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“I Have Become My Father”: 30 People Share What They Swore They Would Never Do As Children But Failed
We say a lot of things when we're kids. Especially "I will never do this" or "I'm never going to be like my parents." We have a lot of expectations for our grown-up selves and imagine our lives in all sorts of ways - magical and full of adventures. However, it usually doesn't work out the way we want it to and we end up "disappointing" our younger selves. Probably the most common thing kids swear off is tobacco or alcohol, but most of them do try it when they grow up. And that's just one example.
This internet user asked, "What did you swear in your childhood you would never do, but ended up doing anyways?" and people flooded in to give their answers and stories. Some are more surprising than others, but you'll probably be able to relate to most of them.
Feel free to share your own stories in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Gardening. We had a large garden. We raised and preserved what we grew. It was me and my sister's job to care for this garden. This was back when whipping your child was acceptable punishment. I was whipped sooo many times, because I hated that I had to grew and preserved vegetables I did not like. I hated it! Swore I'd never have a garden. Never do THAT to my kids. Then I had kids. A switch flipped in my head. I had to have a garden! I never made my kids take care of it. Gardening was my "me" time. But being little kids, they wanted to be with mom and "help" with the garden. I "gave" them an area and they were allowed to grow whatever they wanted. If it was a fruit or vegetables , they had to eat it. As a result, they both love gardening and neither are picky eaters.
Loverboy 2 years ago
I like how you took those bad memories and made sure your kids wouldn't have those same memories. You turned your resentment into love.
AliJanx 2 years ago
Excellent solution - helping the kids love your me time and making it our time.
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That emo Girl 2 years ago
Gardening's great! Don't force it upon anyone and they'll learn to love it!
We talked to Patrick McGrath (Emeritus Professor, Psychiatry, Dalhousie University) and he shared some insights on why kids often proclaim they will "never" do something: "Many children have times that they defiantly want to be independent of their parents and times they want to be the same as them. This shifting back and forth is how they learn to be their person."
RELATED:
#2
Drank like my alcoholic mother
Until I got sober at age 31, thank God (and AA)
Loverboy 2 years ago
Congratulations on staying sober, you did something your mother never did and that means a lot. You were strong enough not to continue the cycle.
Red PANda (she/they) 2 years ago
Loverboy how do you always get the top comment 😂 ? What’s your secret?
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Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago (edited)
I am almost 13 in a couple months, i dont want to drink or do drugs or smoke/vapebecause of my parents and what it does to you in general, maybe when im at like OLDER than 21 ill drink little for special occasions but really, it f*cked me up hard and i dont want anyone i love to go through that.
Red PANda (she/they) 2 years ago
Yes f*** alcohol it’s just as bad as drugs and idk why people have normalized abusing it so much that it’s so common now
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#3
I grew up Mormon, sooooo...
Drinking coffee, green tea, black tea, alcohol, maturbating, having premarital sex, going clubbing, losing faith in God, dating a non-religious person, trying psilosyben mushrooms, becoming politically left wing, and getting a tattoo.
Loverboy 2 years ago
Sounds like you're living life right. Glad you decided to live your life based on what you want and believe, now what you were told was right and wrong.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
I ran into a fromer student who had graduated from our religious high school a few years before. He proudly told me that ijn every case he was doing the exact opposite of what we taught him to do. I asked him "Doesn't that mean that we're still determining all your decisions for you?" He's never gotten back to me on that.
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Princess duck feathers 2 years ago
I bet their parents forced them into it. I'm morman but my parents never forced me into it like that.
Crazy Cookie 2 years ago
Glad to see another Mormon here. I’m worried people explaining some of our rules without context make us seem really terrible
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René Sauer 2 years ago
I just imagined OP going on an absolute bender after leaving the mormons xDD
Jane Hower 2 years ago
Everything sounds fine except the LEFT WING POLITICAL c**p. Full blown communism, not the American way.
Justin Thyme 2 years ago
working 90 hr weeks and missing all my kids growing up-- doing better with the grandkids
The professor also shared how he would answer this question: "I was raised in a large, Irish-Canadian family. My father had started his own business, a bill collection agency. I saw the demands of starting one's own business and I swore I would never start my own business. I became an academic clinical psychologist doing administration, seeing patients, and doing research at home (crfh.ca). Fast forward many years, and I have started several businesses. The latest is 90Second Health, 90Second Health Letters - Trusted Health Information. It is fun."
#4
Give up drawing.
I actually broke my own heart when I recently found a school project we did back when I was a kid. We had to write a letter for our future selves and mine starts with: "Hey, did you become an artist already? I really hope you did not become a boring adult with a boring job who gave up on his dreams and passions."
Well, sorry little me, but I kinda did.
Shawn Bean 2 years ago
OTOH -- it's never too late to pursue your dream. It might not be easy. It WILL take effort, and probably cost a bit, and almost certainly involve the very real possibility of failing. But, in the end, it means you don't have to ever look in the mirror and say, "Sorry, Younger Me, but I gave up on my dreams." Take it from one who knows: it's much easier to say, "Well, I tried, but I failed" than to say "I gave up without trying". Your life as a "boring adult" now has taught you that you can survive. You might not have the life you dreamed of, but you're making ends meet, more or less, and surviving day to day. Now, how about living? If you really want it, you can draw, and you can make a living doing it. That might not involve drawing what you want to -- at least not when you're being paid for it -- but, at least you'll never have to say "Sorry, but I gave up" again.
Wintermute 2 years ago
I stuck to my childhood dream and became a professional artist. Hated it. Now I have a desk job in an office and life is much better. Took me a long time to take up art again, but will do some occasionally. Turns out kids don't have a really good grasp on the future and your childhood impulses shouldn't be a metric for a life lived 40 years later.
