From not believing in organ donation, to not having concrete knowledge about global warming, people share their Ive been on the wrong side of things for too long stories.
[Source can be found at the end of the article]
Growing up there was this stop sign outside the entrance of our neighborhood that apparently was being covered all the time by the old ladies tree. So growing up I never noticed it was there, till one day we got a new cop in town. And as per usual I was going about my day when I noticed Im being pulled over. The cop says to me, You ran passed that stop sign. And he pointed at what was the bottom 25% of one. I said to him Wow, Ive lived here my whole life and never noticed that. I must have been running it this whole time. he smiled at me and gave me a verbal.
therealfakebodhi
Sauerkraut. Got it into my head that I hated it because I hated coleslaw. Then I was in my 30s, hungry, I had like five minutes before I had to go on stage, and theres a bratwurst cart nearby. I love bratwurst. I sent someone to get a bratwurst, no kraut, and he misheard me but I said screw it.
And then I bit into heaven.
The best sauerkraut I have ever eaten was at a Polish restaurant in Manitou Springs. They made their own.
BigYearColorado
Being edgy and slightly rude/sarcastic all the time to be funny. More often than not people just see you as being a jerk and wont find it funny.
Quackman2096
My dad was an alcoholic and I was in my twenties and on my own when I realized that when you take the cap off of a bottle of liquor (fifth, quart, whatever) you didnt just toss it away as he did. He would do that and then drink until the bottle was empty. (Took less time than you would think).
tcroark
Unfortunately, I tend to get sucked into work politics. A work colleague tells me that they are being bullied by others, recounting incidents tearfully. Another will criticize a manager or superior, labelling them incompetent and listing off incidents angrily. I listen and try to show empathy and offer advice. I later find out that the person being ”bullied” is constantly getting into trouble for not working, just slacking off on day-long coffee breaks and gossiping. I later find out that the person claiming incompetence of one of the managers has been running around trying to undermine said manager, telling staff not to obey them.
Unfortunately this has led to me basically not engaging with anyone at work.
OkeyDoke47
I had the classic “nice girl” syndrome. I was overweight, had braces, glasses and a terrible haircut. I despised all the girls in my class who were hooking up and going to parties and how dare they go out and enjoy themselves when I was so miserable? I developed this toxic, self-righteous mindset of “well, they’re all just horrible people, and I’m a good girl that is waiting for the right man.” I was in complete denial, when I knew full well that I would’ve been doing the same if I had the opportunity to.
Losing weight, exercising and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as well as just growing out of my teenage years helped with me realising that I was actively pushing people away. People don’t owe me anything. I’m glad I’m not the entitled victim I was back then.
verballyabusivecat
My mother always told me never to take them and that they weaken the immune system and so forth. Well I had strep throat and Im a 911 Dispatcher. These are two things you cant have at the same time. Hospital gave me the antibiotics and they worked almost instantly. Back to work the next day.
jonnyb61
I used to think that a lot of woo subjects (telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, astral projection, etc) probably were real, we just needed to find better scientific evidence.
Then, when older, rather than read books about the subject I actually got to meet a lot of the more famous people in the field. It became very clear to me that all the people I met were either charlatans out to make money, sad deluded people weak on reasoning skills or (if they were scientists) well intentioned but extremely gullible.
I became a sceptic and haven’t looked back since.
prustage
When I was a child I thought that “Atlas Shrugged” made convincing arguments in defense of greed and selfishness. Then I became a vested adult, met other adults, had adult experiences, and gradually realized that Objectivism is a ridiculous, amateurish, idealistic fiction. I’m embarrassed that I was so gullible.
VorpalPen
I have been lifting for years now and have always made fun of guys doing spin class at the gym. One of my gym buddies decided he was going to give it a shot and I decided to join him. I absolutely loved it and will add at least one session a week into my routine.
CanadianDisco
I’ve felt like a poor victim of my “terrible” wife for being in a dead-bedrooms type of marriage for the last few years. A few weeks back it dawned on me that she probably doesn’t want me because honestly, I wouldn’t want me either. I’ve put on a lot of weight and have become (according to myself) unattractive. All this time, she’s still being so helpful with everything around the house and nice about everything else so I just realized I was being a selfish terrible husband instead of the other way around. I’m working on changing that.
ichigo2862
Around the time I first got my driving licence, I heard from somewhere (don’t remember where) that being an “organ donor” was a death sentence. Because doctors would see that and ignore you so you could die and they can harvest your fresh organs. Years later I learned that if left to rot in a hospital bed, your organs will die with you, making the “organ farm” thing useless. When I renewed my driver’s licence, I opted in.
MercuryKnuckle
As a kid I was a bit picky about what I ate but I eventually grew out of it. I got to experience so many delicious foods but the one that floored me was broccoli. There are different ways to prepare it that just makes a dish go beyond what thought imaginable. My favorite way to prepare it is lightly steamed with lemon and crushed black pepper.
apheix
For years and years I would love to debate people about global warming being a myth and would say that the planet was heating up because that was the order of things and it was destined to happen (Ice Age, etc.).
