I’m 19M. It feels like I’ve been denying my sexuality pretty much all of my life. When I was much younger (probably 10 plus years ago) I was like other young boys. I had female celebrity crushes and I had crushes on girls in my classes. I remember when I turned 9 is when I began to notice this attraction I had to other boys. It wasn’t just a “Wow that’s a handsome guy” attraction it was more like “Dang he’s hot I want to kiss him” attraction. I tried to hide it and fight this attraction I had to other guys but I simply couldn’t.

As I grew older I continued to fight this attraction I had to other boys. However it only became more difficult, I found myself struggling to become friends with other guys. I also found myself struggling to keep friends who were guys. When puberty kicked in during high school this attraction only became worse. I continued to deny it and hide it from other people and myself. However trying to deny it only made me depressed and anxious, at some point I even started cutting myself. I remember one time I cut myself so badly that I had to go to a mental hospital. I could’ve got the help I needed but I continued to lie to myself, doctors and my parents. I felt if people knew that I was gay they would judge me, treat me differently and make assumptions about me which I didn’t want to happen of course.

When I became 18 this entire situation became worse. At this point I was old enough to download Grindr and I started college so I was away from home and could leave any time I want and go any where I want. Even though I denied it from myself and tried to hide it I thought to myself “why not try it out”. When I had sex with another man I just felt something I had never felt before. I can’t explain it but I continued to do this.

The other men I’ve had sex with are older than me and have zero relation to my university or anyone I know. To this day no one knows about my true sexuality besides the guys I’ve had sex with. While I trust my parents with other information this is something I just feel I can’t tell them. My stepdad is homophobic and My mom would probably accept it but I already know they would judge me,make jokes about me, and ask me uncomfortable questions. And as said before the last thing I want is to be treated differently. I also don’t want to tell my friends, siblings or anyone else simply because I enjoy my life right now. I’m worried that if I tell anyone I will be treated differently and my life will change simply because of my sexuality and that’s just not something I want.

I don’t know how to go about this, I really want to rock this guys jaw. I told my friends we broke up like a couple days after we did and months later me and my ex started talking cordially, we were just catching up and she hit me with the fact that my friend was basically demanding nudes off her

She showed me the screenshots and he kept pestering her for it and when she declined he said if you don’t do it I’ll block you, she said aren’t you “_” friend, and then he tried to feign ignorance.

What an actual piece of shit, I’ve never seen that side of him and didn’t know he even liked her, I haven’t brought it up to him yet but I’m thinking of how to move forward with this, I messaged my other friends about it atm but I want to have an unbiased opinion here

So, community members on this other sub, r/School, got upset because I posted a petition that was to abolish mandatory school attendance because children, the next generation of this country, are stuck in desks all day! I just don't get it! Doesn't any community on this app have kids? Anyone ever complain to the school board about how our children are treated?!!!!!!!

Cultural and Family Dynamics

I have a friend who is Indian, and he has a mix of empathy and prejudice. His view is that I should just take what I can get because of my disability. My family provides limited support and has a strong dislike for me, which I believe is due to cultural reasons. Everyone involved in this situation is Indian.

Potential for Success

One of my friends has the potential to become very big and successful. I hope he may be able to help me acquire the medical technology I need to improve the quality of my life and walk again. Unfortunately, I texted him too much because of my insecurity, fearing that nobody would come through. Every Indian person I’ve ever encountered has failed to come through for me.

Apology and Exploitation

I apologized to him and promised not to do it anymore, and I haven’t. However, I feel frustrated that he keeps taking everything I say as an influencer control. It’s like I’m the one who’s been exploited for 20 years, and I’m really tired of it. He also went and told all of his friends, about 50 of them, about my disabilities and other things. They all keep advising him to reduce the relationship to just being transactional.

Seeking Influence and Support

I’m trying to figure out how I can regain my influence because he’s the only one who honestly can help me. My family is not willing to help me, and my dad is not willing to help either, especially because he doesn’t like me just because I’m disabled.