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
Ugh. I have a letter like this. "Did you become a famous author yet?" No, kid, but you become your whole self and are learning every day how to be happy.
Dawnieangel76 2 years ago
I was going to be a wife, mother, and dedicated chaperone/volunteer for schools. WAS going to be. Not even close.
Der Kommissar 2 years ago
I would say around 90% of the world's population have a job they don't like and some would rather be doing something creative/artistic
#5
Birdwatching. I used to think it was the lamest way someone could spend their time when I was a kid. How could anyone just sit around and look at birds? What are you, some kind of bird creep? ... 20 years later and I'm obsessed with birds. Love hearing their songs and seeing all the beautiful colors
Debby Keir 2 years ago
Watching birds keeps me sane. I'm in a country area, backing on to a canal. I have ducks and moorhens daily, occasional pheasant, jays and all the smaller twenty birds. Had 2 peahens for a week a couple of years ago. I helped a swan in 2018 and he's now partnered. Last year 2 cygnets survived, and the pair are currently nesting nearby again. Daily feeds (now separately) for each of them. Crazy bird lady.
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
I love being a bird creep. I love being able to hear bird song and take a good guess on what type of feathered friend it is. It's peaceful to watch such a small creature in their environment.
We also asked Professor McGrath if kids often base their likes and dislikes on their parents or if it's just random: "Likes and dislikes are not random. Part of it is genetic. For example, some talents such as musical talent or mathematical talent are partly inherited. Much of our likes and dislikes are learned. Much is learned from our parents and also from our friends. Some are learned from the culture and social media."
#6
Get married. I was going to be the perpetual bachelor. Married over 30 years with 6 kids. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Dorothy Reiser 2 years ago
My husband of 44 years on our first date: "I'm not the marrying kind" hahaha
Kate Jones 2 years ago
This happened to a friend of mine, too. He was the kind of guy who never ever wanted family and kids. He had money and great career and he loved being a bachelor. He was dating a girl and didn't even like calling her his girlfriend. She got pregnant and he was acting like it was the end of his life because he thought he hated kids. But it actually ended up being the best thing. He and his girlfriend got closer and ended up getting married and having 4 more. She actually had to tell him no more, lol. But he'd have had more with no problem. Turns out his wild side works well with the kids because he can match their energy levels, lol.
Hutt'nKloas 2 years ago
Hehe how relatable. Finally got married though at age 53. No kids, no regrets 😁
Deborah Page 2 years ago
Yup. My husband before our first date "I'm never marrying again!" He asked me to marry him 2 months later, 23 years ago.
Exotic Butters 2 years ago
Haha! My brother said he'd never get married right up to the day that he announced his engagement:)
#7
I wanted nothing more than to escape my family for good and never come back.
They got help... I did not expect that...
Loverboy 2 years ago
A toxic family? Getting help and changing themselves? What is this madness
The Other Other White Meat 2 years ago
My family did the same 🥰 now my mom is my best friend!!
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Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago (edited)
they DID? i dont think mine ever will, my mom goes to therapy once a month, but shes not the problem.
The professor shared how kids decide what they want to be or be like when they grow up: "It is a mixture of learning, genetics, opportunity, and chance. I was going to be a priest, but then I decided to become what some say is the equivalent, a psychologist. I was influenced by a visitor to my parents' home, a priest who was studying to be a psychologist (see 'Pioneer Paper: An Accidental Scientist: Chance, Failure, Risk-Taking, and Mentoring,' Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Oxford Academic [oup.com] for the full story). Many kids follow into their parents' occupations."
#8
Stopped liking new music. And now I just listen to the music that was around when I was growing up.
Hutt'nKloas 2 years ago
That's idd a pity. Although my musical roots are set in the 70's-80's I contineously am on the lookout for & enjoy new sources. Youtube and Bandcamp are rather helpfull there
Shelley DuVal 2 years ago
I am in my 70's, I love the 60's music. But I also love 80's music, and every decades music since. Some genres I don't like, such as rap, although there are a couple of rap songs I do like, and there are some artist I don't take a liking to, but in general, I like the procession of music right up to now with K-pop hitting the charts. Music grows, some directions, not for me, others I love. The first time I heard Lady Gaga sing I knew she had a voice and have loved #lady gaga for every song she sings.
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Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Can't blame you for that. I haven't heard anything new that I really much cared for in over twenty years.
Rostit . 2 years ago
you need to get out of your bubble then. Its hard but its worth it. I love 90s music. Smashing pumpkins are a top favorite but there is some great newer music out there. Just give it a chance.
Load More Replies... Steve Robert 2 years ago
I think we all prefer the music that was the soundtrack to our growing up. It's part of who we are today.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
i wanna be like my mom, i know music from the 60s -now, i wanna keep it that way like she is right now, i like the music she grew up with, she likes the music i am growing up with.
Sarah Pryde 2 years ago
There is so much good new music, you just have to know where and how to find it. Ignore "popular" music if you have to
René Sauer 2 years ago
True. and cursing the new artists who just remake or sample the classics from your time.
