Joining to play basketball with some of my class during a break 2016. And somehow a whole friend group of like 15-20 people ended up forming and we spend most of our free time all together. Doing grill parties, going swimming and just doing stupid shit together. I would have missed out on all of those precious memories. The best teenage years I could’ve had.
To send a friend request to the cute guy the algorithm suggested to me. We were together until he passed away in 2022. His death caused my life to be entirely uprooted. The only thing that hasn’t changed is my core group of friends, everything else is entirely different than how it was before. Hard to imagine he’s been gone for almost three years
After two years as a student at a University of California school, I realized they didn’t have the necessary major for the career I was interested in. I took a risk & applied to one of the Cal State schools in southern California. On my first day in the dorms, I met a young gentleman who would become my best friend for life. It’ll be thirty-five years this coming September.
Now his son is about to go to college, and we both secretly hope he finds his lifelong best friend too 🙂
Not really my decision, but when I was in college, they showed us a Ted Talk from the guy on the show Dirty Jobs. The course was awful, but that video really changed my perspective. Prior to I was going for computer science. I didn’t finish my degree, but after researching some more, I learned there is way higher demand and way more job stability and better pay for trade workers. I want to move to another country, and trade workers typically get expedited immigration to a lot of places due to shortages in those fields.
It’s been several years. Present day, both me and my brother and I are on the waiting list for a plumbing apprenticeship. Once that is done, I will work my way through another program, likely HVAC or electrician.
Making regular social connections with a friend or family member at least once a week by phone or video call becomes a habit that helps me stay connected, reduce loneliness, and improve mental health.
I invited a friend to a work function. He sat me down next to a total stranger while he got us drinks. That stranger and I moved across the planet, got married, and are expecting our first child this year.
Deciding to get on a bus. It was a choice between two ladies. Didn’t end up with either of them, but it put in motion the events that led to the rest of my life.
I cringe every time I think about it, but going to a local library to learn my (now) second language.
While studying, a woman approached me asking why I was learning it and we began talking. Next week, we had set up a time and she offered to help tutor me.
Fast forward a year, she asked me out.
Fast forward 6 more years, we’re still together and happy as ever.
She’s not tired of me yet, so I think it’s somewhat safe to say going to that library pretty drastically effected me.
I quit drinking for good and have a wonderful relationship with God and my girl. I truly feel peace now, mentally and emotionally. It’s a beautiful feeling.
Have always been “good with computers.” I was around 25 yrs old, working some tech support / customer service call center job, realizing I had basically gone as far as I could go on “good with computers.” I was good at customer service, and talking to people, calming people down in stressful situations, but I HATED wearing a headset all day that made my ears hot… HATED having to talk all day.
Anyway, another role opened up in the same company (a large US corporation that you would know) that required you to be “good with excel”. It paid the same as my current position but I wouldn’t have to wear that damn headset. I liked my team, was good at my job, but figured it was the time in my life to take a risk and try to move to this new position. My manager gave the OK and let me go to this other team.
New team (and it was a brand new team with poorly-defined goals) was tasked with analyzing feedback left on our website… you’d hit the “leave feedback” or “ask a question” button, and write your feedback, and we would analyze it as a whole to recommend changes to the product to make it easier to understand. First couple weeks were really low volume… I was hardly working. It took 20 minutes to read the comments and let our manager know that there wasn’t any big driver. There were three of us + a manager, and not nearly enough work to go around.
So I decided to learn something with my free time… we were working with Excel, so one day I took a long lunch to a nearby bookstore and ended up buying a dummie’s book for VBA / macros in excel (I highly recommend dummie’s books!) I immediately redefined our workflow, and made us much more efficient, just as volume started to pick up. I created report formats for our manager to digest, and eventually, other team members were sending me their results to compile for him. I had macro-enabled spreadsheet templates ready, and taught everyone how to use them, but only I really knew how they worked in the event that something went wrong. Anyway, it was a rare display of initiative on my part, but one that totally redefined what this random team was capable of.
