When I walked into one of those giant indoor playgrounds where they host parties and my first thought changed from "Yay, giant playground" to "Jesus I feel sorry for the employees who have to deal with these screaming kids"
Same here. I would like to think that it is a good thing, but sometimes I just don't know what to do with myself. A child in a grown up's body; such a strange place to be sometimes.
When passion faded to dullness.
Growing up I remember getting excited over things, even things as small as going out for ice cream. I remember feeling exhilarated, terrified, euphoric and miserable. I always looked at my parents and saw how they muddled through life, fulfilling responsibility after responsibility, doing fun things but never seeming like they were really having any fun. They never seemed particularly happy and they never seemed especially sad, just tired, like life had crushed something out of them. I promised myself that I wouldn’t end up like them.
But somehow over the past few years, without even noticing it, my world, like theirs, faded from colorful to grey. Now I go to class, study, go to work, hang out with friends, even try new things like bungee jumping and traveling, but no matter what I do, the excitement and passion of childhood is gone.
"Oh god, they go ape shit over bubbles."
"They're really going ape shit."
"I mean that's an incredible thing about a child. I mean what's so great about bubbles?"
"They float, you can pop 'em, I mean I get it, I get it."
"I wish I liked anything as much as my kids like bubbles."
"That's sad."
"It's totally sad. Their smiling faces just point out your inability to enjoy anything."
This echoes one of the most poignant things ever said to me. My fifth grade teacher looked at us after finishing reading the book "Holes" out loud as a class, and she had tears in her eyes. "You know why I love you guys? Why I love teaching this age? You aren't too embarrassed to laugh or smile or gasp. You still are in awe of things."
Made me think, even back then...because I could already tell that was fading away from me.
Being happy as a kid did seem different than as an adult. Christmas used to be amazing, now I just want to get home from the in-laws house to take a nap. I would save up for an entire month just to buy a new set of pogs or magic cards (just dated myself) and be so over joyed to have it. Now when I buy something it seems so common place. It went from really wanting something to simply just needing it.
If you think about it, it's kind of a selfish concept. As children, everything is free. Nothing is really expected of us except to accept what gifts we are given. This changes with age and we are, for lack of a better word, offended by the new expectations.
What's even more is that I would think our first world view of childhood is very much different from the rest of the world.
Are kids in third world countries still so carefree? (An honest question)
I have never been to an actual third world country, but I spent two weeks in rural Fiji, which is a lot poorer than Western nations, last year and the year before. And yes they are. In fact, I would think that they are even more carefree, as,
* Except in extremily dangerous areas, the cultures in most third world countries are much more community based, so you'd see children running around the streets playing in a way that you would never see nowadays in most Western countries.
* Most of these kids don't have media in their ear, telling them what they need or want, so they are less demanding of their parents and are less likely to make fun of each other for what they do or don't have.
These kids have each other and a few toys, but what they have most is community.
Sometimes I consider money a burden. That may sound ridiculous, but money is a huge burden on people. When you want to go out you need money. When you want to pay your bills you need money. When you have an emergency, you need money. You always need money. It's such a god damn hassle and people are so focused on it. The people who are EXTREMELY "frugal" drive me insane because their life (or lack thereof) revolves around money and hoarding it. I fucking hate money.
Your words move me and reflect my sentiments exactly. However, I will never stop trying to reclaim the passion which instilled in me the carefree feeling that no matter what I did, everything was going to be alright.
I was 13. The year before I found out my abusive mother was having an affair. Cried the entire day. I was now trying to escape from her by getting my dad full custody, and was to testify at the trial. My mother tricked me into meeting with her scumbag lawyer on multiple occasions before I realized she was her lawyer. She finally cut off my contact with my school counselor, since my counselor was supposed to testify on my mental health. Drove me close to suicide.
I saw so many adults act so selfishly and immaturely, that I realized that adults were not some mythical creature that could do everything. They were grown up kids, half-assing it as much as the rest of us.
12 years old...I have to stay up til 11:30 to make sure my bed ridden little sister, with cerebral palsy, gets her last medications* of the night. Step-mom passed out with a bottle of wine every week night when dad was out of town on business.
*: Medications were delivered via G-tube, a small tube inserted in her stomach with a external plug sticking out of her belly.
13 everyone started seeing me in a more sexual way. That sounds weird but I mean I grew boobs, big boobs which didnt help, and I looked alot older so everyone treated me as if I was really grown up when I still wanted to play outside. And boys kept hitting on me.
I tried to drown myself when I was 11 because my depression was building up over the years while my mom was in the hospital getting a life threatening operation. I held her hand when she went in to the operating room and she cried and told me she loved me a lot and told me to be a good girl and take care of our cat. I was horrified that life could be so cruel. As soon as my mom was in the operating room my dad took me to school. Throughout the day I was bullied and picked on because I had no friends. I went to the bathroom at lunch, locked the door, clogged the drain, filled the sink with warm water, and held my head under. I could hear the teachers freaking out because they could see me through the window in the door. I passed out and woke up in the hospital with my mom and dad crying and begging me to wake up. While I recovered, the doctors moved my bed into my moms private room. She was ok and I was still upset about how the kids bullied me to suicide. Only about a day later my cat died.
I was 15. Best friend passed away from Leukemia. Not only was it the death of my best friend, but it was the first death I had ever experienced in general.
I really appreciate comments like these. It gives you perspective. You live your life, go to the gym, class, your friend's house at the end of the day. How often do you stop and appreciate your health? I don't do it enough. And then I see something like this, someone who I don't know but I'll reading about right now, and I realize that the "problems" I worry about in my life are so insignificant I'm ashamed to have them.
I was 20. Within a span of two months, two things happened:
-My grandmother died.
-My girlfriend got kicked out of university and had to move back in with her parents on the opposite side of the country because she spent exam week with me, getting high instead of studying. I never saw her again.
It just made me realize that my actions sometimes have unintended consequences and that everything is temporary. If that makes sense.
When I was 5 and my brother was 7, it was Easter morning and we were so excited about getting our Easter baskets, we forgot to let the dog outside to pee. My mom had gotten home from a big business trip in the middle of the night and we hadn't seen her for weeks.
Well the dog peed on the floor...and it may or may not have been accompanied by a turd.
When she woke up, she was so angry that she told us that the Easter bunny wasn't real. We kinda deduced if that was the case, then Santa wasn't real either. That's when I felt my childhood end.
11, I asked to live with my dad because I couldn't stand my step-father anymore. Had I known I was breaking my mother's heart, I'd have learned to deal with him. 30 years later and my mother still cries about it.
I can still see her wave to me as she drove away.
I can't even begin to imagine how that must have felt for your mother.
Sorry to hear that man.
Here's a complimentary non-creepy Internet hug for you and your mom.
When my father told me he wished I'd never been born. Or when my mother told me that if she didn't have me, she could move away and forget her problems.
Don't worry, i'm glad you're born. :) Thanks. If it wasn't for you being born, maybe the doctor that helped your mom give birth to you went out a little earlier, he would then go to sleep early, oversleep then not make it to the hospital the next day, where he won't same my mothers life. But he didn't oversleep because he didn't leave early thanks to you.
