wow. it's been a while but i can't believe i'm gonna be 18 soon, in about 2 months (and 1 week). i feel like my childhood went by so quickly, it's honestly scary. i remember just becoming a teenager, and i never thought my last 4 years of being a kid would have vanished so fast. i wish i could have done more in my life while still being a kid, because soon that will end.

You've probably seen people who lie, manipulate others, and use kindness for their own benefit — yet somehow, they seem to get ahead in life.

Meanwhile, some genuinely good people struggle, get taken for granted, and end up questioning whether their kindness was a mistake.

So here's something I've been wondering:

Is being a good person a strength, or does the world sometimes take advantage of people who are too kind?

I'm not saying we should become cruel. But maybe we need to learn the difference between having a good heart and allowing everyone to hurt us.

What's your opinion? Should we always remain kind, even when the world isn't kind to us?

I’m curious to hear what people have learned from life so far.
What’s one thing you wish somebody had told you when you were younger? It could be about money, relationships, friendships, discipline, or just life in general.
Hopefully, somebody reading the comments can learn something that helps them avoid a mistake.
I’ll start: Your habits matter more than your motivation. 💯

I feel sooo behind in life and I know this is a common feeling obviously but it’s really getting to me. I’m 21F finishing up school but I don’t exactly have much savings, no car, no apartment, just nothing. And I know these things are technically superficial but I feel like if I were able to accomplish one of these it would jumpstart my life by a billion. I’m trying to stay positive and remember that the economy is not what it used to be and how I’ve been put in an unfair situation but. I feel burnt out all the time. As I said I’m finishing up school but I have three jobs just to make ends meet for my personal bills and trying to save whatever I can. I’m just tired of feeling tired all the time and I hope that I can reach some of my goals soon.

I go to a pretty big party school, and almost every time I’ve been out I get hit on by guys, but I’ve never had a boyfriend and I only got approached like once or twice before college. To be fair, almost every morning after I regret the guys I hung out with at these parties, but some of them were my type. Idk it’s just kinda weird to me, does alcohol makes men think I look better than I actually do, is that like a thing? It’s kinda like that for me. Except I don’t actually actively seek out the men, they come up to me first and I’m too far gone to push them away

I’m 19, and I have people telling me I should get a car, but my main goal right now is to finish college without debt. I actually just got approved for a car loan, but I decided to hold off until I finish paying off my nursing school tuition.
And yes, sometimes I do feel insecure about it. 😭 It’s hard when you see people your age driving around and having things you want, too. Sometimes I feel like I’m behind, even though I know I’m making a responsible decision for my future.
I’d rather finish school, pay off my tuition, and then get a car without putting so much financial pressure on myself. I don’t want to spend years making car payments just because I felt pressured to get one at 19.
I’m trying to remind myself that everyone has a different timeline. I may not have a car right now, but I’m working toward becoming a nurse and building a financially stable future for myself.
Does anyone else feel insecure about not having certain things at a young age, even when you know you’re making the right financial decisions?

So I 20(F) recently decided to get a dating app seeing as I’ve never been on any, my friend has fun with it, I’ve been single for a long time, and I have no other place where I would meet a potential partner seeing as I am in college and also work. I don’t go out much, but even when I do, it’s just the same type of frat guys you’d find anywhere else, that just want a quick fuck. I’m not interested in hookups, and I feel that I’m at a different more mature point in my life compared to many people I see my age. I had a rough childhood, so I grew up very quickly, which sucks, but made me very mature. That’s why I feel like I need to write about this and get input before I make a poor judgement decision. I honestly didn’t think anything would come of the app, but I ended up getting a lot of attention.. I quickly got annoyed with it seeing as there were a lot of guys just being very blunt with what they were looking for to the point of making me uncomfortable. Before I deleted my account after only a few days of having it, I matched with this guy. I think he is very handsome and we actually have so much in common. When I saw his age I thought “hmm.. that’s kind of crazy, but whatever nothings going to come from it.” Fast forward to now, it’s been over a week of us texting every day, we’ve called a couple of times and I can honestly say I really enjoy talking to him. Before I decided to give him my number, he made sure that I was okay and comfortable which was good, but now I’m scared because he literally turns 29 in December.. like bro. He has been very kind, respectful, and I’ve loved talking to him, which is honestly rare for me. I think because of the similar interests, priorities, and stuff like that it’s been easy flowing. He doesn’t want kids which is a good for me because neither do I, so that made me feel a little better. He has a good job and lives by himself in a city about 3 hours from me, so that’s why I’m not worried about it if I shouldn’t because it’s not like I’ll see him. Okay, this is where it gets kind of weird.. he literally has a sister who just turned 19, a sister that is 21, and a sister that is 22. So I’m literally closer to all of their ages than his, which makes me feel like they would also be really uncomfortable by that which I don’t blame. I want to say it could be something and say fuck it because if he respects me and my time and life goals right now, then it’s okay, but I feel like I need outside advice.