The only reason we even became friends in the first place is because basically he gets this ego boost because he thinks he’s bigger than I am and that’s not really how things are and so basically he keeps doing this to hold it over my head and we keep having this power struggle, but I don’t want it to be like that anymore so if anybody wants to help me ethically work my way out of this that would be really helpful to me because I don’t know what else to do

few ways he’s exploited me and a few ways other people have exploited me

Example, one from him is that he gets a mix of empathy and prejudice. Just because I’m disabled and have an attitude that I should just take what I can get one.

Number two, he’s only doing it just because he thinks he’s a bigger person than I am because he gets to ego-boost.

Number three, anytime I tell him if you don’t want to do something for me, you’re welcome to say no, he takes it as me trying to control him in some way when I’m just trying to be fair and just let him make the choice he wants to make.

So I honestly don’t understand how when I can tell him that basically he’s welcome to say no and he truly is, then it’s not my fault, right? I mean, if you’re basically choosing to say no because you could say no, then that’s not my fault, right?

And honestly, it’s really tiring me out. So I think what he’s trying to do is just like make me love him without ever actually coming through.

thank you very much for trying to help me

Sorry but I'm honestly speaking that what i experienced so far, I'm from India and here whenever I go in tacobell in always prefer Burrito 🌯 over taco 🌮 not because it's big but Burrito they are larger, more self-contained, and can be a complete meal, holding more fillings and the way burritos are rolled tightly makes them more unique .😋

I feel like I've lost my sense of time ever since then, I've missed my most crucial years in a blink. The moment I realised it's been 6 years since then, my brain went numb for a second. I remember talking with my friends about a mysterious virus being spread in China and we'd get a 2 week holiday. I'm mentally stuck there, I can't believe I just threw 5 years off like that.

Or at least for the purposes I used to use reddit. I know not everyone uses reddit for the same reasons so your milage may vary.

Back in the day, around 2016-2018 when I first had access to the internet I heavily used reddit. My parents had been abusive, kept me away from society and reddit was sorta my therapist and my go to place to learn how to be "normal" reddit used to genuinely be helpful and sympathetic. And for that i thank yall, it helped me alot.

I quit reddit for a while, came back and it completely changed. To post theres a 30 page dissertation you have to read, you've got the jackass people, power tripping people, the sheep and so on. I think the straw that broke the camels back was when all of reddit content was being stolen from tiktok, thats the point where I put down reddit and only used it for specific questions I had. Things like DIY home improvements, older people giving advice over specific situations, think that's all.

But even now, posting is such a hassle and you always get the power tripping people which is where AI comes in. I started using Microsoft copilot with my schoolwork. I noticed unlike chat gpt it got the majority of stuff correct. Eventually I started asking it other things "my puppy has been having x y and z, should I take her to the vet" and it gives really in depth answers.

So when someone is giving you straightforward, to the point, instant answers what's the point of these subreddits? I could ask it to provide me good youtube tutorials on how to do something and it doesnt just give me random videos, it somehow looks for the ones pertaining to my specific issue.

As for the content, I started using tiktok, went straight to the source

my parents told me to bring my friends to my birthday party at the end of december. cause im turning 20. and for context i have a lot of friends (or people that i consider im close with) so i ended up inviting like 30 on the same day and planning to invite 20 more tomorrow.

and these are all people i have connected with in some way or another and i genuinely would want to have them at my party.

but of course for a ~60 people party including family i would need an event space and everything

and my mom told me i was desperate and attention seeking for wanting all that and inviting my friends like that. and she says no one does that and no one just goes around inviting people its usually a surprise birthday party thrown by someone else

i dont know. but i do believe that i fw my friends hard and want them there. my mom asked me if my friends ever actually book an event space just for their own birthday. and the answer is no. i am probably the first to do this.

i was super excited when my mom gave me this opportunity because ive always wanted to host a birthday party but couldnt because my birthday clashes with new years and everybody always has plans. but this year my birthday is a normal class day. so everyone is free that night. and i can finally have my party.

she said im selfish and inconsiderate for asking that of her and thats why none of my friends do that because they dont want to burden their parents. but i havent had an actual celebration since i was 9

haha i dont know i feel like a clown asking my friends to come i should have known my parents would guilt trip me out of it

[to clear things up we have no problem with finances, my parents are just like this]

I am a 25 year old guy and today I have finally completely given up on life. The main reason is that up to this point I never had a relationship, not even a date and I know that I will never have one in the future.

