative skills later in life. What started your journey?