A couple months in this team, and I had made friends with people in another team that worked close by, doing similar data-driven work, but in a much more technical setting. A position opened up in their team and I got the job handily (others from my former team had applied but my initiative and experience made me the clear win). I took those weeks of downtime and the void of process, and turned it into a quick project that increased my pay by about 50%.
That was just the start, though, and years later, I have a job with a 6 figure salary, with a company I love, working with great friends in a great environment… I am very satisfied now. I look back, though, and think about those few months… My last day at the call center, holding back tears as I left on my last day, HOPING that I was making the right decision… The long lunch at the book store, trying to figure out what book to buy that could help me now, but also help me later… The hours spend reading and experimenting with new things instead of just playing on my phone…
In the end (as if this is the end) it’s worked out amazingly.
On my way home from a night out with friends at 1am. I thought I’d pop into a bar on my way home to say goodbye to another friend. When I get there he’s flirting with a girl in the smoking area so I waved goodbye and got ready to turn and leave. As I’m turning someone taps me on the shoulder and says “excuse me, my friend thinks we should get married.” 2 years later to the exact date we did get married and we’ve been together for 8 years now. Mad to think what I’d have missed out on if I didn’t pop into a bar spontaneously at 1am
Comments
New account posting one of the most posted questions.
Becoming celibate.
Got so much pussy after that
Joining to play basketball with some of my class during a break 2016. And somehow a whole friend group of like 15-20 people ended up forming and we spend most of our free time all together. Doing grill parties, going swimming and just doing stupid shit together. I would have missed out on all of those precious memories. The best teenage years I could’ve had.
To send a friend request to the cute guy the algorithm suggested to me. We were together until he passed away in 2022. His death caused my life to be entirely uprooted. The only thing that hasn’t changed is my core group of friends, everything else is entirely different than how it was before. Hard to imagine he’s been gone for almost three years
Gave a chance to a biker on tinder, we’ve been together in the most healthiest relationship for a long time now.
After two years as a student at a University of California school, I realized they didn’t have the necessary major for the career I was interested in. I took a risk & applied to one of the Cal State schools in southern California. On my first day in the dorms, I met a young gentleman who would become my best friend for life. It’ll be thirty-five years this coming September.
Now his son is about to go to college, and we both secretly hope he finds his lifelong best friend too 🙂
Crawled through a window. Dumb decision that got the neighbors to laugh at me falling through. 8 years later we are still very happy together.
Not really my decision, but when I was in college, they showed us a Ted Talk from the guy on the show Dirty Jobs. The course was awful, but that video really changed my perspective. Prior to I was going for computer science. I didn’t finish my degree, but after researching some more, I learned there is way higher demand and way more job stability and better pay for trade workers. I want to move to another country, and trade workers typically get expedited immigration to a lot of places due to shortages in those fields.
It’s been several years. Present day, both me and my brother and I are on the waiting list for a plumbing apprenticeship. Once that is done, I will work my way through another program, likely HVAC or electrician.
Um. All of them?
To start a professional business as a Microlocs and sisterlocs loctician. I am based in Malta and i happy to install and retie for clients
Making regular social connections with a friend or family member at least once a week by phone or video call becomes a habit that helps me stay connected, reduce loneliness, and improve mental health.
Experimenting with dope
Applying and getting into med school.
10 years later I love the job security but my god the job fucking sucks.
Choosing charmander as my starting pokemon.
Lying when responding to obvious data farming questions
Picked up a hitchhiker at The Mississippi River and took him over 200 miles. It wasn’t much out of my way to take him to the house he was going to.
Last week one of the women who lived at that house and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary and she told me if she’d marry me again.
I treat her like a queen. She treats me like a dog-gone king.
Played racquetball with coworker who ended up a VP and he dragged me along to two other companies. He said I never gave up on a ball.
Replying to a fb message
I invited a friend to a work function. He sat me down next to a total stranger while he got us drinks. That stranger and I moved across the planet, got married, and are expecting our first child this year.