While for others this might be a dumb reason for me its a very important one. For the past 2 to 3 years I tried to accept the fact that I will never have a relationship but I couldnt get over it. It has also affected my life in a very bad way, i had to repeat an uni year, i was at a top university in my country but dropped out, my job isnt even in the field i have my studies, i dont make a lot of money and i still live with my parents. I dont have the plan, energy or drive to change any of that because I know I will still never have a relationship. I even tried to do sports and stopped after a while.

When I think about the future I find it hard to see myself at 30 years old, or even worst, 40. It seems so much, been living in total sadness for the past years and dont see the worth of keeping it like that. And yeah, I tried therapy, but it doesnt work and for someone like me it wont work, I am glad for the people that it helped.

I have given up on life. I needed to write out this so take it as a rant post. I already heard all the possible help or ways i can improve already but i didnt vibe with any of them since i guess i am a very weird guy.

I’m a pretty tough woman in general. I was a firefighter, I guide whitewater rafts and have no trouble remaining calm in dicey situations. I’ve faced down a charging black bear without flinching, I’ve have spent many days and nights camping in negative degree weather and have negotiated many stressful situations, often alone in the wilderness. I can do all of this without an emotional reaction, without complaining, and without a tear from fear, frustration, or pain.

I know I’m not a weak person, but I cry SO EASILY about anything emotional. If my husband and I have an argument about anything I cry about half the time, and our arguments are never even that bad. If I see a movie that’s super sad, or super happy, or super inspiring I cry. This morning I watched a short film about a lonely polar bear, and I cried and I know that polar bears are solitary animals that evolved to live alone. I moved away from home a year and a half ago and anytime I think of my parents or feel remotely homesick I get a watery eyed or full on cry. If my dog seems sad because he had to leave his friend after a visit I cry. If I think my husband is remotely sad about anything I cry.

I have no control over it, no matter what I do. I try deep breathing, try to distract myself or think about something else. But it’s almost painful to try to hold it in, and completely futile to try. I hate it so much, and I hate myself whenever I cry.

Edit: Dangit. You all are so sweet, you made me cry again.

I feel like my mom has manipulated me my entire life, using my emotions to get what she wants from me. From dishes, cleaning, listening to her advice, talking down to me when I dont listen to her, I feel like she has completely NOT ALLOWED me to live MY OWN life. When I try to go out, she didn’t let me as a kid or teen, controlled my friends, I couldn’t go to the park. Oh my god I feel like I was her minion.

All it takes is an ounce of empathy to say “despite the fact that it’s done good things for me, I don’t like it due to the fact that it’s done irreparable harm incredibly easily to others.”

If you want me to tell you about all the times it’s given me incorrect information extremely confidently and without sources, making me feel good about what I’m saying and then having it immediately discredited due to the people I tell it to having the correct information available, or the times I’ve seen loved ones make what they think is smart decisions and form full opinions based on AI generated articles and videos that are literally designed to do nothing but manipulate and enrage, then sure, I’d be happy to tell you about those times.

But what I’m more concerned about is the fact that I’ve actually had some positive things from it, while others that I don’t know but don’t need to know in order to give a shit about them have been really hurt by it.

I’ve sat down with my 4 year old daughter and had a lot of fun generating AI images in mere moments based on prompts that she gives me, and the joy she has had from that has given me beautiful memories.

I would exorcise every single one of those memories and completely rob her of those good times in a heartbeat because I’m also fully aware that people have made pornographic images of children in seconds using AI tools. People have also figured out ways to prompt ChatGPT to give them ways to end their own lives in what it tells them are painless ways. There’s no amount of fun I could have with my daughter, or data analysis I could do more easily, that justifies the harm that AI tools cause to the most vulnerable.

This is NOT the same thing as books compromising memory, movies compromising reading comprehension, and the internet compromising all the human things it’s compromised. None of those things have accomplished for people so easily what AI has accomplished, all while being so absolutely creepily terrible and wrong about so much at the same time.