#9
have an abortion. i was raised pretty evangelical by both (veru divorced) parents. i grew up believing being queer was wrong (BOY did puberty rock my world, lol) and that abortion was straight up selfish and evil. for more reference, i did a speech biography project on jesus f*****g christ in 6th grade and later on did a debate project on being anti-abortion in 8th grade (which my teacher properly f*****g schooled me on, as teachers are wont to do). my senior year, still kind of a christian but very much less so, i got pregnant. my boyfriend at the time pressured me into protectionless sex, which we had never done before, and i foolishly gave in. lo and behold, i found out the day after my senior graduation that i was pregnant. his mother, who actually really disliked me, helped me make and get to and from appointments with planned parenthood. i was 18 and i got government assistance. i was early enough to qualify for a medical abortion and i spent a few days with that boyfriend at my best friend's house (she is still my best friend over a decade and a half later) and had the abortion. she took care of me like i was a child. i messed up my medications meant for pain and nausea, and she wiped my forehead and cradled me and cleaned me up like i was an infant. she is an angel, i love her so much. she was my only support through the worst time of my life. that boyfriend ended up not only ignoring me and not supporting me, but cheated on me multiple times with teenage children. i still wonder to this day, so many years later, if he'll show up on the news. i bet he will. long story short, i did something i never, ever thought i would do. i am a very happy and very loved mother now. i eventually met a wonderful, gentle, beautiful partner and we made a beautiful baby together who is now in school :) i am happier than i ever thought i could be, with a person who i'm crazy about. none of this would ever, EVER have happened if i didn't abort so long ago. i would do it over and over and over again to get where i am now.
Loverboy 2 years ago
Something really nice came out of something really bad, I wish that happened more often. Religion can do good but honestly I hate a lot of it. So much harm and suffering because of it. I feel you about the being queer thing, more because of my dad's idea of masculinity than anything though.
KOTLC_Fan 🇺🇦 2 years ago
I’m a Christian, my family is Christian, and I completely agree with you. A lot of these people who are Christian use religion to justify homophobia, sexism, abuse, etc, and it makes me so sad. Even my family thinks being queer is bad (I don’t share those views) but they’re not jerks about it.
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Xenia Harley 2 years ago
And that's why we shouldn't judge anyone else for the choices they make! Everyone should have the right ti choose.
Humansarethevirus 2 years ago
You made the right decision too many unwanted babies are being forced into poverty now and abuse women with health issues are dying Cause they're forced To give birth in certain States against their will
The Starsong Princess 2 years ago
Funny how the forced birthers change their tune about abortion when their lives are the ones being affected by an unwanted pregnancy. Anyway, I’m glad she saw the light and isn’t spending her time oppressing other women anymore.
Elder 2 years ago (edited)
What a disrespectful thing to say. It's obvious what your stance on abortion is (mine is the same actually), but the way you phrased that means you're treating people with differing viewpoints as villains. In a lot of people's books, your opinion makes you the villain. People don't have to agree with you. That's why it's called an opinion. Anyway, you can go back oppressing people for their religions. I am an atheist, but I choose not to be a hypocrite.
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Professor McGrath also shared some other insights: "I am an old man and I never thought I would do anything artistic because I had no talent and I refused to try. But my wife wanted to try acrylics, so I tried painting. I still don’t have talent but I enjoy it. When I retire at 99, I will paint full time."
#10
Become overweight. I’ve done or avoided doing everything else that I cared about, but am much bigger than I would like.
Loverboy 2 years ago
Opposite end here, I weigh less than I'd like. I was always worried about being overweight, never thought I'd end up the opposite.
HelluvaHedgehogAlien 2 years ago
Damn who downvoted you, they need to get a life
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Ash 2 years ago
Our society treats obesity like it's your fault when most of the time it has to do with genetics, quality of available food, poverty, health problems, and stress. Saying you're determined never to become overweight is like saying you're determined that your natural hair will never go gray. It's something you have very little control over. <3 As a society, we need to be focusing on the systemic problems that cause health issues rather than blaming individual fat people for a basic characteristic of their bodies.
crowspectre (he/they) 2 years ago
I'm very worried about this. I'm fairly underweight and have been for my entire life (I don't eat much) but I feel like I'm eventually going to lose hold of my health and end up f*****g things up for me
South Monk 2 years ago
Ay man it's not too late to start slimming! It all starts small, drinking only water or lemon with sprakling or self carbonated water. Tea also works but not too much... Reducing the amount of food you eat like I saw this guy blogging he usually eats 10 burritos he reduced it to 9 and over 6 months went down to 3 or 4. Start exercising, standing at work if u want to or start walking everywhere.
#11
Napping on purpose
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Me either. I've been awake for three hours? Time for a nap. ;-)
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Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
i just dont see myself doing it because i have horrible sleeping problems and its a mental and physical issue so even if i stop having intrusive thoughts which might never happen, melatonin doesnt work on me
Terry Tobias 2 years ago
I never could sleep in the afternoon until I was in high school. Between classes and afterschool activities, I was so tired that i'd fall asleep doing my homework
#12
Well, grew up supperrrr religious. Like homeschooled, on a farm, church 5x a week, the end is coming, street evangelism at 6, swear to your dad before God that you will stay a virgin till marriage at 13, religious. SOOOO, I intended to save my first kiss for marriage. Currently having amazing kinky sex 4x a week with the man of my dreams with an engagement on the horizon. Also, I'm a bisexual witch. woooooooooo cutting off my parents soon hopefully
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
I think the person meant they swore at 13 that they would stay a virgin until marriage. I hope.
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Beatrice Fairchild 2 years ago
Uhggggg, this is soooo my parents. They just need to add, only wear floor length dresses.
Mike_The_Nike 2 years ago
you sound a lot like me! (exept for the sex thing also, i’m a witch too!)
Ash 2 years ago
Same! Was a very devout Christian until just a few years ago. Now I'm a pagan witch! And very happy. :) I hope everybody finds the belief system that is the most fulfilling for them.
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Lisa Marie Garrett [Burgess] 2 years ago
You sound like a very thoughtful man, Steve. When your significant other comes home with another man, I know you'll make the right choice :-)
Load More Replies... #13
I said I wouldn’t curse unless a nuke was dropped on my house. That was a f*****g lie.