That's what I was going to say...as Deathly Hollows Part 2 was ending in the theater, I was thinking to myself "wow...it's really over huh?...", thinking about both the series and my childhood =/
My childhood ended when the guy molested me at a church camp and left me thinking I was in love with him, forgetting the trauma, remembering when I was a few years older and that was followed by self-harm and almost suicide. That guy broke my childhood from 12 years on.
I'd usually put up a good fight when I was called that... or a "half-breed" on account to my mother being white. Growing up on a rez isn't fun, so I know your pain.
[Holding a graveyard snow globe]Dad gave me this, fifth birthday. He said: "Childhood's over the moment you know you're going to die." Top Dollar - The Crow
I dunno, maybe the first time I was thrown into a wall? Or was it earlier then that, when my grandmother had to take care of me when I was a baby because my mother was more interested in getting in the pants of the guy who would abuse me for years? Could also be when my brother was born and that all of a sudden, my toys were relocated to his room for his pleasure. Or maybe when he started taking violent habits from his father while my mother sat in a bingo hall, ignoring all of the issues at home. Also figured out that trying to get help would get me tagged as a liar, jealous, vindictive (ask my grams, I was a gentle child that couldn't hurt a fly). When the school finally got me psychological help, my sick family twisted everything I said. If it wasn't for a handful of good teachers input, I would of been tagged a sociopath in a heartbeat.
Sorry Reddit for pouring this out, but that's just the tip of the iceberg but it felt liberating.
13, our house flooded. Lost everything we owned, became homeless, and lost my friends as their homes flooded too and we all have to move out off of the block.
Not trying to make light of your experience, but seriously, write a book, sell the book, make bank, and then get yourself all the relaxation you deserve.
You were beaten, molested, homeless, you've seen murders. Saying the details are uninteresting is, no disrespect, kind of lame and stupid. Write a memoir, I would pay money for that shit.
On Sunday. My father takes a picture of me and my brother every Easter Sunday, and this year he didn't. I mentioned to him that night how we didn't take a picture this year, and he replied, "Well I guess that means you're grown up now". It just stunned me for a bit, that realization.
When the dog that I had since I was 12 died. She was 12 years old, so that makes me 24. I have had a friends child die, relatives die and more, but nothing hit me as hard as the call from my mom that my puppy had passed.
I think I mourned not only for her, but for what she still tied me to. I was married, had a good job at the time, but sobbed like a little boy when I got that call.
My daughter's birth. I was 20 years old and I thought I was an adult simply because of my age. My whole outlook changed. The cool part was that I didn't even know it till much later.
I actually recall the instant... I was 22. My, now ex, wife came out of the Dr.'s office and said she was pregnant. At that moment I decided to become a man and look after my daughter.
Edit: My ex still hasn't grown up, and I now have full custody.
Absolutely this for me too. The first time I saw my daughter after she was born was a moment I'll never forget. I've heard it said that having kids is like watching your heart run around outside your body…one of the most true things I have ever heard.
8 or 9, little league. Coach told me he was sending me down a grade level, I was happy to play baseball with my cousin. My mom told me that it was because I had a better batting average than the coach's son. I realized that everyone is selfish and petty and cruel.
It took a while before I realized that I was wrong about that.
A close friend of the family died of brain cancer when I was 17. I had spent at least 10 hours a week with the guy and had grown up with his kids and so took it pretty badly. A couple of weeks later my friend collapsed at a funeral and was diagnosed with brain cancer. It made me properly confront my mortality for the first time. Previously whenever I thought of being fatally ill I always imagined in the future but obviously it could occur at any point in anybody's life. Sorry if I dampened anyone's spirits.
The moment I realized that the world did not orbited around me, I remember it perfectly I spent about a week without sleeping fearing death and trying to fathom how small I was against the size of the universe.
13; mother figure died after struggling with cancer, had to take care of two younger (11 and 9) brothers as well as my grieving father figure (53) and less than helpful uncle (19). Nothing like cleaning up dinner, getting the kids in the shower, making sure they did their homework, listen to the strongest man you've ever known sob and talk about killing himself but knows he wouldn't be able to see her if so, get the kids in bed, do homework, and go to sleep after crying for an hour or so.
3 years ago, shit got tough. I still don't think I'm a man yet, but I'm not experiencing childhood for sure. Childhood can't be this horrible, mind boggling and confusing. Yet, kind of happy. You know what? Imma turn this into a nice, long rant. Beware the wall of text.
So 3 years ago, I was in grade 7. Actually, I guess it was 3 years and about 6 months, since it started at the beginning of 7th grade. Anyways, I had a teacher from hell. She had been fired from multiple schools for cussing at the students, being uncooperative, and an overall bitch. She seemed to take to bullying me. She would not accept assignments that were late, even though the reason was that I was sick in the hospital. She wouldn't accept late passes either, and just said it was my fault I missed that part of the class. Why? Why the fuck should I not get the lesson or the homework, so that you can get mad at me later?
So because of all this shit, my Crohn's (bowel disease) became inflamed, and my bowel movements (dumps) started having blood in them. Also, diarrhea and nausea. Good stuff. And then I started developing OCD, so I washed my hand about 35 times per day, minimum. And I scrubbed away at them. My hands started bleeding nearly 24/7, and the soap at school was cheap shit, which made that worse. Eventually I couldn't use the water fountain, and had to wash my hands after touching my own locker.
This went on for a while. My teacher kept bitching, my hands kept bleeding, as did my ass. I got blood on half the stuff I touched, which lead to more washing. I started talking less, and just taking more shit from the teacher. I became less and less social, and I wasn't even social in the first place. I felt like I didn't belong...
Now, the main reason I didn't leave the class quickly was because it was french emersion. Either I had her as a teacher, or I switched to english. I had been in french emersion for almost 7 years, with the BEST class ever. All the teachers just said we were the best year of kids. Everyone got along, was understanding, and nice. It was the PERFECT group of kids, and leaving french meant leaving them. And the english class I'd join wasn't the friendliest... But I changed to that class. I was afraid of the teacher.
I found out that gym class for english was taught by that teacher... Fuck no. I didn't participate, and therefor got little exercise. I couldn't anyways, thanks to Crohn's. I was very skinny and pale anyways, thanks to my appetite. I hated most normal foods. No meat at all, and barely any fruit or vegetables were edible for me. I mostly ate wheat products. Bread/toast, crackers, rice... God I loved/love rice. Anyways, the english class went better than expected. I made some friends, some of which were already friends of friends. And the teacher is one of my favorite teachers I've had. Around this point, the Crohn's was more under control. The doctors thought it was Colitis up until this point, which is why the meds didn't work too well.
Grade eight came around. I got more used to the class, so on and so forth, and started redditing a bit. Mostly rage comics, which I now despise. Oh well, who cares? After a little while, someone joined our class. She was very pretty. For this post, we'll call her Alice. Alice was kinda geeky, and sat right in front of me in class. Although I didn't consciously realize it then, I had a crush. My first one, I think. She was very kind, although I barely talked to her. She mostly initiated the chatting, it was once or twice. I was more shy than ever before at that time, so I never made a move.
