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Life is full of twists and turns, and none of us could have predicted them. That’s what makes it so interesting and keeps people on the edge of their seats. Its unpredictable nature is exactly why people worry about what’s coming next or feel excited about the possibility of the great things they may experience.
In the spirit of not knowing what to expect, here are a few things folks never thought would ever happen to them until they actually came true. These experiences show exactly how life keeps people on their toes.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Finally found and then lost my soulmate. 38 years alone looking. 3.5 years together. 3 years of pain since he's been gone. Grief is brutal and destructive.
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#2
Found out I was the guy in the friend group everyone kept around as a joke and to mess around with. I really thought they cared about me, and I loved them. .
#3
That I would find people who actually like, love me and want me around. Growing up everybody made me feel like they tolerated my existence.
Although the folks in this list didn’t expect to go through the things that they did, research has found that people often tend to believe the worst stuff will happen to them. Our brains seem to focus on the negative aspects of the world and conjure up scenarios about bad events or experiences and put us smack dab in the middle of all that.
This kind of negativity draws our attention more than normal circumstances or positive events. Then, due to confirmation bias, we believe that we are always unlucky or doomed, which isn’t actually the case. Rather than letting the bad memories hold so much space in our minds, it’s really important to pay more attention to and value the good moments.
#4
Being a miserable adult who hates his job, his life, and struggles to stay in the higher tiers of poverty.
#5
A flock of birds s**t on me. And they missed everyone else standing nearby.
PunchinelloTX 3 days ago
It’s a terrible experience. A group of us were all dressed up and headed to a soirée for the opening of a new exhibit at a museum and a raft of over-full pigeons descended and expelled their horror all over me. Just me. It was awful. I had to leave, it was so bad and ended up stripping in my car and driving home through a Dallas twilight, very obviously just in my boxers.
#6
Got pregnant with triplets at 41 after being told I was infertile my whole life. Life really knows how to throw curveballs at you when you least expect it.
Jorie 3 days ago
My mom got pregnant with me at 36 after being told the same thing as you. Unfortunately, she never let me forget what an unexpected "accident" I was. I hope you tell your babies that they were unexpected "surprises". If you can't say that, then don't say anything. I'm 72 now and the hurt caused by my mother's words is still there.
It’s often hard to accept the unpredictable nature of life, especially for people who want to be in control of the things around them. Even if we’ve made the best plans or thought of every single possibility, there might be curveballs that we never even expected. This is probably what happened to the folks on this list.
Rather than always getting frustrated because we can’t stay one step ahead of life, it’s important to sometimes go with the flow. Stressing about what could have happened will not change the outcome of the situation and will only serve to destroy your mental health. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is accept that come what may, you’ll be able to get through it.
#7
Always thought getting laid off was something you see in movies or hear from distant relatives, never something I'd face. Then boom, corporate downsizing turned my 'never gonna happen to me' into a 'how did this happen to me?' moment.
Michelle C 3 days ago
Unfortunately, many people experienced that during the pandemic and others are experiencing that now.
#8
Homelessness for just under 4 years total.
GreatWhiteNorth 3 days ago (edited)
My cousin who would work 15 hours a day seven days a week if he could became homeless at 60 after a COVID layoff. Lost his job, went through all his saving, lost his apt and then started sleeping in his car. No one would hire him at 60. He is 64 now and just got into a long-term shelter. Edit to add we are in Ontario Canada.
#9
Not enjoying things that I did enjoy before 4-5 years ago (Gaming, going out with friends and many other things).
Allen Packard 3 days ago
Depression it tough, don't go it alone. I pray that you seek help, life can be good again.
In challenging and unexpected moments, you might feel overwhelmed and worried, but the very best thing to do first is to breathe. Experts say that taking a few moments to calm down your nervous system will help you feel a bit more in control of the situation and will stop you from immediately panicking.
The next thing to do after you get your breathing in check is to try and focus on the things you can control in the moment. Getting them done step by step will make things feel less daunting. Don’t be afraid to ask for help because that can provide you with all the necessary support you need so that you don’t feel so alone or overburdened by life.
#10
Be crushed by the machines I operate. I was in a heavy equipment incident where the dirt caved and I slid over while in the machine into a retention pond without water and was ejected from the machine on the way down. My legs and lower body were pinned under the machine and my head was split open and could see my skull. I was blessed and survived and walked out of that incident without a broken bone.
#11
I never thought it could be me, in my 20s, to end up with a horrible disease... that always felt like something that would happen to someone else.
Now I have Huntington's - a very rare degenerative genetic disease that will start to destroy my life in the next 5-10 years. We didn't know my family had it. Now everyone I love is at risk.
Erica J 2 days ago
A cousin of mine married a girl with Huntingtons. She's currently going down hilll fast. Saddest part, her parents pretty much have abandoned her as they have lost one kid already and two more are next. She has a sister who's worse off than she is. This forces my aunt to take care of her when my cousin's at work. Another sad thing, their son calls my aunt (his grandma) mom more than he does his own mom. He recently turned 8. For heaven sake! If you know you have this kind of thing in your family DO NOT HAVE KIDS, especially if you're going to abandon them when they need you most!
#12
Cancer. I was a health food nut. Turned out it was from 9/11. Oh yeah. And witnessing 9/11.
Michelle C 3 days ago
I’ve never forgotten September 11, 2001, either, and I don’t understand how there are people who can make fun of the immense tragedy of that day.
People start worrying about the future right from their teen years. This can negatively impact folks’ well-being and make them constantly feel anxious about what’s coming next. The truth is that nobody can predict what’s going to happen, but worrying about it now will just end up spoiling the present.