Loverboy 2 years ago
Who the f**k would swear they would never f*****g cuss? that's just b******t and you f*****g know it
Justin Thyme 2 years ago
Being from Brooklyn, AND in construction the f bomb starts every effing sentence
Mary Hiers 2 years ago
Ha! I grew up not cursing. My brother and I weren't even allowed to say "butt." Then I raised two Millennials. I would be like, "OK, please try to keep the f-bombs to a minimum in front of your grandparents." And now I swear like a sailor too.
HelluvaHedgehogAlien 2 years ago
I am convinced that cursing is not just a habit, it’s literally addictive. Iz guilty
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 years ago
I said that.. not even an adult yet and I swear a f**k ton
SuperDarkStudios 2 years ago
Lmfao I swore to myself up until I was 13/14 that I would never swear and stay straight. HAHA, that f*cking failed
Michael Largey 2 years ago
If a nuclear bomb falls on your house, you don't have time to use curse words - not even the one-syllable ones.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
i thought "i can cuss when im older" my parents said "you can use those words when you know what they mean", im only 12-13, have your seen my comments?
#14
Stop believing in Christianity
Donna Peluda 2 years ago
Having gone to religious primary school in UK as a child it was hard to see the good in Christianity. We simply weren't given the tools to question, we were blocked by our education. When I did my first communion I remember kneeling down after receiving the body of Christ and thinking, this is all BS.
Mario Strada 2 years ago
I had a similar "come to Jesus" moment during catechism. I was 11. I asked the priest a few questions he didn't like and put me in a room alone "to pray and repent of my sins". I really thought about the whole thing and I came out an atheist. I still went to the motions for first communion (hard to say no to an entire extended family) but my first Communion was also my last.
Load More Replies... UtanaYona 2 years ago
I still believe in Christ and God, but attending college for my ministry degree coupled with my grandma's belief of "Question Everything you are told" opened my eyes. My problem isn't with God or Christ, my problem is with His church. Biggest group of bigots and morons on the planet. Those idiots couldn't find their a@s with both hands, a road map, and GPS. Just saying...
Alexia 2 years ago (edited)
I feel you. I wanted to rely on faith and church in order to survive while living with an abusive, violent family. First, the priests I spoke to told me that I should pray more and go to church more often. Then, they told me that domestic violence was my "burden" for my sins (wtf? I was barely 19) and I must live with it. "It is God's will" was their only answer to all my questions. Add general corruption, gluttony and intolerance, and it was more than enough. I decided I didn't want to be part of such church anymore.
Anna Drever 2 years ago
It took me too many years of Catholic guilt, and I haven’t considered myself Catholic in decades, to admit I’m 99% sure there is no God. It’s that 1% I can’t quite shake. Logic tells me what’s right because there’s so much evil and sadness in the world but it’s so hard to let go.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
I really, really, do not a sh*t if you believe in something. the problem i have with it, is people forcing it on us, like missionaries. I say i dont believe in this, they say, "oh, well maybe try giving church a try, help you feel the holy spirit." NO, if you think im going to hell, go ahead and think that. dont force me to do this, another thing, they said this to me when i was 11years old, 2 years ago. children should still be able to choose what they believe, sure, teach them you religion, but if they dont believe in that current time, dont force it. i believe in being yourself and if i dont believe this, im not going to unless i want to.
Widdershins66 2 years ago (edited)
I've written this elsewhere, but worth retelling. I was 14 and brought up a Catholic. I lost my "faith" when a young child waving a toy gun was slapped across his face, by our priest. I hate guns, toy or otherwise, but to hurt a child simply because his parents were idiots allowing him to take inappropriate toy into Mass. Ping... faith evaporated 🤷♀️
#15
Become like my sister. In elementary school, we had to write a one-page letter to ourselves as adults, about our expectations etc. I wrote I never wanted to be like my oldest sister, because teenage her kept slapping me whenever she was annoyed, and was overall horrid to me. Well, she changed when she got pregnant at 17, turned her life around, stopped doing drugs, finished school after having my niece (with lots of support from my parents), went to uni with her daughter in tow, married my BIL, lived in England for a year, became a teacher, and is now one of the people I admire the most. We're now living less than half an hour from each other, both married, both with two daughters, living in a similar village right outside the same city. I spent a year in England, too, even in the same county, and of my 4 siblings, she's the one most like myself in temper, tastes and looks. And I really don't mind.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
my 7yr old sister said to me recently "when im your age, i dont wanna be like you, im gonna wear dresses and makeup and im gonna have a boyfriend" one, im only 13, two, I didnt f*cking ask.
#16
Have sex before marriage. Thank f**k I never made good on that one since I'm 41 and have never been married.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago (edited)
i really dont care if im abstinent or not honestly, i know losing virginity is like a "big deal" but really i would just wanna make sure im safe and its with the person i want it to be with. plus im only 13, i dont need to worry like right now
Dawnieangel76 2 years ago (edited)
Finding out I was Asexual and not just "weird" or "broken" gave me so much relief, and am no longer embarrassed at being a 46 year old virgin.
#17
I always wanted to be this thin dainty woman as a kid, I hated my muscly calves and thighs, I hated that I had broad shoulders. I didn't think any man could possibly find it attractive, let alone finding myself attractive and lovable. That went right out the window the moment my stubborn brain decided to join a male dominated field requiring muscle. I love myself in ways my younger self could never imagine, I'm proud of physical achievements my younger self would shy from. From the bigger girl constantly trying to be smaller to the muscly woman trying to get more. Oh and I have an absolutely gorgeous boyfriend who brags about his girlfriends muscle - and my tinder profile was very successful in hook-ups. So I guess I'm hot (well not ugly enough to not get hook ups) and have a decent enough personality.