Having a second baby in my late 30s.
Completely changed my life and not in the best way.
Deciding to get on a bus. It was a choice between two ladies. Didn’t end up with either of them, but it put in motion the events that led to the rest of my life.
I cringe every time I think about it, but going to a local library to learn my (now) second language.
While studying, a woman approached me asking why I was learning it and we began talking. Next week, we had set up a time and she offered to help tutor me.
Fast forward a year, she asked me out.
Fast forward 6 more years, we’re still together and happy as ever.
She’s not tired of me yet, so I think it’s somewhat safe to say going to that library pretty drastically effected me.
I quit drinking for good and have a wonderful relationship with God and my girl. I truly feel peace now, mentally and emotionally. It’s a beautiful feeling.
Spoke with a girl at a bar. Now together 10 years with two kids.
not wearing a condom, now i have kids
Introduced myself to one of the gaming night buddies. He & I have been best frirnds ever since. 6 years later
Have always been “good with computers.” I was around 25 yrs old, working some tech support / customer service call center job, realizing I had basically gone as far as I could go on “good with computers.” I was good at customer service, and talking to people, calming people down in stressful situations, but I HATED wearing a headset all day that made my ears hot… HATED having to talk all day.
Anyway, another role opened up in the same company (a large US corporation that you would know) that required you to be “good with excel”. It paid the same as my current position but I wouldn’t have to wear that damn headset. I liked my team, was good at my job, but figured it was the time in my life to take a risk and try to move to this new position. My manager gave the OK and let me go to this other team.
New team (and it was a brand new team with poorly-defined goals) was tasked with analyzing feedback left on our website… you’d hit the “leave feedback” or “ask a question” button, and write your feedback, and we would analyze it as a whole to recommend changes to the product to make it easier to understand. First couple weeks were really low volume… I was hardly working. It took 20 minutes to read the comments and let our manager know that there wasn’t any big driver. There were three of us + a manager, and not nearly enough work to go around.
So I decided to learn something with my free time… we were working with Excel, so one day I took a long lunch to a nearby bookstore and ended up buying a dummie’s book for VBA / macros in excel (I highly recommend dummie’s books!) I immediately redefined our workflow, and made us much more efficient, just as volume started to pick up. I created report formats for our manager to digest, and eventually, other team members were sending me their results to compile for him. I had macro-enabled spreadsheet templates ready, and taught everyone how to use them, but only I really knew how they worked in the event that something went wrong. Anyway, it was a rare display of initiative on my part, but one that totally redefined what this random team was capable of.
A couple months in this team, and I had made friends with people in another team that worked close by, doing similar data-driven work, but in a much more technical setting. A position opened up in their team and I got the job handily (others from my former team had applied but my initiative and experience made me the clear win). I took those weeks of downtime and the void of process, and turned it into a quick project that increased my pay by about 50%.
That was just the start, though, and years later, I have a job with a 6 figure salary, with a company I love, working with great friends in a great environment… I am very satisfied now. I look back, though, and think about those few months… My last day at the call center, holding back tears as I left on my last day, HOPING that I was making the right decision… The long lunch at the book store, trying to figure out what book to buy that could help me now, but also help me later… The hours spend reading and experimenting with new things instead of just playing on my phone…
In the end (as if this is the end) it’s worked out amazingly.
I could have said, ” Nah, I don’t feel like partying at the hard rock tonight. “…
My whole life would be different…Not better, different.
Changing careers
On my way home from a night out with friends at 1am. I thought I’d pop into a bar on my way home to say goodbye to another friend. When I get there he’s flirting with a girl in the smoking area so I waved goodbye and got ready to turn and leave. As I’m turning someone taps me on the shoulder and says “excuse me, my friend thinks we should get married.” 2 years later to the exact date we did get married and we’ve been together for 8 years now. Mad to think what I’d have missed out on if I didn’t pop into a bar spontaneously at 1am
Went on an online chatroom at college. Ended up talking to an American girl. We married (and divorced) years later.