If you find yourself always spiralling and anxious about the scary possibilities of life, it might be better to reach out to a trained therapist for help. Getting into calming activities like yoga, mediation, and mindfulness can help you also deal with those feelings of overwhelm.
#13
Both of my parents passing away before I even reach 30.
#14
Menopause.
I mean, I knew it would happen, it happens to every person born female. But I never expected the absolute havoc which has been wreaked on my body, mind and psyche from it. No one told me this s**t, women when I was growing up *never* talked about this monstrous monkey who climbs on your back and grabs your internal reins like god d**n Ratatouille, driving you further and further into mental fog and crazy thoughts. No one until Sinead O'Connor - in her autobiography last year she freely talked about how menopause literally drove her mad. That disastrous Dr. Phil news and her jumping out of a hotel window, thst was menopause, specifically surgical menopause. There have seriously been times where i was thisclose to checking myself in to a behavioral health hospital. The s**t is diabolical. And I've suffered with it for 10 years now!
#15
Becoming [dependent]. Used to question how [dependent people] can't just "stop", now I can't remember the last time I was sober.
UncleJohn3000 3 days ago
The first thing to go when counting your drinks is your ability to count.
The experiences on this list show that things can change in an instant, without any warning, but these folks managed to get through it all.
Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen next in their life, but if we did, would it diminish the beauty of the experience? Tell us what you think.
#16
I never thought I’d become a morning person, but now I love starting my day early!
Petra Peitsch 2 days ago
I tried this for a job in my professional-field for almost a year. Because I liked the specific job, the guys working with ...but NOPE! In 11 months I couldn't change my "night-owl" biorythm to a morning person, who wakes up at 4.30 a.m to get working from 6 a.m. No matter how tired I was, I couldn't sleep till midnight, at least. Guys, sleeping 4-5 max. 6 hours for months, it's a f.cked up scenario. NEVER DO THIS. Please. I had to quit at the end, obviously. Fortunately, in my profession there is place for "night owls" too.
#17
Brain tumor at 21.
#18
Being on a plane when the oxygen masks drop down.
#19
I fell off my bicycle last month and broke my jaw and both arms. I was on my way to a job interview.
Fortunately my arms aren't/weren't displaced and have been getting better very steadily.
My jaw required surgery and the surgeons did an excellent job. Eating puree'd vegetables and protein shakes has been unpleasant.
Lowrider 56 1 day ago
I was in a bad car wreck, broke my jaw in 2 places and they had to operate and wire the pieces of my jaw back together and then wired my jaw shut. It's not fun at all.
#22
A house fire.
I was at work in 2023 when I got a call from my landlord saying that my duplex was on fire. Nobody was hurt, thankfully, but my housemates and I all lost most of our possessions. And of course we had to scramble to find new places to live. It's been almost two years and I'm settled again, but on some level I don't think I'll ever be fully over it.
geezeronthehill 1 day ago
Had that happen long ago, but the peculiar smell of a burning building can sure trigger a person.
#23
As an overachiever, dropping out of college.
Petra Peitsch 2 days ago
If it led to better fields for you ... College is overestimated. Coming from someone, who also has a University- degree. It helps a lot, especially when it is in a "wanted-field". And to say, I also took advanteges of my Uni-degree at a point in my life. But years later, I made another professional training for a very different field, where I'm working right now. Because we are changing. What was very important in our 20s, is maybe not so really in our 40s.
#24
My cat getting stuck in the oven, and yes, he is still alive, I always check it before preheating it, and there’s a childproof lock on it now, and my bf and I both check before turning it on.
To clarify, the oven was not on when I found him there. The cat has a habit of hiding in weird places, he has an AirTag collar, I was a bit shocked when I heard where it was pinging.
#25
Failure. I always thought I’d be successful and stable at 25 but here I am now, unemployed and struggling to find a job cause I got complacent with online gaming all day.
Petra Peitsch 2 days ago
Khm, when you thought you would be successfull at 25, you thought it would be in online gaming? /s
#26
That someone who claimed to love me would break up with me over a TEXT message 🤣.
#27
I got hit by a car when I was 14 (8 years ago) and it changed my life. I had PTSD for years afterwards and months of physical therapy. I always thought those road safety PSAs were overly dramatic but reality was much worse!
#28
Real, true love.
Doctor Strange 3 days ago
That's definitely something that will only happen to other people, never me.
#29
Get fat.
#32
Having somewhat of a relationship with my family, took a long a*s time but at least we talk without fighting all the time now :D.
Poll Question
Have you had something similar happen to you?
Yes! Though I think everyone will have experience like this, in time.
Kind of, but it wasn't as horrible.
No, and I hope it never happens to me!
What do you think ?
Dog Mom to Zoe 3 days ago
Being single and living in California, never thought I'd own a home. Due to the downturn in real estate in 2009, I was able to purchase a condo at 52 years young. Almost paid off too. Crazy is that I can't afford my own condo if I had to purchase it now. Due to the cost of rents, I'm so happy I made the decision to buy when I could.
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 2 days ago
Cancer for me. I'm long since cancer free and alive, but it feels like such a surreal part of my life.
Dog Mom to Zoe 3 days ago
Being single and living in California, never thought I'd own a home. Due to the downturn in real estate in 2009, I was able to purchase a condo at 52 years young. Almost paid off too. Crazy is that I can't afford my own condo if I had to purchase it now. Due to the cost of rents, I'm so happy I made the decision to buy when I could.
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 2 days ago
Cancer for me. I'm long since cancer free and alive, but it feels like such a surreal part of my life.
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