Eastendbird 2 years ago
Maybe it's OK to be strong and muscular or small and delicate or big and curvy. Maybe we should just stop judging people for the way they look.
#18
stop talking to my friends
there used to be 6 of us
now its just me
Alex Ruddies 2 years ago
It's harder the older you get. Not impossible, but definitely harder.
Load More Replies... That emo Girl 2 years ago
Awww🖤 sometimes friends die/lose contact with you. It's always important to find new ones
Debby Keir 2 years ago
Actually, unless they died, there are still 5 others. Maybe they also moved on, just as most of us do. It's a plus, unless you turn it into a minus.
Hutt'nKloas 2 years ago
With good friends time is of no issue. I used to spent through decades about 5days/week with them. Life styles & experiences drifted us apart but we do occasionally meet..................and it's like the old days. Acceptation that things/life changes plays a huge role here as well as some motivation to socialize from both sides 😉
Okokok! 2 years ago
Yes, that's life... some can manage to have almost the same friends around like 20 / 30 years ago, some, like me, only have a couple of them left to check out on a regular basis. People change, I have certainly changed, so my views et al, just last year quit a looooooong friendship as I was not able to cope with his near sighted opinion. He is a funny guy, no question, but when it comes to basic knowledge, politics and conception of today's world's status... puh... that was an energy drainer.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
I have specific friends I want to try my hardest to keep contact of, i know that wont happen with them all. but if i know them well, and trust me i do, some i am absolutely sure of.
#19
Diet sodas. In my youth I swore I'd just die of diabetes before I drank that swill. Now I'm in my 40s and unless the soda is sweetened with real sugar, I actually prefer diet/zero sugar options. Corn syrup sodas are so gross to me now. Oh, and once I stopped drinking high fructose corn syrup, I lost fifty f*****g pounds. Corn syrup has no place in our drinks.
BatPhace 2 years ago
The chemical sweeteners in diet drinks are actually worse for you unless you're diabetic. They create all kinds of havoc in your body, inflammation, digestive issues etc.
Jenn C 2 years ago
Diet soda is better than drinking 40 grams of sugar and 150 empty calories per can. Maybe I need the caffeine and don't like coffee, or like the flavor to wean off of sugary drinks,
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T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
Corn syrup cold drinks are disgusting, but so are ones containing aspartame. Now I drink juice (very diluted because those things have a lot of sugar also) or sugar-cane sweetened drinks. (I know there's no evidence that aspartame does anything to you - it's just horrible.)
Phil Green 2 years ago
I gave up all fizzy drinks. No Coke, Fanta, Tango any more. What I do now is make fruit squash (Robinson's usually) with slim-line tonic water. I recommend everyone do this. No extra sugar, non-fattening.
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 years ago
I don't even like fizzy drinks so yk I probably won't drink the diet kind
Geoffrey Zaun 2 years ago
Switched from beer to seltzer. Same, though it took a month or so to get used to it. Non craft beer now tastes like dreck. Loose the soda all together. Get a soda stream or something so you can control the sugar, or go just H20, the migo flavor things are great.... Ditched the diet Pepsi habit 20 yrs ago for h20 or coffee. zyn for the caffeine..
#20
Get into debt I can't pay off
Loverboy 2 years ago
"I'm gonna have a mansion and a nice car and a million animals." now I'm just hoping I'm able to pay off my college tuition, or move to Europe.
Rostit . 2 years ago
you seem to think they will let you live in Europe. no one wants americans .
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#21
Tell my kid, "because I said so".
AndThenICommented 2 years ago
Sometimes it’s just nicer than ‘of I hear one more episode of Bluey I’m gonna lose it…’ 😂
Mammie 2 years ago
I'll be the unpopular one here. It's completely valid. "Why?" "Because I said so." Not everything needs to be explained in the moment to a child. You can always revisit it and explain later. But there's a lot of cases where explaining right then and there would cause more harm than good. Therefore... "because I said so." Enough said for now.
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
Telling my kids (that I teach), "Because it's in the syllabus." (We were told at university that kids need a reason for things, so explain it all to them. I ain't got time for that. I have ATPS - aka syllabus - to complete!) So now sometimes I say, "Because it's in the ATPs, that's why!"
Loverboy 2 years ago
I have done this with younger kids, and I understand. It kinda just dawns on you where your parents get it from, as much as I hate it.
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Little kids can be maddeningly contrary. Sometimes you just get tired of arguing with them.
Load More Replies... Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
im never telling my kids, "shut up" or "its not f*cking rocket science" because sometimes it is, like talking to people, they say it all the time and if you see one of my post additions it explains why.
Mario Strada 2 years ago
There are instance when that applies. My toddler daughter decided that running into traffic was a cool thing to do. I didn't want to tell her "You'll get killed by a car and I am going to have to scrape you off the tarmac", so I reverted to "Because I said so".
Puck 2 years ago
That is something i would have explained. Not exactly in those words, but I would have told her why it's dangerous to run into traffic: a car can hit you and then you'll get hurt. I want my child to want it for themselves. I don't want them to think "Mummy isn't here" or "i'm angry at mummy" and do it anyway.
Load More Replies... #22
Become a teacher. My dad was one and people always told me I should do it and I'd be good at it. I swore I'd never do it, and hated the very idea of it. When I got to 26 and still didn't have an idea of what I wanted to do with my life, I got a teaching degree. I hate teaching. It was a mistake.