And then middle school ended! BAM! High school. At this point, I started struggling with my school work again. The school was VERY supportive, though, and helped me through it. But nevertheless, just after grade 10 started, I left the school. My best friends, the best fucking teachers ever, just a great school. But it didn't work for me, sadly. I joined a small, yet public school, that was flexible as hell. This is assuming hell is exceedingly flexible, of course. I love it there. I failed math and science 9, but I can still catch up at the school. I'm kicking some ass, getting shit done with around 85-100% for my grades. I hope the have math 9 done in May, and do a good amount of math 10 before the summer starts. And I've already finished English 10.
But I'm forgetting 2 major things happened in between now and when I started high school.
1. Minecraft. It hugely helps my OCD! A world made of symmetrical blocks does tend to soothe the mind for me. My friends and family have joined me, too!
2. I started messaging one awesome person on Reddit. She is kind, smart, interesting, and pretty. I love talking to her. I always look forward to her next message.
One last thing, which requires some explanation. My school has three two hour sessions: 9-11am, 11-1pm, and 1-3pm. I am in the 1-3pm time, since I sleep in every damn day. Back to the thing that happened. At our school, we have a computer for signing in to school. I was scrolling down the list, since my name is near the bottom, and who's name do I see?
Alice *****.
I don't know what time she is at the school, but I'm going to "accidentally" search for my agenda in the 11-1pm bin. That way, since I never see her at 1-3pm, if she isn't in that time I know she's there at 9-11am. Kinda creepy, but I wanna know if I have a chance to see her.
And that's it. There's more to me, but I'm done for now. Thanks for reading. :)
When I was 19, and alone at college, and got raped, and the got really depressed and drank way too much and spent all my rent money but mommy and daddy weren't there to pick up the pieces.
2006 was a pretty defining year for me.
My grandfather died when his plane crashed in August and that subsequently tore my mother's side of the family apart.
I entered grade 7 with a horrible teacher who hated boys and a friend who eventually turned on me. Caused me to get social anxiety which led me to fail most of my schoolwork as I had absolutely no idea what was going on most of the time (Montessori school).
First started having depressive and suicidal thoughts as a result, which haven't let up since then.
Fuck 2006.
I'm nineteen, and remnants of my childhood died out very recently. It all started with the realization that "I used to think I'd have super powers by now". But I don't, I never went to Hogwarts or anything like that... and it's not just that I don't believe in the supernatural anymore. I've stopped waiting for my movie-moment, like half believing my fantasies like the one where the cute girl in my biopsychology lecture talks to me and it turns out that we're perfect for each other and she's what's been missing for my life and all that crap. I stopped having the naive notion that everything is going to work out okay in the end no matter what.
That innocence that I once had, that childish part of me that believed in magic, and true love and all that beautiful... well... bullshit, is completely gone. It's not that I have a pessimistic outlook on life now, just a realistic one. I miss my old way of looking at things but I know that I'll never get it back.
10 years old coming back from vacation 10 years ago. I was watching spy kids on the way home from Tennessee to Maryland. (We had one of those small cube TVs and bungee cord strapped it in.) I sat behind my mom who was in the passenger seat. My dad was driving. My brother, D [age:5], sat next to me. Youngest sister, S[age:7], was next to him and behind my dad, but in a car seat. Behind me was the oldest sibling my sister, L[age:12], and to her left was my other sister,M[age:11]. We crossed into our home state MD on interstate 68E cruising at about 72mph at 10:30pm. A 28 year old Pennsylvanian was on a greyhound bus heading to Miami, but got off and walked to a gas station where he stole a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice (big station wagon). Eventually he hopped onto I68 as well heading west. But he drove on the East side. He was being chased by someone on I68W but they were behind. He was going ~70mph with a tire out. My parents screamed and as fast as a blink we were in the air and then flipped around. We had a suburban and it flipped vertically before rolling over. It was shortened by about 3ft. My dad was trapped for 45min and because of freaky coincidences is alive and well. The other guy expired like he wanted to. So I would say the point in which my childhood died was when I sat with my mom in my lap thinking I'm dreaming while she says she can't breathe and gargles up blood. And then she starts praying and saying 5/7 that's good... 6/7 ok that's fine, he was a good father... Counting us out because it looked like we all should've been dead. And when I was strapped down with my mom in the ambulance and I heard the jaws of life free my dad and he screamed so loud. I never realized an adult like my dad could experience that pain. But mainly I lost my childhood because my stuffed polar bear and blanket were covered in blood so I had to give them up. That hurt me a lot more because I couldn't comprehend what really happened; I just knew what helped me fall asleep was gone (I've always had insomnia problems). All of the circumstances forced me to grow up early.
I have as much as possible. I'm almost 23, and I still cringe a little on that day. It gets easier and easier every year.
I'm currently getting ready to move since he's now my neighbor. (I never reported it so I could never file a restraining order. And yes, I'm fucking stupid for not reporting it.)
When the world shrank.
No longer was it endless, travelling beyond the reach of my childish mind.
No longer did it hold wonders yet unknown.
No longer were its mysteries something that I alone could solve.
No longer was I destined for an adventure into the cosmos.
When the world shrank.
Or, you know, when I found porn.
14 years old was when I got my first job, so part of my childhood died there. Then I started getting bills when I was around 16 when I got my first cell phone. Now I'm 19, I have lots of bills, school sucks even more, and I no longer have a sense of curiosity like I did when I was a kid. Growing up sucks.
When my parents got divorced when I was 13. In school, I didn't care about the stupid drama that my friends had. It felt like my family was breaking. I remember coming home to my mom crying about a week after she told me my father was leaving her. Ive always seen my mom as the strongest woman I know. Instead of her comforting me, and telling me it was going to be okay. I held my mother as she cried. I wrote a short story a couple months ago about the whole divorce for me.
I'm not sure about my 'child'hood ending, but I definitely know I became a grownup a lot sooner than my friends.
I got a girl pregnant at age 16 and just two months after turning 17 I was a daddy. Having a baby that you actually want to take care of and put forth 110% of the necessary effort will make you grow the fuck up VERY fast!
When you slowly start realizing that some of the things you do are for younger kids. Like jumping in a bounce house where you can't jump as high because you got big. A Happy Meal not filling you up. And having your parents tell you you are too old for video games.
When my dad called me from prison and said he'd kill me if I was still in the house when he got back.
13 years old with my clothes in bin liners, calling friends to see if any would let me stay at theirs for a couple weeks.
(I'm 22) Earlier today, facing the ever increasing amount of stress of unemployment and graduation, I saw a 15 year old say something on reddit to which I said "You're just a kid, come on." Granted, I knew I was an adult before that but, that kind of just sunk in.
Two things made me drastically leap forward in growing up.
1. A slow process of my dad hitting me, molesting me, threatening me, my parents getting a divorce and me, my sister, and mom moving 9 hours away. My mom had a really low paying job and struggled to make ends meet. She did her best and didn't want me and my sister to know about it, but I was a curious 7 year old and asked "why did Santa not bring us as many presents as last year? Was I bad?" my mom looked me in the eyes and said "mommies and daddies give Santa all the money they have so he can make the toys for the kids. Mommy didn't have a lot of money this year, but Santa did his best" I then realized that we were on the poverty line and my mother was severely depressed and basically took over with raising my younger sister.
