Story Tell me a short story from your life

[PixelAngel]

Conversation often starts off well if you ask someone about themselves. People love talking about their own stories generally. I'm no exception. I've lived a lot, so I've got many stories. I think it would be fun to hear some other people though. Pick a story from your life, maybe one you learned something important from, maybe something you wish you'd learned earlier. You get the gist.

I'll try to keep mine short. When I was very young, I was prohibited from watching anything remotely scary, not because my family was cautious but because little me took EVERYTHING seriously and horror gave me nightmares. One day, my mom had my uncle babysitting us, and he wanted to watch Alien (1979). Knowing I was barred from anything scary, my uncle took a gamble, and showed me the Making Of and Behind the Scenes stuff. Something clicked and I saw it all as art, people who liked the same things I do going out and making this movie. I saw Bolaji Badejo in the rubber suit. And from that point on I was obsessed. Not only is horror a favorite genre, Alien is a top 5 movie. Someone bothered to SHOW me what made all these things instead of just making fun of me for being scared, and it turned into a lifelong love of horror, as well as a deeper appreciation that there are obvious alternatives to mockery to bring people around on something.

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

I was 7 years old when Canada released its new $2 coin, the Twoonie. It's a pretty coin--silver on the outside, bronze in the middle with a polar bear.

We had a Hungarian immigrant neighbor in our apartment building and he loved the new coin. Whenever he saw me, he'd give me one. After a while, Mom had to gently tell him off because I was saving up too much cash, lol.

30 years later and I still remember you, Faruk.

 

[computer]

when i was in 9th grade i shoplifted a bunch of coricidin from walgreens and went on a week long binge that ended up with me getting hppd (hallucinogen persistent perception disorder) i didnt tell my parents at first but eventually i told my parents and got officially diagnosed and i still abuse dxm to this day just not as heavily , the visual snow and floaters dont bother me as much anymore as i have come to accept it but im a bit sad i did that shit in the first place

 

[PixelAngel]

30 years later and I still remember you, Faruk.

Ah that's lovely! I had a foreign exchange student once in my school who taught me a lot about the world outside my home town, I wish I'd known him better. Bhaumik and I hope I'm not mangling that spelling.

as i have come to accept it but im a bit sad i did that shit in the first place

It's not the same kind of thing but cigarettes have hung over my head my whole life, even in ways it doesn't for other people, as I relate it both to very happy memories and to self harm. It's done real damage to me. I always end up falling back on it when things are bad. Wish I'd never picked it up.

 

[Cosmophobic]

When I was 17 I was friends with this 32 year old woman I'd met in the psych ward. After we'd both been discharged she invited me to her house a few times. She had a fiancee. They were, for lack of a better word, hippies.

During one of my visits she suggested we stay up and watch Dead Poet's Society after her fiancee had gone to bed. I don't remember any of that movie. We drank vodka and took some kind of downers until I was blackout drunk. I don't know how it happened but I have a blurry recollection of us being physically intimate when her fiancee found us in the early hours of the morning.

I went into a coma on the couch and when I was woken up during the day she had attempted suicide in the bathtub. A friend of theirs helped me get home after she was taken to hospital. I was even invited there again a few times and they acted like nothing happened. Eventually the invites stopped, thank god, 'cause I clearly hadn't the good sense to stop of my own volition.

What did I learn? Adults don't know what the fuck they're doing. As a fully grown one now I can confirm. But I'd like to think I have more sense than those two. That was 20 years ago.

 

[PixelAngel]

What did I learn? Adults don't know what the fuck they're doing. As a fully grown one now I can confirm. But I'd like to think I have more sense than those two. That was 20 years ago.