Deborah B 2 years ago
It's okay to change careers. It's okay to be burnt out on teaching and go work at costco. Don't stay in a career you hate just because you have a degree in it.
Aidan Pite 2 years ago
Especially when said degree'd career involves children. 25 years later, I STILL remember that angry grade 1 teacher that gave me detention for reading a book during recess.
Load More Replies... Geoffrey Zaun 2 years ago
I can't imagine anyone going into teaching, in the US, in this day and age unless you really really really love kids.... No way in hell I am putting my life on the line for 35k a year... Let alone the damn parents and the anti everything education boards that can get you fired, or worse, for just trying to educate now days.. It seems as if it is a go directly to jail card if anything remotely weird happens even if it is not in your control. The book banning is on another level...
LivNLearn 2 years ago
Loved teaching so much , but to do it well at the level I felt “my kids” deserved was completely life consuming. There is no work life balance. Constant level of pressure and stress as you try to fit 80 hrs of work into each week and still see your family. Quit last year and have no regrets. Most stress free I’ve been since I started earning my credentials almost two decades ago.
#23
Not believing in god. But now I know we are on our own.
Paulsible deniability 2 years ago
Be good because it's the right way to live, not for some eternal reward.
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Allen Packard 2 years ago
Well lucky for you, God still believes in you. Great luck on your journey!
Zophra 2 years ago
You go. And I am am equally assured that the Easter Bunny believes in you!
Load More Replies... Rostit . 2 years ago
God doesnt have to be a real being to bring comfort to people. Its not my thing. Im happily agnostic but if it makes you feel better believe what you want.
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
I don't care what anyone believes as long as they keep it to themselves, but when they try to use the authority of the state to give their beliefs the force of law or demand that they be taught as fact in public schools, then we have a problem.
Load More Replies... Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
we might be, but we still have each other, even if theres no god to help us, thers still an "us"
Dawnieangel76 2 years ago
I still believe in God. I just don't think he loves us the way I was taught.
Shawn Bean 2 years ago
The thing is: if we're on our own, then no-one can stop us from achieving what we want, right? Well, no-one else, at least.
Colleen Glim 2 years ago
If there really is a god I think he/she/whatever has some splaining to do
#24
Become a nurse. My mother was a nurse. Both of my grandmothers as well, and I always swore as I grew up, listening to mom’s gross stories it was something I would never do. Had a different career in my early 20s only to become a nurse by 30.😂
#25
I would never say "While you live under my roof, you live by my rules". I said it a few months ago to my 17 year old. As I was saying it, and realized what I was saying, I blushed and cringed on the inside. I can't even remember what the argument was about, but I sure remember the shame of what I said. I wonder if my father went through the same self questioning when he said it to me?
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
I've quoted my mother so many times since I became a teacher, and I cringe every time. Sorry, Mom, your platitudes were c**p.
Cool_Alien 2 years ago
But having rules for your house seems reasonable. It's order and how every other facet of society works: rules for living in a country, rules for businesses and schools. Earth, itself, has rules in the laws of physics. Whenever I go back to visit my parents and stay in their house, I'm respectful of their rules.
#26
Being gay
#27
I have become my father.
Aroace tiger (she/they/he) 2 years ago
I don't want to become too much like my parents. Partially I'm ok with it but not fully
Devil'sAdvocate 2 years ago
I agree with this with my heart and soul. Yes, they're good people. Excellent parents? No. I will strive to not make the mistakes they did.
Load More Replies... Loverboy 2 years ago
I don't want to live if I become like my father. I would resent myself and everything I do.
Hutt'nKloas 2 years ago (edited)
Why downvote if you folks have no clue what happened in Loverboys life? Upped again.
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Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago (edited)
i dont want to become either of my parents, maybe ill say some stuff like them but it wont be mean sh*t they do
Okokok! 2 years ago
Tough one... I share a lot of things with my mom's (bit on the short-tempered side, big heart for my kids, standing tall for the weak) and late dad's (arrogant intelligence, bit of a loner, bavarian grumpiness - but that's my given right by birth) traits, but really dodged the bullet regarding my kids. Only being a "weekend" papa, I try to give them my everything, my absolute best as a human, as a listener, an educater and adult they can look up to... all things my late father was not interested in.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
I know there's a lot of identity theft going on, but isn't it smarter to use a stranger?
#28
Smoking, alcohol, weed, soft drugs, hard drugs, I wish I would've listened to my younger self
Justin Thyme 2 years ago
As a medic, have seen drugs destroy a LOT of lives. Nope DC, you are wrong-- hopefully you aren't about to become another statistic.
Temporary Dork 2 years ago
You are by definition not seeing the controlled use DC is talking about.
Load More Replies... That emo Girl 2 years ago
Remember kids: NEVER. EVER. smoke or do drugs. It takes only a little to get addicted 😕
Rostit . 2 years ago
this is just dumb. That isn't true. Drug abuse is a symptom of underlying issues. Had nothing to do with if something is addictive or not. If you have the mindset and the mental health issues, anything will become a problem.gambling, cutting, anorexia etc. No different than drug abuse.
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Loverboy 2 years ago
It's hard not to get into that stuff. It's a sort of release, I'm tempted a lot because i want to feel something, anything. Weed is the most I'll do and even that isn't good
Rostit . 2 years ago
you need therapy. I mean that with kindness. Ive been there and back.
Load More Replies... #29
cry over a boy
That emo Girl 2 years ago
Meh. I'll cry over plenty of girls in my time, I just hope I don't wallow for too long 🤣🤣🤣
#30
Get fat 😕
#31
I had kids. As a child all the way up until I was about 26, I was anti child. I ended up having three.