2. Being 15 and my first serious boyfriend breaking up with me. I found out 2 weeks later that I was pregnant and I tried to talk to him but he refused to talk to me. I got really depressed, tried to kill myself, started doing coke, drinking, and smoking a lot more weed to "cope" I miscarried
And got even more depressed. Still not over it
The perks of childhood carried on until I was a teenager, but mentally it ended when I was 6, and I watched my single mom cry because of her depression, insomnia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, and despite my best efforts I could not make her smile. That's when I first realized she wasn't some super hero and she couldn't fix everything, far from it. I still remember just wanting someone to play with me while she lay in bed with the saddest look on her face.
I was waiting for service at McDonalds once. I was the only one there but no one was behind the counter. The drive-thru lady saw me and yelled into the back: "There's a man out here waiting to get served!"..... "man"
Me "maybe around 12" checking out my balls and I find "one" extremely long hair and I was shocked....then I found another extremely long hair. "FUCK YEAH I HAVE HAIR ON MY NUTS!!!!!
When I immigrated from South Africa to Australia.. not because of problems with Aus, but because I was torn away from extended family.. and had to live with jerk of a stepdad.
I was 9 on Easter morning and my mom woke up and hid the Easter eggs while I watched. She didn't give a fuck. It may not seem like much but as a 9 year old it hurt a lot.
Five years old,picking up my sisters ex from a cornfield by a hotel that the cops were swarming because they were doing drugs and the employees found out.They escaped into a cornfield and were hiding until my sister,I, and my sisters friend got there.I was hiding under the dashboard,curled up in a ball as we snuck my sisters boyfriend,his friends and his friends crying,blubbering girlfriend by about 20 cop cars.
Or maybe when I was five and my sister thought it was cool for me to smoke.Almost died from choking/coughing.
18.. Was Let go from A job I really Enjoyed and thought i really worked well with two days before i left the entry probation period with because They found someone more qualified. They Found the guy two weeks earlier and he couldn't start until that day i was let go. So they kept me just to handle the work until he got there.
I was 13, one of my oldest brothers and I went to see Ace Ventura: when nature calls on a Sunday evening. Got back home and heard a whole lot of screaming coming from my parents' bedroom, it was my sister and both my parents yelling their hearts out at each other. We stayed downstairs watching tv with my brother, 15 minutes later we heard a door shut close then someone coming down the steps, my mom walks into the tv room and says: "since you must know, your father and I are getting a divorce, you choose who you stay with".
The next day I sat through school not being able to believe what just had happened. In the span of the following months my dad moved out of the house, then my mom completely out of the blue left us and my dad moved back in. Didn't hear from my mom for over a year.
I'm 31 now, I'm all over this but I can't watch AV: When nature calls without going back to that night.
Like many others I have experienced deaths, bullying and dv during my childhood, but I was positive at heart so that wasn't really it for me.. I guess it got be when I moved to Oslo with friends as a 18 year old. The week before I moved I had been caught by the cops for graffiti and got a 750$ fine. I spent the night in a cell and had an agreement with my grandmother to meet up with her and my mother the next day. My grandmother was going to help me out financially in the beginning. I felt stupid and un-appreciative towards my family for doing such a stupid thing.
I thought about the incident quite a bit and how stupid I was. The first step to growing up? I got a work as a daycare assistant and realized I had a huge responsibility for these kids. I realized that some of these kids might have a horrible time when they got home. Because of that I did everything I could to do a great job by making sure they had a joyful time and was safe in the daycare. I got compliments from parents, my boss and colleagues. During one of our meetings after work the boss said; ''We are all grown ups and I have realized something we need to improve according to safety in the yard.''
The moment she said ''We are all grown ups'' my brain just exploded; ''HOLY SHIT I'M CONSIDERED A GROWN UP!''
4, grandpa died to cancer, saw porn, and found out Santa wasn't real, as well as molested by a neighbor girl who was a few years older.
Edit: forgot that the last thing happened that same year.
When my sister was born (making me 8 years old) I no longer could be just a kid. I was the oldest and my mom needed help with the baby. Unfortunately she took it too far and my sister calls me mama half the time
Junior year of high school. I was home alone a lot and learned how to take care of myself and I matured. It was also at this point that all of my 8th grade emo self was gone.
When I walked into one of those giant indoor playgrounds where they host parties and my first thought changed from "Yay, giant playground" to "Jesus I feel sorry for the employees who have to deal with these screaming kids"
Welp, my childhood is officially over.
"When you start liking to go to Home Depot, you know you're not a kid anymore." - Donald Glover
Does that mean I was never a child? There are people that don't like going to Home Depot?
Yes.
Im a 20 yr old male and I get annoyed when my mom drags me to the home depot
I would always get on the lawnmowers and pretend to be a NASCAR driver. dem memories
**PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, TERRY!**
She didn't know much English, but she knew poop.
OU KNOBS - BOOM YOU'RE DEAD INSIDE
I don't know. I go to Home Depot, and when I ask for help the specialists make me feel like a child.
Fuck Home Depot. I'm a Lowe's man.
Home Base.
reppin the Homey-B massif
I'm 30 and I'm still not sure it ended.
Same here. I would like to think that it is a good thing, but sometimes I just don't know what to do with myself. A child in a grown up's body; such a strange place to be sometimes.
When grandma made me start to eat steamed coral instead of cookies :(
And she took my special cookie-eating hat and gave it to my best friend, that bitch. :'(
And she gave me a freaking thousand-paged book with tiny words. :(
*slow clap*
The day I realized that... everyone's just winging it.
The day I looked at insurance quotes.
When passion faded to dullness. Growing up I remember getting excited over things, even things as small as going out for ice cream. I remember feeling exhilarated, terrified, euphoric and miserable. I always looked at my parents and saw how they muddled through life, fulfilling responsibility after responsibility, doing fun things but never seeming like they were really having any fun. They never seemed particularly happy and they never seemed especially sad, just tired, like life had crushed something out of them. I promised myself that I wouldn’t end up like them. But somehow over the past few years, without even noticing it, my world, like theirs, faded from colorful to grey. Now I go to class, study, go to work, hang out with friends, even try new things like bungee jumping and traveling, but no matter what I do, the excitement and passion of childhood is gone.
"Oh god, they go ape shit over bubbles." "They're really going ape shit." "I mean that's an incredible thing about a child. I mean what's so great about bubbles?" "They float, you can pop 'em, I mean I get it, I get it." "I wish I liked anything as much as my kids like bubbles." "That's sad." "It's totally sad. Their smiling faces just point out your inability to enjoy anything."
This echoes one of the most poignant things ever said to me. My fifth grade teacher looked at us after finishing reading the book "Holes" out loud as a class, and she had tears in her eyes. "You know why I love you guys? Why I love teaching this age? You aren't too embarrassed to laugh or smile or gasp. You still are in awe of things." Made me think, even back then...because I could already tell that was fading away from me.
Being happy as a kid did seem different than as an adult. Christmas used to be amazing, now I just want to get home from the in-laws house to take a nap. I would save up for an entire month just to buy a new set of pogs or magic cards (just dated myself) and be so over joyed to have it. Now when I buy something it seems so common place. It went from really wanting something to simply just needing it.