Damn I'm sorry you went through that. People can be so uncaring. Pretending that didn't happen is really not okay of them. At least they saw themselves out I guess. I had some friends leave me to die on a couch and act like it was just a normal thing to have happen. None of them are in my life anymore. Sometimes that's the best you can hope for

 

[Cosmophobic]

Damn I'm sorry you went through that. People can be so uncaring. Pretending that didn't happen is really not okay of them. At least they saw themselves out I guess. I had some friends leave me to die on a couch and act like it was just a normal thing to have happen. None of them are in my life anymore. Sometimes that's the best you can hope for

Sorry you had that happen to you too it's bad enough when people make shitty mistakes but when they act like it was normal or not worth addressing afterwards that's so much worse.

On a brighter note your uncle was smart and awesome for getting you into the horror genre that way.

 

[Green Destiny]

One 4th of July me and my friends got super black out drunk. I remember it vividly because it was my first time drinking alcohol, especially a lot of it. I somehow managed to drink a decently tall glass of Tequila that my friend had convinced me was mostly margarita mix. At first it was fun but I remember throwing up before completely blacking out. The next morning I woke up feeling absolutely terrible and dry heaved for hours before I finally went home.

The lesson I learned from that night was that I hate drinking and have no clue how other people can do it so often. I'm actually lucky (or maybe unlucky) to have not choked to death on my own vomit as that's a thing that has happened to people who get really drunk. If that had happened my friends wouldn't have realized or noticed because of how drunk they were as well.

 

[FadingSnowFake]

My first experience with alcohol was at 13. A friend and I had a few clean shots of Stroh Rum 80. She went home unaffected while the next day I woke up in hospital with alcohol poisoning, total black out. It took me most of high school to learn and accept that my body simply cannot handle spirits. My mom didn't care much and the kids I hung out with drank a lot, so there were many blackouts.

After school, I isolated myself for many years. I hated myself for allowing my drunken body to be used by boys. As an adult I switched to wine and beer and eventually hated myself less.

The girl who had rum with me moved away when we were about 16. As school friends connected on social media, we discovered that she had died in a motorcycle accident just before turning 21. She jumped on as a passenger without a helmet and died in a head on collision.

As I started contemplating suicide last year, I thought of others my age who died in accidents or as a result of illness. I wondered if maybe they were lucky, dying young and leaving us behind in this hell. But then, knowing this girl, maybe she would've continued enjoying life, parties, etc.

My point is, life is random. I could've been the one on that bike. All of this is fleeting and comes to nothing. And not everyone can tolerate hard liquor. Fortunately I've since discovered that weed is way better than alcohol.

 

[PixelAngel]

The lesson I learned from that night was that I hate drinking and have no clue how other people can do it so often.

I totally feel you there. I never understood alcohol culture, not that I didn't go well out of my way to try to (got my own history with tequila, and still do like red wine). I have an insane alcohol tolerance so eventually it became a situation where I needed a LOT to even get drunk. While I CAN handle my booze, it just isn't fun for me like that.

My point is, life is random. I could've been the one on that bike. All of this is fleeting and comes to nothing. And not everyone can tolerate hard liquor. Fortunately I've since discovered that weed is way better than alcohol.

It sure is random. I'm a pot head myself these days, much more enjoyable. I do enjoy red wine quite a lot but it costs too much for the amount it takes to get me drunk, and weed doesn't come with a miserable hangover. And yeah, it's crazy to have come to this conclusion that alcohol just isn't that great, while watching others deal with the consequences of it. It always gives me a sense of reflection. I could have easily sunken into it myself if I had simply leaned into booze as a coping mechanism.

 

[dissociation]

I dropped something today and it rolled into the street. Without paying attention to cars, I ran to pick it up before the wind could blow it away.
But honestly, if a car had run me over, I wouldn't have cared because I want to die anyway.

 

[PixelAngel]

I dropped something today and it rolled into the street. Without paying attention to cars, I ran to pick it up before the wind could blow it away.
But honestly, if a car had run me over, I wouldn't have cared because I want to die anyway.

