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27 People Get Blatantly Honest About “What Is Not For Everyone, But Society Acts Like It Is?”
Article created by: Gabija Palšytė
The idea of expectations seems very tame at first. It is a standard the collective hivemind adheres to and expects that nobody strays away from this norm because collective stability. That’s how societies work, right?
Well, the concept has a lot of nuance to it—nuance that isn’t all that positive as it can cause unforeseen damage to relationships, cause harm to oneself, or is just flat out toxic all around. All because someone is comfortable with pushing the boundaries for the sake of stability.
And when someone snaps and breaks, folks wonder why it happened. Because not everyone is cut out for this. And that’s fine. But some don’t see it that way.
Folks online recently tackled this issue with an AskReddit thread listing what things are not for everyone, but society acts like it is?
- Read More: 40 People Get Blatantly Honest About “What Is Not For Everyone, But Society Acts Like It Is?”
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#1
Religion. That’s fine if you’re a believer and it brings you peace or purpose or whatever, but it’s really not for everyone.
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#2
The whole “early bird gets the worm” mentality. Society tends to glorify being a morning person and waking up at the crack of dawn, but not everyone’s wired that way. Some of us are night owls who do our best work after midnight. So, let’s remember that not everyone thrives on the same schedule, and it’s okay to be a night-loving creature in a world that often praises the early risers. After all, owls are pretty cool too!
#3
Having children.
Connect_Office8072:
I worked for the State’s attorney in the Neglect and Abuse Division and I swear, you should need a test before you can become a parent.
ServiceCall1986:
I’m a woman who has never had that “motherly urge” and I never plan on having kids. People don’t seem to understand that can happen. It’s always “you’ll change your mind once you find the right person”.
No, my right person will feel the same as me. People want to change me, but I’ve always felt this way.
#5
Romantic relationships. So many people can't fathom the fact that I'm perfectly happy being single. I have a solid support network from my friends and family and feel perfectly content without a romantic relationship. I'm always happy for my friends who end up in good, loving relationships, but it's not something I am interested in.
#7
Alcohol - some people can't fathom that others can't be arsed to drink it, or choose a sober lifestyle after a bad experience.
#8
Team sports. There are other ways to learn teamwork and be part of a group, such as orchestra, marching band, scouting and a lot more.
#9
Hustle/grind/climb the corporate ladder culture. I just want to do what I'm good at and enjoy my life, not kill myself getting to the top.
pumpkinpretzel:
And also, (kinda on the flip side) the idea that everyone should start their own business and be their own boss.
Not everyone can/should/wants to…
#11
Driving. Maneuvering thousands of pounds of metal at speeds that can easily kill you and other people, yet we encourage people to do it before they can vote or drink or live alone, and at least in North America you’re seen as some sort of immature freak if you can’t or don’t want to.
#12
A 9-5 job. I'm a bartender/server and a natural night owl. I honestly think that's why I even prefer the service industry because I just feel more normal at night lol. I have my degree and did the 9-5 for about 2 years but everyone's energy all day kinda makes me nauseous 🥲 But the relentless judgment for being on a different schedule than the rest of society is constant.
#13
Being extroverted and constantly craving social interactions.
Cute-Landscape7610:
this. i love being at HOME. i love my small circle of close relationships - those are the people that can be recharging for me.
i do not crave being in loud, overpopulated environments or making small talk with a bunch of strangers or distant acquaintances that i have no bond with. even being around extremely social, extroverted people that i do love dearly (my almost in laws) gets exhausting, because they nearly always have their family friends over. i just could never.
#14
Marriage.
Im_100percent_human:
I used to believe that Marriage was a societal invention that really did not serve an important purpose. I decided at one point that I never wanted to get married. My views have evolved on this as I have aged. While I still believe that marriage, as an institution, is a societal invention, but it does serve an important purpose. It provides a default legal contract that defines the sharing of property and responsibilities. While this may sound trivial, it is not. This is particularly important for couples as they age, become sick, and die. It really defines how another person can make decisions on your behalf and benefit from a shared life. If you are to couple with another person, you should marry at some point.... You really don't need to have a wedding or even tell anyone. Just do it for the sake of your partner.
#16
"Sucess" in our modern way of thing about it. Not everyone wants or can handle being extremely wealthy, famous, or powerful. Some of us just want our slice of a good life and live it.
#17
40 hour work week.
xMadxScientistx:
I don't honestly think it's for anybody. People say there are a bunch of psychopaths out there who just love working every waking moment, but I kind of think they just tell people they feel that way to look like they're virtuous.
#18
College.
xSmittyxCorex:
I don’t know about society at large, but media sure acts like it. I swear almost every show and movie ever it’s assumed the entire cast went to college. And not a local college either, they left home, stayed in a dorm, and somehow in between all the studying, a lot of partying and weed was involved. And if it involves highschoolers, its assumed they’re going to go, and if not, it’s cause they’re the stupid/trouble-making one.
#19
Being connected ALL the time: Wifi, TV, streaming.
Upstairs-Radish1816:
I was in my 50's when my son gave me his old smart phone. He couldn't understand how I could leave the house without it. I kept telling him I've gone this long without one I couldn't see the need to have a phone all the time.
#20
Owning a pet.
Tim0281:
I agree. I'd love to have a dog, but I'm a childless bachelor that lives in a second floor apartment. I don't have the time or space to properly take care of a dog. It wouldn't be fair to the dog if I got one.
#21
The idea that in order to be part of this world, you have to focus on events that don't concern you. We're expected to be 'aware' of conflicts all over the world, poverty, crime, social problems and all other kinds of horrible things that happen daily but don't concern us. This leads to constant panic and stress, caused by events and situations that aren't in our sphere of influence but we're expected to be aware of them. There's almost no way to live a stable life when we're constantly battered over the head with events happening in other parts of the world, but if we ignore them, we're horrible people.
#23
Homeownership. Some people just don't have the budgeting skills, willingness, time and knowledge to do maintenance, or the discipline necessary for homeownership.
#25
Based on recent unpopular opinion posts, Halloween costume parties for adults. Every time someone says they don't like them, they're met with "you just don't like fun" comments.
#26
Desk jobs. All through school they preached that we were failures if we were anything less than doctors, lawyers, middle management, etc. So we all trained for those things and did really well. Now there aren't enough jobs to go around in those fields. Now it's just "your degrees are useless! Go work fast food! You failed!"
Really getting tired of the out of touch 50+ crowd ruining people's lives.
#27
Monogamy *and* polyamory. The main reason people think polyamory is bad is because non-polyamorous people attempt it and inevitably fail at it because they think polyamory is something you can just switch on and off and “try out”. At the same time, society acts like monogamy should be the standard for everyone, when it’s just not suited to everyone.
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