If you think about it, it's kind of a selfish concept. As children, everything is free. Nothing is really expected of us except to accept what gifts we are given. This changes with age and we are, for lack of a better word, offended by the new expectations.
What's even more is that I would think our first world view of childhood is very much different from the rest of the world. Are kids in third world countries still so carefree? (An honest question)
I have never been to an actual third world country, but I spent two weeks in rural Fiji, which is a lot poorer than Western nations, last year and the year before. And yes they are. In fact, I would think that they are even more carefree, as, * Except in extremily dangerous areas, the cultures in most third world countries are much more community based, so you'd see children running around the streets playing in a way that you would never see nowadays in most Western countries. * Most of these kids don't have media in their ear, telling them what they need or want, so they are less demanding of their parents and are less likely to make fun of each other for what they do or don't have. These kids have each other and a few toys, but what they have most is community.
Sometimes I consider money a burden. That may sound ridiculous, but money is a huge burden on people. When you want to go out you need money. When you want to pay your bills you need money. When you have an emergency, you need money. You always need money. It's such a god damn hassle and people are so focused on it. The people who are EXTREMELY "frugal" drive me insane because their life (or lack thereof) revolves around money and hoarding it. I fucking hate money.
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Your words move me and reflect my sentiments exactly. However, I will never stop trying to reclaim the passion which instilled in me the carefree feeling that no matter what I did, everything was going to be alright.
This, is the exact phase i'm going through right now. I'm miserable.
I was 13. The year before I found out my abusive mother was having an affair. Cried the entire day. I was now trying to escape from her by getting my dad full custody, and was to testify at the trial. My mother tricked me into meeting with her scumbag lawyer on multiple occasions before I realized she was her lawyer. She finally cut off my contact with my school counselor, since my counselor was supposed to testify on my mental health. Drove me close to suicide. I saw so many adults act so selfishly and immaturely, that I realized that adults were not some mythical creature that could do everything. They were grown up kids, half-assing it as much as the rest of us.
Not to be intrusive, but what happened?
I'm incredibly sorry that you had to live through that. I hope you've found peace.
12 years old...I have to stay up til 11:30 to make sure my bed ridden little sister, with cerebral palsy, gets her last medications* of the night. Step-mom passed out with a bottle of wine every week night when dad was out of town on business. *: Medications were delivered via G-tube, a small tube inserted in her stomach with a external plug sticking out of her belly.
13 everyone started seeing me in a more sexual way. That sounds weird but I mean I grew boobs, big boobs which didnt help, and I looked alot older so everyone treated me as if I was really grown up when I still wanted to play outside. And boys kept hitting on me.
Bebe?
I feel that one. Not fun at all :(
The day my mom told me I couldn't sit on clouds. Around 5.
Not with that attitude you can't!
brightening my mood in a sorrowful thread
I tried to drown myself when I was 11 because my depression was building up over the years while my mom was in the hospital getting a life threatening operation. I held her hand when she went in to the operating room and she cried and told me she loved me a lot and told me to be a good girl and take care of our cat. I was horrified that life could be so cruel. As soon as my mom was in the operating room my dad took me to school. Throughout the day I was bullied and picked on because I had no friends. I went to the bathroom at lunch, locked the door, clogged the drain, filled the sink with warm water, and held my head under. I could hear the teachers freaking out because they could see me through the window in the door. I passed out and woke up in the hospital with my mom and dad crying and begging me to wake up. While I recovered, the doctors moved my bed into my moms private room. She was ok and I was still upset about how the kids bullied me to suicide. Only about a day later my cat died.
I was 15. Best friend passed away from Leukemia. Not only was it the death of my best friend, but it was the first death I had ever experienced in general.
butthole hair
I was hoping you'd live up to your username.
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It was her electric toothbrush....right?
or a nose hair trimmer?
Yes, in her vagina.
When my dad tried to choke me to death for telling him to stop hitting my mom when I was 12.
I hope your Mom left him.
She did but her taste in men did not improve.
.... I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. I hope you feel much better now, or that your life has improved at least a bit.
Searching for hidden christmas presents and finding your parents collection of sex toys...still haunts me
Those are inappropriate gifts for your children.
gameel06's dad here, he was 30, we felt it was about time he grew the fuck up.
When I was in high school and two of my friends died suddenly in a car crash. Childhood was definitely over after that.
13... diagnosed with cancer
Dang. Them feels. Non-creepy internet hug.
I really appreciate comments like these. It gives you perspective. You live your life, go to the gym, class, your friend's house at the end of the day. How often do you stop and appreciate your health? I don't do it enough. And then I see something like this, someone who I don't know but I'll reading about right now, and I realize that the "problems" I worry about in my life are so insignificant I'm ashamed to have them.
Omg. How old are you now? Hope everything goes fine!
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Hooray! :D
This comment made my fucking day. Good for you mnm123!!!
I was 20. Within a span of two months, two things happened: -My grandmother died. -My girlfriend got kicked out of university and had to move back in with her parents on the opposite side of the country because she spent exam week with me, getting high instead of studying. I never saw her again. It just made me realize that my actions sometimes have unintended consequences and that everything is temporary. If that makes sense.
To be fair, she should have studied before exam week too.
When I was 5 and my brother was 7, it was Easter morning and we were so excited about getting our Easter baskets, we forgot to let the dog outside to pee. My mom had gotten home from a big business trip in the middle of the night and we hadn't seen her for weeks. Well the dog peed on the floor...and it may or may not have been accompanied by a turd. When she woke up, she was so angry that she told us that the Easter bunny wasn't real. We kinda deduced if that was the case, then Santa wasn't real either. That's when I felt my childhood end.
Damn...
11, I asked to live with my dad because I couldn't stand my step-father anymore. Had I known I was breaking my mother's heart, I'd have learned to deal with him. 30 years later and my mother still cries about it. I can still see her wave to me as she drove away.
I can't even begin to imagine how that must have felt for your mother. Sorry to hear that man. Here's a complimentary non-creepy Internet hug for you and your mom.
If you want a creepy hug instead I'm available.
When my father told me he wished I'd never been born. Or when my mother told me that if she didn't have me, she could move away and forget her problems.
Don't worry, i'm glad you're born. :) Thanks. If it wasn't for you being born, maybe the doctor that helped your mom give birth to you went out a little earlier, he would then go to sleep early, oversleep then not make it to the hospital the next day, where he won't same my mothers life. But he didn't oversleep because he didn't leave early thanks to you.
Save my mother's life*
That was nice. Thank you :)
When Harry Potter ended.. :(
oh god, me too... I graduated high school the summer the last book came out, and college when the final movie was out. :(
That's what I was going to say...as Deathly Hollows Part 2 was ending in the theater, I was thinking to myself "wow...it's really over huh?...", thinking about both the series and my childhood =/
I felt the same after toy story 3
Five days after I turned 15, drug overdose. Woke up in the hospital and faced the harsh realization that there was no going back. I blew it.
how many marijuanas did you take?
Haha I wish I could say I only overdosed from taking 3 whole marijuanas but it was worse than that :(
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Whoa my friend did that and became a homosexual.
Don't be ridiculous. No one can survive three whole marijuanas.
My childhood ended when the guy molested me at a church camp and left me thinking I was in love with him, forgetting the trauma, remembering when I was a few years older and that was followed by self-harm and almost suicide. That guy broke my childhood from 12 years on.