I can very much relate to the feeling, I'm certain many of us can. I can't make anything better but I send you as many big hugs as you will accept.

I've fantasized about death a lot, especially of having it taken out of my hands. I used to daydream about going out heroically, say stopping a crime or something, so at least my death would be in service of something. But since those opportunities are rare, I still also fantasize about random electrocutions, or since my heart has regular palpitations, wishing my heart would just stop one of these times.

It won't fix anything but maybe you could do one nice thing for yourself today? Even a tiny thing, eat a favorite junk food, take a nap, whatever, just for you? Even if a car does get you at least you'll have had one nice thing.

 

[dissociation]

It won't fix anything but maybe you could do one nice thing for yourself today? Even a tiny thing, eat a favorite junk food, take a nap, whatever, just for you? Even if a car does get you at least you'll have had one nice thing.

I don't know if I'll survive until December, but I bought an Advent calendar. Does that count?

 

[PixelAngel]

I don't know if I'll survive until December, but I bought an Advent calendar. Does that count?

It absolutely counts. I can never keep those things, I like candy more than I like self control

 

[dissociation]

It absolutely counts. I can never keep those things, I like candy more than I like self control

What is your favorite candy?

 

[PixelAngel]

What is your favorite candy?

Favorite is a Reese's peanut butter cup. How about you?

 

[dissociation]

Favorite is a Reese's peanut butter cup. How about you?

I like sour fruit gums.

 

[PixelAngel]

I like sour fruit gums.

I can't handle sour and not fond of gummies myself, but maybe you can get some sour gummies for yourself today, or sometime soon. No sense in not treating yourself a bit while you can

 

[dissociation]

I can't handle sour and not fond of gummies myself, but maybe you can get some sour gummies for yourself today, or sometime soon. No sense in not treating yourself a bit while you can

Sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[PixelAngel]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

Do let me know when you do, so I can be happy for you and proud that you did a nice thing for yourself

 

[dissociation]

Do let me know when you do, so I can be happy for you and proud that you did a nice thing for yourself

That's really nice of you.

 

[PixelAngel]

That's really nice of you.

You deserve nice. I think a lot of us could use some.

 

[DUDale]

When 1st started reading this thread was reminded that when we were kids, my brother and I weren't allowed to watch 3 stooges because our mother didn't like the way we mimicked them. But since everyone is talking about 1st experiences with alcohol, here's mine. Way back it was 1968. I was 14. My friend Harry and I had it planned all week. Harry's father worked for a beverage distributor and it literally was child's play for Harry to misappropriate a 6 pack of beer. It was imported German beer I forget the brand name but it was way better beer than 14 year old kids could appreciate. It was the holiday time of year around Christmas and Harry's family had relatives or friends visiting so there ended up being 3 of us. The other kid was older than us around 16. We had the 6 pack stashed outside and it was cold enough as to make it just like it had been in refrigerator. There were 3 of us and a 6 pack so we each drank 2 beers. This was my 1st real experience with alcohol but I learned early how alcohol affects people differently. I was buzzed. Could feel the alcohol but nowhere near drunk. Harry was ok too. But this other kid! He started yelling and screaming and committing senseless acts of vandalism! This was a quiet residential neighborhood and I was like, "Harry, this kid's gonna get us in trouble". Harry and I couldn't believe he was acting this way and he was saying, "we all drank the same amount. Why is he like this? Is he putting us on? How can he be this fucked up?" This kid was older than us. Bigger than us. Had more experience with alcohol than us. It was my 1st time and I don't know if it was for Harry but he certainly didn't have a lot of experience with alcohol. He did guzzle his down a lot faster than us but that shouldn't make that much difference. Luckily we managed to get him back to Harry's house and into bed where he passed out and Harry's parents were none the wiser. My 1st experience with alcohol I learned how some tolerate it better than others.

 

[PixelAngel]

My 1st experience with alcohol I learned how some tolerate it better than others.