Thankfully someone put me in my place and essentially told me to do better and actually read up about this stuff. For some reason I actually took that advice and was supremely embarrassed for years to come after learning the truth, particularly as someone who considers themselves to be progressive.
Glitter_Snow
When I was a kid I hated the very idea and felt sorry for the kids who had to wear them. Now as a teacher at a catholic school I see that they 1) even the social playing field, 2) reduce decision fatigue 3) for the most part the kids like them. Only problem is when it’s too cold out for the girls in skirts to go out, but warm enough that the boys in pants want too.
rumor33
Fairly recently, and Im not proud.
I got married young, and essentially went from one relationship to the next without stopping in between to have time to stand on my own. Ive been married twice; divorced once, widowed once.
Now Im almost 50, and although Im dating someone, theres no marriage on the horizon yet.
Im terrified. Ive never been fully responsible for myself, and I havent worked outside the home very much.
Its not just that Im unqualified. Its the whole mentality of working for a living. Im not good at it.
This is what happens to people who are spoiled.
17_Horses
When I really did the research and became vegan. There’s this stigma that vegans judge omnivores but that’s not the case for me because I went a long time eating meat, dairy and not much else before I listened to someone long enough to realize maybe I was wrong.
RingoWasHisNameO
I still cringe whenever I think of my “anything that isn’t rock and roll is garbage” phase. I’d go out of my way to be a condescending jerk to anyone who liked pop, rap or country. I saw Justin Bieber, Jonas Brothers and any guy in the cover of Cosmo Girl as my arch enemy and a threat to humanity itself.
As I grew up I realized how stupid I was and how I was alienating myself from cool artists and others from the artists I liked. Nowadays I’m still a huge fan of classic rock, but my taste in music has become way more eclectic. I even liked some of Bieber’s more recent works.
starkillerrx
A young lady at university told me that slaughterhouses weren’t as a neat, tidy, and painless as I imagined. I watched a video called Meet Your Meat, narrated by Alec Baldwin, on YouTube later that day and I went vegan while I was watching. I just assumed that animal abuse would be illegal but it turns out that it’s not; it’s normal and necessary for a vast majority of animal farming.
Phlox_carolina
For so long I’ve thought how dumb it is to possibly get addicted just to solve a problem that other people can solve with other methods. Probably due to the fact my mom was this way after me trying some sort of anti anxiety meds as a kid and it ruining my life in a lot of ways including me not remembering anything from that time. Also I tried to push that marijuana was the cure for anxiety and depression (even way before ever using it or wanting to use it), now that I’ve used it I see that it isn’t the answer for everyone. Sometimes hardcore medication can be beneficial.
snowclick
I used the crystal deodorant all throughout my entire adolescence/teen/early twenties, until a friend of mine who also suffered from excessive sweaty pits like me was telling me how great this spray-on anti perspirant was. Tell me how it took care of that sweat problem. Well, I was taught that anti-perspirant was bad for your lymph nodes (I don’t even know what that is) and could give you cancer or something so I just played it safe and used the crystal.
I absolutely hated having sweaty pits and feeling like I needed to change my shirt more than once in a day. Since using naughty anti perspirant spray it has improved the quality of my life pretty much. No more feeling self conscious and gross about raising my arms or having wet shirts anymore.
toccata81
Throughout middle school, I tattled on kids that even talked about it. I was that jerk. In high school I quit doing that, but I was still deathly afraid of it, as my parents are very conservative and told me all sorts of things like “weed melts your brain,” or “if I catch you with it, I’ll kill you before the weed does,” so whenever I was at any party or social function and someone lit up, I’d freak out. Fast-forward to the summer after my freshman year of college, my girlfriend and I shared a pot Rice Krispie… Probably one of the best and happiest times of my life.
Neckbeardthepirate1
For along time I viewed making mistakes as being a really bad thing. It caused me to be a perfectionist, stressed and a self harmer. I would figuratively and literally beat myself up over it all. My partner has been my rock towards moving past this. When I started really talking about this with him he basically told me Im going to help you with this. Hes honestly the most patient, kind and loving person Ive ever met and has really helped me realise all the little things Ive been seeing as normal which are really not that way at all. Ive also been doing CBT therapy which has been helpful and journalling I still feel like Im in a pressure cooker when I get told all the things Im not doing quite right at work and on some bad days I can slip into old habits, but Im moving towards not letting it affect my emotional state or my own self work. I might be slower than my boss at putting up stock but Im damn better than I was a month ago! Life is easier to handle when you take mistakes as lessons and not reasons youre stupid and a bad person as I used too.
juniperjumpercables
Never had steak ’til I was 19, and always avoided potatoes. My mom was out of town (still living with parents back then) and my Dad offered to make steak ‘n loaded baked potatoes. I figured it was him trying to bond so I ought to suck it up and eat a meal with him (was trying to be less of an angsty teenager). So, he went and grilled some medium steaks… and oh my! Marinated steak with Dublin Spices (courtesy of Baldwin, Michigan) with loaded baked potatoes absolutely changed my world! That was the second best steak I can ever remember having. Great bonding moment for my Dad and I, too.