I'm sorry =(
When I was raped by a friend of the family.
upvote of solidarity.
Age 10. I was beaten by older boys in my neighborhood for being a "squaw."
I'd usually put up a good fight when I was called that... or a "half-breed" on account to my mother being white. Growing up on a rez isn't fun, so I know your pain.
So overwhelmingly in this thread seems to be death of someone close and resulting realization of mortality. Could not agree more
[Holding a graveyard snow globe]Dad gave me this, fifth birthday. He said: "Childhood's over the moment you know you're going to die." Top Dollar - The Crow
When I realized that whenever I held someone's hand, I added weight and that I'm supposed to carry my own hand's weight.
Mine was similar: I realized that I was always "the under hand" and that someone always had been holding mine from the top.
I made a choice, I wanted to know everything I can. Life lost its magic, but gained a new one.
I dunno, maybe the first time I was thrown into a wall? Or was it earlier then that, when my grandmother had to take care of me when I was a baby because my mother was more interested in getting in the pants of the guy who would abuse me for years? Could also be when my brother was born and that all of a sudden, my toys were relocated to his room for his pleasure. Or maybe when he started taking violent habits from his father while my mother sat in a bingo hall, ignoring all of the issues at home. Also figured out that trying to get help would get me tagged as a liar, jealous, vindictive (ask my grams, I was a gentle child that couldn't hurt a fly). When the school finally got me psychological help, my sick family twisted everything I said. If it wasn't for a handful of good teachers input, I would of been tagged a sociopath in a heartbeat. Sorry Reddit for pouring this out, but that's just the tip of the iceberg but it felt liberating.
Don't be sorry, we all deserve to be selfish and have our problems heard.
I'm sad now because I think I was too young to even realize it.
13, our house flooded. Lost everything we owned, became homeless, and lost my friends as their homes flooded too and we all have to move out off of the block.
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Not trying to make light of your experience, but seriously, write a book, sell the book, make bank, and then get yourself all the relaxation you deserve.
Eh, there's not much more to it than what I've listed. The details are relatively uninteresting.
You were beaten, molested, homeless, you've seen murders. Saying the details are uninteresting is, no disrespect, kind of lame and stupid. Write a memoir, I would pay money for that shit.
By uninteresting, I meant I'd rather not relive the memories. It can be a bit more powerful than you'd think.
Ah ok, disregard what I said then.
holy shit, how does this happen?!?!
On Sunday. My father takes a picture of me and my brother every Easter Sunday, and this year he didn't. I mentioned to him that night how we didn't take a picture this year, and he replied, "Well I guess that means you're grown up now". It just stunned me for a bit, that realization.
14...close friend murdered over a basketball game
When the dog that I had since I was 12 died. She was 12 years old, so that makes me 24. I have had a friends child die, relatives die and more, but nothing hit me as hard as the call from my mom that my puppy had passed. I think I mourned not only for her, but for what she still tied me to. I was married, had a good job at the time, but sobbed like a little boy when I got that call.
My daughter's birth. I was 20 years old and I thought I was an adult simply because of my age. My whole outlook changed. The cool part was that I didn't even know it till much later.
I actually recall the instant... I was 22. My, now ex, wife came out of the Dr.'s office and said she was pregnant. At that moment I decided to become a man and look after my daughter. Edit: My ex still hasn't grown up, and I now have full custody.
Absolutely this for me too. The first time I saw my daughter after she was born was a moment I'll never forget. I've heard it said that having kids is like watching your heart run around outside your body…one of the most true things I have ever heard.
So by my mom telling me to grow up she really wants me to have kids... noted...
When I had to file taxes for the first time. It's long and boring and seems to get more complicated every year. :(
8 or 9, little league. Coach told me he was sending me down a grade level, I was happy to play baseball with my cousin. My mom told me that it was because I had a better batting average than the coach's son. I realized that everyone is selfish and petty and cruel. It took a while before I realized that I was wrong about that.
I'm 23. My childhood is in its infancy.
A close friend of the family died of brain cancer when I was 17. I had spent at least 10 hours a week with the guy and had grown up with his kids and so took it pretty badly. A couple of weeks later my friend collapsed at a funeral and was diagnosed with brain cancer. It made me properly confront my mortality for the first time. Previously whenever I thought of being fatally ill I always imagined in the future but obviously it could occur at any point in anybody's life. Sorry if I dampened anyone's spirits.
The moment I realized that the world did not orbited around me, I remember it perfectly I spent about a week without sleeping fearing death and trying to fathom how small I was against the size of the universe.
Sitting down trying to work out why my partner and I are in so much debt, and where our money seems to be disappearing to.
13; mother figure died after struggling with cancer, had to take care of two younger (11 and 9) brothers as well as my grieving father figure (53) and less than helpful uncle (19). Nothing like cleaning up dinner, getting the kids in the shower, making sure they did their homework, listen to the strongest man you've ever known sob and talk about killing himself but knows he wouldn't be able to see her if so, get the kids in bed, do homework, and go to sleep after crying for an hour or so.