I have a similar tale but it involves someone putting us on and acting super drunk on half a beer, using it as an excuse to be super belligerent and bothersome because he was excited about the idea of drinking despite having no experience with it. I had to threaten to blow the whole event myself by calling the cops if he wouldn't calm the hell down lol

 

[vampire2002]

one time as a teenager, probably about 16 years old, my favorite cousins came to visit. they used to quite regularly back then. we always loved going for long walks and talking for hours. it gets really hot where i live, and this was in summer, so we usually waited until after dark to go out. my family didn't care how late we went out as long as it wasn't alone. typically it was my brother, my two cousins, and i. but on this occasion my brother didn't want to come for whatever reason.
anyway, we pooled our cash together into a decent amount, then wandered around between three different gas stations in the vicinity, asking older people going into the building if they would buy drinks for us. at one point, we had my youngest cousin go hide across the street near this abandoned building (but still where we could see her, we were careful being three girls out at night) because we thought she was too obvious.
eventually when we were close to giving up, a couple of latino guys pulled up next to us in their car and we asked them the same question. they wouldn't go in either, but they opened up their center console and pulled out two very tiny beers. (not enough for the three of us at all.) then they told us they'd give us more if we got in the car with them. my cousin and i may have been dumb kids trying to get some booze, but we weren't outright stupid. we had to refuse them several times before they gave up and drove off. my anxiety was sky high, but my cousin is better with people than me. after they left we laughed so much about how weird that whole encounter was. then we also gave up, walked across the street, grabbed my youngest cousin, and headed home.
at home, i remember us awkwardly hiding the alcohol when we went inside to make sure none of the parents saw it. we went out onto the balcony near my room and sat at the table with our pitiful "haul." then we hollowed out an apple and smoked weed out of it. (which was my first time, i was so bad at it and i still prefer edibles for sure.) at first, it seemed like there were no lighters that really wanted to work, so it took a long time to get it to light up, but we did eventually.
the beers were sealed so we decided they were safe enough to open them up and drink them, nasty little things. but between the three of us we didn't feel much, if anything, from that.
i don't remember what we watched, but i remember us laying in bed in my room and dozing off watching some sort of horror movie. (which we also love, it was like a tradition every time we hung out to watch horror movies together.)
this is just one of many times spent with my cousins having fun doing dumb stuff out in the city late at night. i miss doing this type of stuff, back before i got so bad mentally and no longer became able to. sometimes i do feel sad i'll never be able to go back to those days. my cousins and i rarely talk anymore, not that i don't still enjoy their company, just my OCD has made me so isolated and unable to enjoy life and be a bit reckless and impulsive, as i once was. i find it hard to be around them nowadays because i am so ashamed at what i've become, while they're doing well for themselves. so this is a bittersweet memory for me, most are.

 

[PixelAngel]

OCD has made me so isolated and unable to enjoy life and be a bit reckless and impulsive, as i once was. i find it hard to be around them nowadays because i am so ashamed at what i've become, while they're doing well for themselves. so this is a bittersweet memory for me, most are.

I relate to this. Autism and agoraphobia, been in and out of an OCD diagnosis a couple times. I isolated hard after my last major mental health event, I felt like such a burden to everyone. Trying to get back into their lives feels embarrassing and selfish.

I wish I had answers that fixed anything. I've got empathy and hugs. I was replying to someone else suggesting that they try to do one nice thing, even an insignificant tiny thing, for themselves. I like to recommend it. Not because it fixes anything, just because you deserve one in the nice things column.

 

[dissociation]

Do let me know when you do, so I can be happy for you and proud that you did a nice thing for yourself

I didn't buy any sour fruit gums, but I made myself some tea.

 

[PixelAngel]

I didn't buy any sour fruit gums, but I made myself some tea.

Tea is good, though I'm just a basic sweet tea lover lol. Well done. I hope it was satisfying and pleasant, you deserve that