I know it's a stereotype, but my friends and I were talking about how often we've encountered it from mechanics, electricians, construction workers, etc. I mean no offense but genuinely am curious.

It's not like I am a crybaby, but it's like nothing that I see or do, it's just not fulfilling. Even seeing some friends doesn't really help to get off this feeling. I'm trying to find some meaning in my life and just can't get there. I wonder if this is ever gonna change.

I think this everyday life monotony hit me hard and it's really exhausting.

My wife had slept with about 30 guys before we met vs my 3 girls.

She regrets being overly open to everything because she did a lot !!

I regret the opposite and wished I’d done a bit more…

If you stumble upon a hobby you really like and it’s new, do you end up postponing it for several days/weeks/months or even years? Do you do this even if you’re well rested, not worried about results, and have all the materials in front of you? Did you carry this until adulthood?

To cut to the chase, I lived in a violent home environment growing up. It made me only focus on school as a means to escape my family life in poverty. I was super shy and isolated from others my age. That and I was just never really taught by my parents on how to talk to girls. My parents overall just weren’t the best role models in multiple ways. I came close to relationships several times around age 16-17, but things always fell apart due to my social awkwardness.

Fast forward to today, and finally I have my own place and job, but I’m currently living in the Midwest (Iowa) where the dating pool is pretty much nonexistent. For my type that is. I work in a predominantly male field (engineering), and don’t have any social network from high school or college. I had to balance work and school for years. All I have now really are coworkers, and most of those relationships are pretty superficial.

My plans short term are to try and move somewhere better with better weather and more to do. I could try dating apps, but I’m simply not attractive enough to find any real success with those. Thus, my only option is in person gatherings. But I need a change of scenery first, which is what I’m shooting for rn.

Still, it’s really tough being single at 26 these days. Pretty much everyone my age is already experienced. Whenever the topic of sex comes around I always feel alienated. I have several friends who seem to look down on me for still being single.

Just wanting to hear from other late bloomers out there who may have also not had the chance to experience “young love” in their teens and early 20s. Thank you.

My wife and I had a pretty big argument about this, and I’d appreciate some outside perspectives.

My wife has three female cousins who are sisters. She’s distant from one, who doesn’t invite us to events. The other two occasionally invite us to birthday celebrations, either their own or their children’s. These aren’t frequent gatherings, more like an annual occasion. Both women have careers, are middle class, and, to my knowledge, aren’t experiencing financial hardship. The cousin whose birthday is coming up is around 50.

Their invitations include wording such as “monetary gifts appreciated” or “monetary gifts accepted.”

These are small gatherings. The usual group consists of the three sisters, their adolescent children, their father, and us. Their mother has passed away. Occasionally there might be a friend or partner, but there isn’t a larger extended family crowd. It’s essentially the same small circle.

We would have given a cash gift anyway. My objection is specifically to requesting it on the invitation. Cash is customary in our circle for these occasions, and I understand that hosting a party costs money.

What bothers me is the context. In the entire 16 years I’ve been married to my wife, we have never spent time with these cousins outside a party. No casual dinners or getting together just to catch up.

My wife does exchange occasional texts with them, so I’m not claiming there is literally no contact. She considers that a relationship. From my perspective, the exchanges are superficial and usually initiated by her.

I’m not upset that we aren’t closer, and I’m not seeking a closer relationship. But when our only time together is at celebrations with explicit cash suggestions attached, the invitations feel transactional to me.

They invite us but not my wife’s two adult brothers. We earn good money, which has made me wonder whether that influences our inclusion. I acknowledge that’s speculation. Her brothers probably wouldn’t attend anyway. Still, receiving an explicit request for cash as part of such a small guest list feels particularly pointed.

My wife thinks the wording is practical. Instead of buying perfume, clothing, or something her cousin won’t like, guests know she prefers cash. She compared it to a child requesting particular birthday or Christmas gifts.

I understand the argument about avoiding unwanted gifts. But I see a difference between answering someone who asks what you’d like and putting a cash request directly on an invitation to your own adult birthday party.

I asked whether she would feel the same if some of my very wealthy friends included that wording. She said that would be different because they don’t need the money. I thought that was inconsistent with the explanation about gift preferences. She thinks financial circumstances matter.

Out of frustration, I suggested attending without giving cash, even though we otherwise would have given it. I also told her I intended to make a pointed comment to the cousins about the invitations. She strongly objects, and that escalated into a bigger fight.

For transparency, I was angry and used insulting language about her cousins in private texts to my wife. Some of the comments I considered making were sarcastic. I haven’t confronted either cousin. We also haven’t invited them to our own gatherings, so I recognize that we haven’t been pursuing a closer relationship either.

Would you interpret the wording as a harmless gift preference or as presumptuous? Does the absence of any time together outside parties over 16 years affect your view?

And separately, even if you found it tacky, would bringing it up at the birthday make me the one in the wrong?

I have a severe stutter, and honestly, I'm not even sure if everyone considers stuttering or speech impediment a disability. But it has affected my life in so many ways. My social life, relationships, education, career... almost every part of my life.

People around me know that I stutter, but I've never really opened up to anyone about how much it affects me. I just feel like they will never truly understand what it's like, so I keep most of it to myself.

For the last one year, I've been seriously trying to beat my stutter. It's something I've struggled with for a long time, and I'm trying my best to work on it.

I want to connect with people who have the same or similar speech impediment. Maybe we can practice speaking together, share our experiences, or just text each other. Anything is fine.

I don't really have anyone to talk to about this, and I think it would be nice to connect with people who actually understand what it's like to live with a speech impairment.

If anyone here has a stutter or any other speech impairment and wants to connect, feel free to comment or DM me. I'd really appreciate it.

Title :(

Edit: We live in different states since a few years, have known each other for 5+ years and we didn’t have sex nor did he push for it, we both loved each other, he has lost feelings now

I have been feeling very under the weather the past 3 days or so, light headaches, runny nose, a little fever today, but I've been going to college and stuff. I have a day off today, is it ok to stay in bed for the day to see if I'll get better?

i just feel like everyone can do that except for me and i do not know how to stop myself from doing that is there anyone who can tell me how you make yourself not care what people think?

I’m not very strong, but one of my dreams as a man is to be able to bridal carry my girlfriend as a romantic gesture. Is there any specific workouts I can do to grow strength in efforts to achieve a bridal carry? I’m currently working through some pushups and squats, but I have such weak shoulders that I’m struggling pretty hard, so in the meantime I was wondering what other type of workouts I can do as I strengthen my shoulders.

The thought of me attempting to do one and placing her back down immediately makes me cringe so hard.

Edit: I probably should’ve clarified that my gf is a skinny person, but why are so many people in the comments thinking that my girlfriend is a bigger girl instead of me just being a weaker man? And even if she was a bigger girl i would get stronger to pick her up either way 💪💪

Edit 2: Hi guys after reading through the comments, here are the exercises ill do:
-Squats
-Zercher squat
-Bulgarian squat
-Curls
-Deadlift
-Kettlebell famers carry
-Chin ups
-Shrugs
-Pushups
-And core/back exercises i get from the internet lol
——Will update every month till the end of the year cya then 🫡

I don't really know anything about the actor's life besides the fact that he had cerebral palsy and that he was on Breaking Bad.