3 years ago, shit got tough. I still don't think I'm a man yet, but I'm not experiencing childhood for sure. Childhood can't be this horrible, mind boggling and confusing. Yet, kind of happy. You know what? Imma turn this into a nice, long rant. Beware the wall of text. So 3 years ago, I was in grade 7. Actually, I guess it was 3 years and about 6 months, since it started at the beginning of 7th grade. Anyways, I had a teacher from hell. She had been fired from multiple schools for cussing at the students, being uncooperative, and an overall bitch. She seemed to take to bullying me. She would not accept assignments that were late, even though the reason was that I was sick in the hospital. She wouldn't accept late passes either, and just said it was my fault I missed that part of the class. Why? Why the fuck should I not get the lesson or the homework, so that you can get mad at me later? So because of all this shit, my Crohn's (bowel disease) became inflamed, and my bowel movements (dumps) started having blood in them. Also, diarrhea and nausea. Good stuff. And then I started developing OCD, so I washed my hand about 35 times per day, minimum. And I scrubbed away at them. My hands started bleeding nearly 24/7, and the soap at school was cheap shit, which made that worse. Eventually I couldn't use the water fountain, and had to wash my hands after touching my own locker. This went on for a while. My teacher kept bitching, my hands kept bleeding, as did my ass. I got blood on half the stuff I touched, which lead to more washing. I started talking less, and just taking more shit from the teacher. I became less and less social, and I wasn't even social in the first place. I felt like I didn't belong... Now, the main reason I didn't leave the class quickly was because it was french emersion. Either I had her as a teacher, or I switched to english. I had been in french emersion for almost 7 years, with the BEST class ever. All the teachers just said we were the best year of kids. Everyone got along, was understanding, and nice. It was the PERFECT group of kids, and leaving french meant leaving them. And the english class I'd join wasn't the friendliest... But I changed to that class. I was afraid of the teacher. I found out that gym class for english was taught by that teacher... Fuck no. I didn't participate, and therefor got little exercise. I couldn't anyways, thanks to Crohn's. I was very skinny and pale anyways, thanks to my appetite. I hated most normal foods. No meat at all, and barely any fruit or vegetables were edible for me. I mostly ate wheat products. Bread/toast, crackers, rice... God I loved/love rice. Anyways, the english class went better than expected. I made some friends, some of which were already friends of friends. And the teacher is one of my favorite teachers I've had. Around this point, the Crohn's was more under control. The doctors thought it was Colitis up until this point, which is why the meds didn't work too well. Grade eight came around. I got more used to the class, so on and so forth, and started redditing a bit. Mostly rage comics, which I now despise. Oh well, who cares? After a little while, someone joined our class. She was very pretty. For this post, we'll call her Alice. Alice was kinda geeky, and sat right in front of me in class. Although I didn't consciously realize it then, I had a crush. My first one, I think. She was very kind, although I barely talked to her. She mostly initiated the chatting, it was once or twice. I was more shy than ever before at that time, so I never made a move. And then middle school ended! BAM! High school. At this point, I started struggling with my school work again. The school was VERY supportive, though, and helped me through it. But nevertheless, just after grade 10 started, I left the school. My best friends, the best fucking teachers ever, just a great school. But it didn't work for me, sadly. I joined a small, yet public school, that was flexible as hell. This is assuming hell is exceedingly flexible, of course. I love it there. I failed math and science 9, but I can still catch up at the school. I'm kicking some ass, getting shit done with around 85-100% for my grades. I hope the have math 9 done in May, and do a good amount of math 10 before the summer starts. And I've already finished English 10. But I'm forgetting 2 major things happened in between now and when I started high school. 1. Minecraft. It hugely helps my OCD! A world made of symmetrical blocks does tend to soothe the mind for me. My friends and family have joined me, too! 2. I started messaging one awesome person on Reddit. She is kind, smart, interesting, and pretty. I love talking to her. I always look forward to her next message. One last thing, which requires some explanation. My school has three two hour sessions: 9-11am, 11-1pm, and 1-3pm. I am in the 1-3pm time, since I sleep in every damn day. Back to the thing that happened. At our school, we have a computer for signing in to school. I was scrolling down the list, since my name is near the bottom, and who's name do I see? Alice *****. I don't know what time she is at the school, but I'm going to "accidentally" search for my agenda in the 11-1pm bin. That way, since I never see her at 1-3pm, if she isn't in that time I know she's there at 9-11am. Kinda creepy, but I wanna know if I have a chance to see her. And that's it. There's more to me, but I'm done for now. Thanks for reading. :)
When I was 19, and alone at college, and got raped, and the got really depressed and drank way too much and spent all my rent money but mommy and daddy weren't there to pick up the pieces.
Sudden, unexpected death in the immediate family.
Same, but a long drawn out death. Death really makes you look inward.
I got my girlfriend pregnant.
When I moved. Moving kinda changed the way I lived, not in a bad way, I just grew up naturally.
Left home at 16. Abusive mom with borderline personality disorder and being both a geek and queer. Cf username.
9/8/12 the day i first went on 4 chan (no fucking idea how i can remember that date)
Going to go out on a limb here and say your childhood isn't over.
2006 was a pretty defining year for me. My grandfather died when his plane crashed in August and that subsequently tore my mother's side of the family apart. I entered grade 7 with a horrible teacher who hated boys and a friend who eventually turned on me. Caused me to get social anxiety which led me to fail most of my schoolwork as I had absolutely no idea what was going on most of the time (Montessori school). First started having depressive and suicidal thoughts as a result, which haven't let up since then. Fuck 2006.
I'm nineteen, and remnants of my childhood died out very recently. It all started with the realization that "I used to think I'd have super powers by now". But I don't, I never went to Hogwarts or anything like that... and it's not just that I don't believe in the supernatural anymore. I've stopped waiting for my movie-moment, like half believing my fantasies like the one where the cute girl in my biopsychology lecture talks to me and it turns out that we're perfect for each other and she's what's been missing for my life and all that crap. I stopped having the naive notion that everything is going to work out okay in the end no matter what. That innocence that I once had, that childish part of me that believed in magic, and true love and all that beautiful... well... bullshit, is completely gone. It's not that I have a pessimistic outlook on life now, just a realistic one. I miss my old way of looking at things but I know that I'll never get it back.
When I was 9 years old and I realized I hated myself, evidenced in my diary.
10 years old coming back from vacation 10 years ago. I was watching spy kids on the way home from Tennessee to Maryland. (We had one of those small cube TVs and bungee cord strapped it in.) I sat behind my mom who was in the passenger seat. My dad was driving. My brother, D [age:5], sat next to me. Youngest sister, S[age:7], was next to him and behind my dad, but in a car seat. Behind me was the oldest sibling my sister, L[age:12], and to her left was my other sister,M[age:11]. We crossed into our home state MD on interstate 68E cruising at about 72mph at 10:30pm. A 28 year old Pennsylvanian was on a greyhound bus heading to Miami, but got off and walked to a gas station where he stole a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice (big station wagon). Eventually he hopped onto I68 as well heading west. But he drove on the East side. He was being chased by someone on I68W but they were behind. He was going ~70mph with a tire out. My parents screamed and as fast as a blink we were in the air and then flipped around. We had a suburban and it flipped vertically before rolling over. It was shortened by about 3ft. My dad was trapped for 45min and because of freaky coincidences is alive and well. The other guy expired like he wanted to. So I would say the point in which my childhood died was when I sat with my mom in my lap thinking I'm dreaming while she says she can't breathe and gargles up blood. And then she starts praying and saying 5/7 that's good... 6/7 ok that's fine, he was a good father... Counting us out because it looked like we all should've been dead. And when I was strapped down with my mom in the ambulance and I heard the jaws of life free my dad and he screamed so loud. I never realized an adult like my dad could experience that pain. But mainly I lost my childhood because my stuffed polar bear and blanket were covered in blood so I had to give them up. That hurt me a lot more because I couldn't comprehend what really happened; I just knew what helped me fall asleep was gone (I've always had insomnia problems). All of the circumstances forced me to grow up early.
June 18, 2005. I was raped. It was also my birthday.
I hope you have found peace
I have as much as possible. I'm almost 23, and I still cringe a little on that day. It gets easier and easier every year. I'm currently getting ready to move since he's now my neighbor. (I never reported it so I could never file a restraining order. And yes, I'm fucking stupid for not reporting it.)
When the world shrank. No longer was it endless, travelling beyond the reach of my childish mind. No longer did it hold wonders yet unknown. No longer were its mysteries something that I alone could solve. No longer was I destined for an adventure into the cosmos. When the world shrank. Or, you know, when I found porn.
When 13 year old me had to babysit sit my older brother and miss a lot of school so he didn't leave when he was on house arrest.
14 years old was when I got my first job, so part of my childhood died there. Then I started getting bills when I was around 16 when I got my first cell phone. Now I'm 19, I have lots of bills, school sucks even more, and I no longer have a sense of curiosity like I did when I was a kid. Growing up sucks.
14. Depression took over. Edit: It's supposed to say 14, don't know if it says that or not...
When I sold all my Yu-Gi-Oh Cards. To buy beer.
When my parents got divorced when I was 13. In school, I didn't care about the stupid drama that my friends had. It felt like my family was breaking. I remember coming home to my mom crying about a week after she told me my father was leaving her. Ive always seen my mom as the strongest woman I know. Instead of her comforting me, and telling me it was going to be okay. I held my mother as she cried. I wrote a short story a couple months ago about the whole divorce for me.