Billy_the_Burglar
I used to vehemently believe in the friendzone.
For most of my teens, if a girl I liked somehow didn’t manage to read my mind and know that I liked her (because I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her. I’m not a lunatic) then I’d just sort of passively go “Welp, such is the friendzone” and move on.
When I was hanging out with one of my friends, he sort of gave me a “talking to” after casually mentioning it to him and something in my head just flipped.
The gist of it basically went “The friendzone doesn’t exist, friendship isn’t something you escape. If a girl doesn’t like you back it’s not because you’re her friend, the reason is irrelevant. Life’s not a rom com – you can’t change her mind with a costume change and montage. If you like her, tell her. If she doesn’t like you back, say ‘fair enough’ and forget about it.”
What really stuck with me was the “friendship isn’t something you escape.”
XMenOrangesTangerine
My friends and I, in high school, discovered edgy putdown humor, and how fun it was to direct it at strangers among ourselves. We’d compete to see who could come up with the most outrageous put-downs for laughs. I remember it being quite hilarious.
Over time, though, like the next 5-8 years, this got to be a habit with me to the point that I was doing it by myself in my head, all the time. And eventually, I skipped the funny part. I was just instantly hating everyone I laid eyes on.
One day, I’m on the city bus, and a cute young couple is a few seats away, holding hands. And I’m just standing there HATING them. I suddenly realize that I’m sneering at them. And I ask myself, hey, what is your problem?! I thought about it, realized it was just this weird habit from high school that got out of control. And I ditched it that day. Went back to my natural resting attitude towards people and life, which is really quite positive. And it was immediately like a huge cloud lifted from my life.
jimmyjazz2000
I come from a family where males dominate the household. I mean as a woman I understood that I was capable of almost anything I wanted, but I mean I always was content being lower in the hierarchy than males, I mean if I could just sit around all day any maybe do some household chores for a living that would be fine with me. It never really clicked for me until I was harassed on the street for wearing my school uniform that it isn’t about being higher on the hierarchy than males, but merely being treated as an equal and not being treated as less just being of the genitals I have.
Breakfastdestroyer
When I was in trauma surgery in upstate, got a notification about a man who was shot 3 times in the head. He comes in, literally one eye hanging out of the socket, blood everywhere, and he’s slumped forward. Apparently he was shot in the temple, exited out his right eye socket, in the nose exited from the roof of the mouth, and In the cheek one with exit from the side of the head. At this point, I’m thinking they just brought him in so we can pronounce him in the ER because he looked dead. I go to examine him and tilt his head back, and he says “yo be gentle!!!!” I jump back and scream like a little boy, as did everyone in the room. Literally, the bullets missed his brain in every single shot.
gillvery
My mum is a massive conspiracy theorist, especially on the case of vaccines. My little brother who is 3 years younger has autism and you can guess what happened.
As I grew older and became exposed to other thoughts on the subject via the internet I quickly learned how stupid anti-vaccination is. Now days I completely believe vaccines are good and important and once Im old enough and self sufficient to move out Im going to go and catch up on all the jabs Ive missed over the years.
My mum is a lovely person and a great parent but nowadays I dont even want to talk to her cause every conversation turns into an opportunity to spout her lies.
Sonofaconspiracy
I used to be staunchly against psychiatric medication. Thought it “poisoned the mind” and “turned people into passive sheep” etc. I was also severely depressed with bipolar disorder. Refused medication for years because of my beliefs, and I also felt it would be a moral failing on my part if I succumbed to “Big Pharma” and took the meds.
Then I had a baby, and Post Partum Depression hit me like a stone. I was non-functional, and my child was suffering for it. Seeing that my mental issues were hurting my child forced me to finally seek help. I swallowed my pride, talked to my doctor, and started the long journey of cycling through medications to find one that works. Started with a generic antidepressant — within one week I was up and around, doing things… I could breathe more easily, I felt lighter, and everything was literally brighter. Like a literal grey cloud had been lifted off my face.
That was the moment I realized how much I had been depriving of myself by being anti-medication. I’m now a vocal advocate for psych meds. They aren’t perfect, but they helped me put my life back together.
couragehelpme
I treated my high school girlfriend very poorly. I manipulated her into doing things she didn’t wanna do. I was the stereotypical “nice guy.” I’ll never forgive myself for how I treated her.
We’re still friends on Facebook so I can see she’s ten times happier than she ever was with me so at least I know she’s either recovered or recovering and that’s good.
Haven’t been in a full fledged relationship since. Too afraid I’ll hurt someone again.
eldrehund
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