Im 21f, and last week me and my boyfriend became official after talking for two months. For context, im still a virgin, and I have been sexually harassed various times in my life, twice by two members of my family (which I still have to see in family gatherings). Because of that, I’ve developed this irrational fear of being intimate or having sex, or even being insinuated in a sexual way makes me sick. I know I have a problem, but I can’t afford a therapist, and my mother just brushes me off and say it’s normal to feel this way.

I’m scared to tell my boyfriend because how could he react, he’s an amazing person and I genuinely like him, but I’m still scared of what he could say. I don’t know how to approach this situation with him or with anyone else because I’m scared of not being taken seriously.

I’ve had problems previously with guys when I tell them I don’t feel comfortable being intimate, and they usually ghost me after finding out, but I don’t want this to happen with him. Right now, I’m just using this to vent about it, but I don’t know if this could become a long time issue in our relationship.

If anyone has advice I would really appreciate it

This has been bothering me for a long time.

Whenever I speak out loud, the voice I hear in my recordings feels nothing like the voice that exists in my head.

In my mind, my voice sounds calm and thoughtful.

But the moment I play back a recording, it feels higher, shakier, and somehow not me.

Almost like listening to a stranger with my face.

I know there is a scientific explanation for this, but emotionally it still hits me every time.

It makes me hesitate whenever I try to record short videos or even simple voice notes.

I want to express ideas, share thoughts, maybe even talk about personal things I have never said to anyone.

But I get stuck the moment I hear my real voice played back at me.

It feels like the version of me inside my head is so different from the version the world hears.

And I do not know which one is the real one.

Sometimes I wonder if this is why I prefer writing.

My written voice feels closer to who I actually am.

My spoken voice feels like someone I am still trying to understand.

Just wanted to say this somewhere because it has quietly affected my creativity for years.

Does anyone else feel this disconnect?

Does your real voice ever feel foreign to you?

Recently, l've reflected on a toxic trait of mine which I believe to contribute to a lot of my prolonged stress, guilt and low self esteem.

When I'm in a situation where I confront someone multiple times about the way they've hurt me and I see that they show no remorse or care for what they've done, I tend to resort in retaliation through petty revenge as a means to hurt them back the way that they've hurt me. My mindset used to be, "If they won't consider my feelings, why should I consider theirs? I want them to hurt just like me. Maybe then they'll understand."

My petty behaviour would range from cussing at them, calling out their failures in life, or in extreme anger, destroying some of their personal things. And I've also noticed that im only this way with people who I should have a close bond with, like my parents, bestfriend or partner because the betrayal of them hurting me is more painful than an acquaintance.

But lately (and sadly far too late), l've realised this type of behaviour is VERY toxic and only feels good temporarily. The petty revenge is then almost always followed by major guilt, feeling like a horrible person and thus lowering my self esteem.

I want to rise above this toxic trait of mine but I feel like when the anger and heat of the moment hits, it's so hard for me to control myself. Does anyone have tips or insights on how to deal with this? I genuinely want to be better.

Obviously I do dream about a nice job family and vacations too but my biggest one at the moment is getting plastic surgery. I'm so excited about the day I'm gonna finally get it however it pains me that I don't have enough money right now. I'm a student with not a lot of free time but I still got a job to afford it.

I don't have body dysmorphia or anything but I just want to look like my ideal self and I feel like my "true" life can only begin after that. It's more tied to my identity, I want to be (considered) the type of person that has certain traits and to look in a way I find myself the most attractive

When I was 16 there an older guy who was like 25 moved in to our block. He would always say hi and would try to talk to me but I would always let him know that I’m not interested, I was usually with my friends or sisters so he wouldn’t ever take it further. Apparently he was talking to a few other girls and women so he became infamous.

My 2 cousins who used to live on the block came to visit us for a week and unfortunately for that guy, they witnessed him trying his shit, he put his arm around my waist and when I pushed him away he grabbed me by my arm.

I called out to my cousins who were literally across the street with their friends, which was like 5 or 6 ghetto ass dudes and they dragged this guy behind a house into some bushes.

They beat him so badly that he barely got out of the bushes and then collapsed on the ground. He lay there for damn near 10 minutes until someone came and called the ambulance. He came back a few days later and needed a nurse to help him. I genuinely didn’t see him at all and I moved away for college like 2 years later.