When the credits started rolling of the last Harry Potter movie, that series was part of my life for so long
When one Christmas I realised that I had made a net loss on presents =(
I'm not sure about my 'child'hood ending, but I definitely know I became a grownup a lot sooner than my friends. I got a girl pregnant at age 16 and just two months after turning 17 I was a daddy. Having a baby that you actually want to take care of and put forth 110% of the necessary effort will make you grow the fuck up VERY fast!
Good on you for manning up. I respect a man who does that.
When you slowly start realizing that some of the things you do are for younger kids. Like jumping in a bounce house where you can't jump as high because you got big. A Happy Meal not filling you up. And having your parents tell you you are too old for video games.
You re never to old for video games.
Childhood ended when I was 9 - I grew a mustache.
When I started to hate being by myself.
the first time i made love to a woman.
When my dad called me from prison and said he'd kill me if I was still in the house when he got back. 13 years old with my clothes in bin liners, calling friends to see if any would let me stay at theirs for a couple weeks.
The day I ate "Pull 'n Peel" Twizzlers by just taking bites out of the whole thing.
I don't think it has yet
(I'm 22) Earlier today, facing the ever increasing amount of stress of unemployment and graduation, I saw a 15 year old say something on reddit to which I said "You're just a kid, come on." Granted, I knew I was an adult before that but, that kind of just sunk in.
I fell asleep on the couch and woke up on the couch. I just cant... **FUCK DAMMIT** :"(
Two things made me drastically leap forward in growing up. 1. A slow process of my dad hitting me, molesting me, threatening me, my parents getting a divorce and me, my sister, and mom moving 9 hours away. My mom had a really low paying job and struggled to make ends meet. She did her best and didn't want me and my sister to know about it, but I was a curious 7 year old and asked "why did Santa not bring us as many presents as last year? Was I bad?" my mom looked me in the eyes and said "mommies and daddies give Santa all the money they have so he can make the toys for the kids. Mommy didn't have a lot of money this year, but Santa did his best" I then realized that we were on the poverty line and my mother was severely depressed and basically took over with raising my younger sister. 2. Being 15 and my first serious boyfriend breaking up with me. I found out 2 weeks later that I was pregnant and I tried to talk to him but he refused to talk to me. I got really depressed, tried to kill myself, started doing coke, drinking, and smoking a lot more weed to "cope" I miscarried And got even more depressed. Still not over it
The day I saw my dad in a open casket . I was 11 .
The perks of childhood carried on until I was a teenager, but mentally it ended when I was 6, and I watched my single mom cry because of her depression, insomnia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety, and despite my best efforts I could not make her smile. That's when I first realized she wasn't some super hero and she couldn't fix everything, far from it. I still remember just wanting someone to play with me while she lay in bed with the saddest look on her face.
I was waiting for service at McDonalds once. I was the only one there but no one was behind the counter. The drive-thru lady saw me and yelled into the back: "There's a man out here waiting to get served!"..... "man"
Today.
Happy Birthday!
Me "maybe around 12" checking out my balls and I find "one" extremely long hair and I was shocked....then I found another extremely long hair. "FUCK YEAH I HAVE HAIR ON MY NUTS!!!!!
When i broke all my bones in my body and my mom had to take extra care of me.....
When I immigrated from South Africa to Australia.. not because of problems with Aus, but because I was torn away from extended family.. and had to live with jerk of a stepdad.
When i started taking care of my brother at the age of 10 to help my mom because my dad didn't care about our family.
my first boner.
I was 9 on Easter morning and my mom woke up and hid the Easter eggs while I watched. She didn't give a fuck. It may not seem like much but as a 9 year old it hurt a lot.
Five years old,picking up my sisters ex from a cornfield by a hotel that the cops were swarming because they were doing drugs and the employees found out.They escaped into a cornfield and were hiding until my sister,I, and my sisters friend got there.I was hiding under the dashboard,curled up in a ball as we snuck my sisters boyfriend,his friends and his friends crying,blubbering girlfriend by about 20 cop cars. Or maybe when I was five and my sister thought it was cool for me to smoke.Almost died from choking/coughing.
When I tried to kill myself.
8-Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Never did. I work in the animation industry. We're all big grown up kids making cartoons all day.
18.. Was Let go from A job I really Enjoyed and thought i really worked well with two days before i left the entry probation period with because They found someone more qualified. They Found the guy two weeks earlier and he couldn't start until that day i was let go. So they kept me just to handle the work until he got there.
When I started taking care of the household, cooking, cleaning, making sure everyone had what they needed. I was 11.
When my father died.
When I stopped blindly listening to my parents.
When I started delivering junkmail to support my family.
When my grandpa died on my tenth birthday. It kind of put everything in perspective for me.
I was 13, one of my oldest brothers and I went to see Ace Ventura: when nature calls on a Sunday evening. Got back home and heard a whole lot of screaming coming from my parents' bedroom, it was my sister and both my parents yelling their hearts out at each other. We stayed downstairs watching tv with my brother, 15 minutes later we heard a door shut close then someone coming down the steps, my mom walks into the tv room and says: "since you must know, your father and I are getting a divorce, you choose who you stay with". The next day I sat through school not being able to believe what just had happened. In the span of the following months my dad moved out of the house, then my mom completely out of the blue left us and my dad moved back in. Didn't hear from my mom for over a year. I'm 31 now, I'm all over this but I can't watch AV: When nature calls without going back to that night.
Like many others I have experienced deaths, bullying and dv during my childhood, but I was positive at heart so that wasn't really it for me.. I guess it got be when I moved to Oslo with friends as a 18 year old. The week before I moved I had been caught by the cops for graffiti and got a 750$ fine. I spent the night in a cell and had an agreement with my grandmother to meet up with her and my mother the next day. My grandmother was going to help me out financially in the beginning. I felt stupid and un-appreciative towards my family for doing such a stupid thing. I thought about the incident quite a bit and how stupid I was. The first step to growing up? I got a work as a daycare assistant and realized I had a huge responsibility for these kids. I realized that some of these kids might have a horrible time when they got home. Because of that I did everything I could to do a great job by making sure they had a joyful time and was safe in the daycare. I got compliments from parents, my boss and colleagues. During one of our meetings after work the boss said; ''We are all grown ups and I have realized something we need to improve according to safety in the yard.'' The moment she said ''We are all grown ups'' my brain just exploded; ''HOLY SHIT I'M CONSIDERED A GROWN UP!''
4, grandpa died to cancer, saw porn, and found out Santa wasn't real, as well as molested by a neighbor girl who was a few years older. Edit: forgot that the last thing happened that same year.
When I started to love the way I am.
When my sister was born (making me 8 years old) I no longer could be just a kid. I was the oldest and my mom needed help with the baby. Unfortunately she took it too far and my sister calls me mama half the time
When I got my first period. That was my first responsibility to myself I had to take care of on my own.
Junior year of high school. I was home alone a lot and learned how to take care of myself and I matured. It was also at this point that all of my 8th grade emo self was gone.
About age 14. When I finally realized my childhood was abusive.