Esist Nosrep 2 years ago (edited)
I had a child early and unplanned, it was hard but i wouldn't change my life to a childless life.
#32
I got a dog, and I put clothes on her. I always said I would never do either thing. She’s really small and we live in a cold place, so she has to wear a coat when we go outside. My sister had a chihuahua who would bring you her clothes and beg for you to help her put them on!
MacToast 2 years ago
I used to have a big Doberman who LOOOVED her sweaters. (My mimi made them because it was hard to find "clothes" in her size.) In the winter she was always cold and her sweaters were her fav. She was a good girl, its been 6 yrs since she passed and I still have a few sweaters, couldn't bear to get rid of 'em.
Mary Hiers 2 years ago
My lil chihuahua likes wearing sweaters because he gets cold. But he HATES having them put on or taken off. If only there were a way to teleport the sweaters onto him.
#33
I used to think it was silly people cared about their lawn so much. I am now obsessed with manicuring my lawn in the summer months
#34
Be single. I thought that, by the age I am now, I’d be settled down with the man of my dreams and have a couple of grown-up kids. But here I am, not even dating, never had children, living the corporate life in a big city. Weird.
MacToast 2 years ago
If Hallmark is to be believed, all you have to do is take a winter vacation in a small town. You'll find a nice man (either a lifelong bachelor or a widower with a kid) and promptly fall in love with him and the snow and move there to live happily ever after........
Esist Nosrep 2 years ago
Sounds about right. So much better than living to slave for corporate and having no family life
Load More Replies... #35
Pretend to be someone or something I'm not for the sake of safety, comforts, and social inclusion.
I use to believe that the coolest people were the ones that had the courage to be themselves and pursue their dreams. No matter how hard it was. If they failed, they simply got back up and tried again. If others didn't believe in them, they found the will to believe better of themselves. But no matter what, they never gave up, never let someone else tell them their worth.
I had family in America. And I saw all those cheesy movies and show, heard stories and such. I thought that I could be normal, too. So I dropped everything and went there. It wasn't long before I realized I wasn't normal, and people could tell. So I started the whole "fake it till you make it" routine, and thus, my slow decline into madness. You ever heard the expression "some people fall, and just keep on falling..."?
What happened? 2 decades later I woke up and realized how hollow my life became. I was on autopilot, hard-core. Before I knew it, I couldn't do jack without someone else's approval. I worked jobs I hated, went on pointless dates, went to stupid parties. To make it worse, I had a new set of obsessions, mainly internet, materialism, and social acceptance at any cost.
Best part is, I have no one to blame but myself. I get to live that guilt everyday. Yay.
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Why pretend to be someone you aren't just to be accepted by a bunch of dim-witted, trendy jerks you probably don't even really like? Never made sense to me.
#36
Weed. But then I got cancer. Weed's my bestie now.
#37
Go to bed early.
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
That's part of the beauty of being retired. If I want to go to bed at 8:00 PM and get up at five in the morning, I do. If I want to stay up 'till five in the morning and sleep 'till noon, I do.
Xenon 2 years ago
As a night owl, I disagree. Go with whatever works best for you.
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#38
Grow up.
Ayesha Aleena 2 years ago
This hits hard. I had promised myself to never stop watching cartoons but few years later I started detesting them.
T'Mar of Vulcan 2 years ago
I'm 53 and still haven't. And I don't care, and no you can't join me in my pillow fort.
Ashen Mccann (They/Them) 2 years ago
i never was a kid honestly, i had so much responsibility at such a young age that i never had that experience... im just a 13 year old adult.
#39
Get a degree in math.
#40
Divorce, I've done it twice so far.
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
@Conan, not necessarily. Sometimes people just make bad decisions. If I'd been foolish enough to get married a second time, the odds are even that I'd have been divorced a second time. Now, if you've been divorced three or four times or more, on the other hand, then yes, you're probably the problem.
Justin Thyme 2 years ago
Carlin summed it up best "Find a woman you hate and give her a house, and half your stuff. Saves all the heartache in between."
#41
Alcohol. I learned that it doesn't need to make me throw up, have a headache or be hungover. Only if i overdo it. Which i don't.
#42
Turn into a cold-hearted 'monster' with no emotions.
Loverboy 2 years ago
Doesn't make you a monster. It's not your fault at all, you can't control how you feel or what's going on in your life. I don't really feel anything anymore, I wish I did, but that doesn't make me a monster. I hope.
Me. 2 years ago
It doesn't. It makes you a person without emotions. I hope you get them back.
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Leila DeBacker 2 years ago
You're not a monster. Your emotions are your emotions and you can't really change them. It's not your fault.
#43
Smoke.
#44
Not quite childhood, but it immediately sprang to mind: kind of f****d up my undergraduate university selection process and wound up at my last-choice school VERY begrudgingly. Luckily I wound up loving it, but told myself I would not make the same mistake for graduate school. Then I made the same mistake. To doubly compound it, I'd also told myself I'd never take out student loans, and then I did as part of my graduate school mistake. Oops. Lifelong debt and regret!
#45
Work in a sterile office building. The cringe I felt and what I now put up with.
#46
I said “i never will be like those adults whose faces looks like they shoulder the world” well, here I am now.
#47
Being a grumpy old man who gave up on his hopes and dreams. I swore I’d be the fun person and never be grumpy, that was before I nearly died due to my health and have been doped into a state on constant drowsiness and anger due to the same meds saving my life. Sorry young me, I failed you. I failed a lot of people, I go to my 9-5 never advancing, putting on a smile so fake I don’t even think people know it’s a smile, I take my salary home, pay the bills, have enough left over to put away for a rainy day because it isn’t enough to do anything substantial. I’m sorry little one, I’ve failed you, I’ve become the very person you hated so much
#48
[tw suicide] >! Live past 34. When I was a teen I decided that 34 was the cutoff for becoming a boring wrinkly drone and that I would off myself if I lived that long. Lol, kids are silly. !<
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
Huh. My parents are both in their forties and perfectly healthy and interesting. I wonder why 34? It’s very specific.