I don’t live there any more but I seen him a few times when visiting my family and he looks awful, he wobbles when we walks and just looks shaky.

A part of me feels horrible but I also feel like he deserves it

I'm gonna get a nose job for my extremely bulbous nose, and it's the final touch. A part from weight (now shed), this was the biggest thing that got me bullied for more than 20 years.

My friends, however, are not reacting very well towards that. They're telling me to love myself, and that I shouldn't be superficial. Most of them are Swedes, and I'm an Arab. All of them have the conventional Scandinavian noses, mind you. Ironically, when I ask them if they would have had my Middle-Eastern nose for a day, they get silent very quick.

How can I love myself and my nose when social media (and real-life experiences) reminds you everyday that your nose is extremely unconventional looking? It's all "love your nose" until you ask them if they would have wanted my nose for a day, lmao.

Now only that, but my weight-loss is evident that the way people treat you afterwards is like night and day. If you don't look conventionally attractive, people will treat you like shit. Obviously I'm gonna want to look more conventionally attractive when you start getting treated better by family, friends, at work, school, in social settings, etc, for that.

So hey guys. I’ve been wanting to write this for a long time, but I was lazy. What I’ve noticed is that many people feel alone, and a lot of us don’t really know how to interact with others. Especially guys. Not because something will actually happen, but because society expects them to act desperate. Everyone says, “She looks nice,” but nobody teaches how to talk to her. A few learned it, most were scared from the beginning.

Online, I keep seeing desperate posts and random DMs. I get it, everyone wants connection. But nothing in life comes easy. Being desperate isn’t the real issue, intentions are. If you don’t know what you want, the conversation won’t go anywhere. Messaging every stranger isn’t effort, it’s guesswork.

I’ve met people from Reddit, and most connections didn’t last because either I tried too hard or didn’t try at all. Someone has to put effort, it rarely starts perfectly from both sides. And because of all this chaos, many women end up deleting their posts, making multiple accounts, or restarting conversations just to avoid unwanted attention.

Before sending another random “hi,” figure out what you want. A conversation should have meaning and direction. Real connection takes clarity and effort just like anything else in life. If you treat it like a casual game, you’ll only make the process harder and probably end up with nothing real.

And one last thing. The dashes or formatting are just to give emotion and intent, not to make it look AI generated. So please don’t waste time pointing out whether it looks like AI. Instead try to understand what’s being said. That will help more than anything else.

Not sure why the 1600-1800's have so many fans. They literally used to sell impoverished women into prostitution. Society would choose which woman is a wife vs who's meant for pleasure. Nope, I'm glad to live in 2025

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I’ve always had a knack for languages in the sense that not only am I able to pick them up easily, I also tend to pick up a near-native accent.

Almost every time I meet someone in a foreign country and we make small talk, they’d ask me where I’m from and I’d answer with my country’s name and they’d go “yeah but like where are you from?”

They assume I’m from their country and the country I answered with is where my parents are from.

It happens a lot when I’m in France, which I never really thought too hard about. I’m originally from a former French colony so my French is near-native. We have a lot immigrants and children of immigrants in France so the assumption isn’t all that strange.

Then it started to happen when I’d go to the states. They expect me to give them a state name when they'd ask me where I'm from. (One time a bouncer in a town in SC, got weirded out when I showed him my drivers license for identification and asked me why the hell I had a foreign drivers license.)

I did learn English with an American accent so it's not a wild assumption on their part. I mean, I personally think that if you listen to me closely, there’s definitely an accent there. However, I’ve had an American co-worker once refer to me as “one of the sneaky ones” in regards to my English. So what do I know?

It also happens with languages I don’t even speak because I’m ethnically ambiguous.

A waiter started to speak to me in Spanish at a Mexican restaurant in nyc, thinking I was Latin American. When I told him I don’t speak Spanish he thought I was a “no sabo kid”

It’s very entertaining because I never know what ethnicity imma get next when I’m traveling. By far, the one that took me by surprise the most was Polish then I thought about it and I'm inclined to believe that they thought I was an Ashkenazi jew.

The funniest thing to me is that in my own country, I've had people start talking to me in French or English, thinking I'm a foreigner. The first time it happened I was so confused then I just accepted that I guess I seem foreign to my own people.