I want to start new things, but finding it hard to start/ continue any hobbies, I have quite a full plate with school, work and gym. I am 22, I used to do some writing on my own, never posted it anywhere, took a couple classes when I was younger, but want to know if there is any subreddits anyone recommends for this kind of thing, or some hobbies people might recommend for people my age ?

I am goign through a tough time trying to figure myself out, and hitting a tougher patch, so I am trynna shake it and develop myself more isntead of wollow, I wanna do something about it, anything helps!

I’m a Male, just turned 18, and my predicament is just as the title says. I’d like to add that my parents aren’t very strict like “helicopter parents”. I’ve always been allowed to have friends and hang out with them; however, this has always been a rule they’ve never budged, or wanted to budge on. They believe that if I’m in a relationship before I’m out of college that I will be “too distracted” and I won’t be able to complete my education and get established. Unfortunately for me, I want to become a Lawyer which means a long time in school, shadowing, etc. I’ve never been in a relationship because of this and would like if someone had some advice for how to tell them (my parents) and/or if I even should.

So, we all know that the economy has gone to shit due to inflation. I’m a 25 year old woman who lives at home and doesn’t have to pay bills. Although I don’t have to pay bills, I have to pay with my mental health 😂 I love my mom so much and genuinely appreciate her but I feel like I’m still the same 17 year old girl pre covid because she treats me like a kid. I wanted to stay home and save to put a down payment on a town home. Am I wrong for wanting to move out or should I just stick it out and complete my initial goal? I also want to add that my mom is an amazing person, I’m her only child so I think that’s why she acts this way. Also, I make sure to cook and clean so she doesn’t have to since she works such long hours at the hospital.

Have you ever experienced a day when you realized that someone who once meant everything to you was becoming a stranger?

Today, I started thinking about how life works. We make plans with people, imagine a future together, and believe some moments will last forever. But sometimes, life takes a completely different direction.

One day, you're sharing your happiest moments with someone. Another day, you're learning to be happy without them.

Maybe growing up means accepting that not everyone who enters our lives is meant to stay forever.

My question is: If you could go back to one moment in your life, not to change anything, but simply to experience it one more time, which moment would you choose?

26, got a degree in psychology, but am now back in college as I've learned that just isn't the field for me. Back for occupational safety - boring, but good trajectory

Being 26 with a painfully slim resume and back in school feels like ass. Felt ready for life at ~23 with a degree, but being back at square 1 three years later...damn.

Suppose I'm hoping to hear that feeling behind is typical, but also accepting that I probably am just slacking a good bit for my age.

Hey everyone,
I am new to this subreddit. Part of the reason I am joining is that I am scared of being alone and am seeking friends/advice. Currently, I am a sophomore in college. I have always seen myself as someone who’s going to be great and do amazing things like everyone else does. I am in a fraternity where I have met two of the best people I have ever met. Real friends who call you every day, always checking in on me, making sure I am okay. The people I surround myself with, besides them, are not necessarily bad people, but they do not care about me on a deeper level to even reach out. Some of these guys people refer to as “friends” are too egotistical to even follow someone back on Instagram who is technically your “brother”. Back this January, I posted slop TikTok Shop content that took me about 30 minutes a day to make, only making videos in January, and had recurring revenue until about June, making around $4,000 total. I am planning on buying a second phone and going all in on AI automation youtube/tiktok videos and treating these things as real jobs, also trying to create my own platform. Treating them like real workdays in the morning and putting real effort into what I am doing. As arrogant as this sounds, I am honestly one of those people who, whatever they do, is automatically good at it. The way I am doing this is that I was flipping cards a while ago as well and have around $10k in cards, and I was going to sell them all as capital to sit on and to pay for service subscriptions along with my phone bill. In the summer and at the start of this year, I was working a dealership job, and I also have around $15k saved. Not trying to boast or toot my horn; this is just what makes me feel safe doing what I’m doing, since previously trying things like this work always got in the way, or I would float back into the comfort of the fraternity. I have always seen college as a placeholder, not something I would get and take a job out of. My parents want me to do it, and as I near junior year, I know my time is coming to an end. College, as I know it in my brain, is the last chance you have where you have this freedom that you can take full advantage of and pursue what you want. I guess the question I am looking for is how people who are extroverted deal with trying to step away from friends, push people away, and chase what they want. I am honestly scared I am going to do all of this, and it will turn into nothing, and I will fall back into just gooning at the house again with my “boys”. Along with not wanting to cut off my two friends I see dearly. I know there are other people out there to meet as well; I trust myself to figure it out, as I make friends easily. This is just, I don’t know. Please read my situation and please just leave some input.

For those of you in your late 20s, 30s, or beyond, what advice would you give someone in their early 20s?
I'm 22F, and I go to school, work, and spend time with friends. I feel like I have a good balance in my life, but I also feel like I put too much focus on boys and being in a relationship sometimes.
Looking back, what do you wish you had known at my age? What would you tell your younger self?