Fantastic Mr Fox 2 years ago
It’s like Mick Jagger from Rolling Stones “I’d rather be dead than still singing Satisfaction when I’m 45”. Yet here he is, singing, and knighted.
#49
Yearn for romance
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
Even as a happily married wife, I still do! Even happy marriages can have their dry spells and times where romance books is as close as you will get.
#51
Move back in with a parent. Done it twice now.
Caitlin M. Maguire 2 years ago
I'm 28 and still live at home. Then again, my life has unexpected things happened so I have to.
#52
Loving a girl named Mandy. I thought it was a dorky name and this girl who had a crush on me in primary school had that name. So naturally because I was like 8, I hated the name. Then when I was 19 I met another girl named Mandy and we've been together 12.5 years now. The Universe is an ironic son of a b***h.
Wysteria_Rose 2 years ago
When I was little, I thought I would never marry someone with a certain name because it was so common...we've been married for almost 9 years now. I have to laugh about it.
#53
Not sure I ever explicitly said I wouldn't do this, but young me would be surprised that I stopped being religious. I was legitimately considering attending seminary after HS for a while there, but somewhere along the line it all just stopped making sense to me. I also *did* say I'd never attend college in my home state, wanted to get the hell out of here but ended up at the University of Iowa anyway because in-state tuition. I *also* said I'd never drink heavily or try drugs, but again... University of Iowa, lmao. Thankfully never made a habit of those things, but I did my share of partying.
#54
Work just for the paycheck
Cats4Life 2 years ago
Yeah, can't be another reason, work is no fun, so how is that a reason?
Load More Replies... #55
Girls
Donna Peluda 2 years ago
The cure to religion is education. Look around you and you can see the religion is man made. You can believe in a all powerful creator if you want but not a creator that writes books on how to live your life. I don't see the need for a creater
Queen penguin 2 years ago
That doesn’t seem to have anything to do with “girls.”
Load More Replies... #56
I wanted to die by 30. I'm 34 now
#59
Have sex with a guy
What do you think ?
oktopus 2 years ago
I was sort of brainwashed by my parents to believe that any "popular" music (i.e. anything which came out after ca. 1970) is uncouth and common and always imagined myself going to classical concerts with maybe the odd bit of folk. Now I'm 50 and have literally just got back from a live house rock concert in a basement bar somewhere in Tokyo. Hah.
A girl 2 years ago
I swore I was never going to participate in a bar meat raffle. I don't go out of my way to attend but, dang, $1 to get $50 worth of meat? I'm in.
Cathy Lemay 2 years ago
i feel tat way about 50-50 raffles. But they serve a purpose and sometimes you win.
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Beatrice Fairchild 2 years ago
Omg, there are so many things I could write, but here's the short version. Getting married young, my parents got married at 17 as that is what their religion wanted, I got married on my 18th birthday so I couldn't marry who they wanted. We're still together 10 years later w/ 4 kids and a dog!
Kristy Nelson 2 years ago
Wow! Some of these people need some serious support. I'm sorry for everyone having suchba difficult time. Please reach out for help.
Stardust she/her 2 years ago
My younger self probably hates the person I’ve become. I promised myself that I will always eat healthy, go out and play everyday, not use the internet and not say bad words (word like stupid, idiot etc). Covid happened and from there I went from being the ideal child to a brat in 3 years.
Ola Polowczyk 2 years ago
Well, when I was a kid, I would swear I would never be as pedantic as my mum is. Until like 2 weeks ago I caught myself scrubbing the kitchen floor with a sponge and going to myself "yeah, this will finally be clean. This mop only pushes the dirt around" 🤷♀️
oktopus 2 years ago
I was sort of brainwashed by my parents to believe that any "popular" music (i.e. anything which came out after ca. 1970) is uncouth and common and always imagined myself going to classical concerts with maybe the odd bit of folk. Now I'm 50 and have literally just got back from a live house rock concert in a basement bar somewhere in Tokyo. Hah.
A girl 2 years ago
I swore I was never going to participate in a bar meat raffle. I don't go out of my way to attend but, dang, $1 to get $50 worth of meat? I'm in.
Cathy Lemay 2 years ago
i feel tat way about 50-50 raffles. But they serve a purpose and sometimes you win.
Load More Replies... Beatrice Fairchild 2 years ago
Omg, there are so many things I could write, but here's the short version. Getting married young, my parents got married at 17 as that is what their religion wanted, I got married on my 18th birthday so I couldn't marry who they wanted. We're still together 10 years later w/ 4 kids and a dog!
Kristy Nelson 2 years ago
Wow! Some of these people need some serious support. I'm sorry for everyone having suchba difficult time. Please reach out for help.
Stardust she/her 2 years ago
My younger self probably hates the person I’ve become. I promised myself that I will always eat healthy, go out and play everyday, not use the internet and not say bad words (word like stupid, idiot etc). Covid happened and from there I went from being the ideal child to a brat in 3 years.
Ola Polowczyk 2 years ago
Well, when I was a kid, I would swear I would never be as pedantic as my mum is. Until like 2 weeks ago I caught myself scrubbing the kitchen floor with a sponge and going to myself "yeah, this will finally be clean. This mop only pushes the dirt around" 🤷♀️
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