Life is full of highs and lows.
Actually, it’s full of BIG highs and HUGE lows.
But sometimes you have to keep those lows points to yourself for the sake of the feelings of others and your own.
You just don’t know what someone might ask you on any given day…
AskReddit users talked about when someone asked them a question and it secretly broke their heart.
Let’s take a look.
1. Sad.
“I was visiting my granddaughter’s school.
We were eating in the cafeteria. Another girl came and sat down, leaving an empty seat between herself and my granddaughter.
As we got up to leave she asked, “Will you be my Papa?””
I told her I was sorry and that I couldn’t be. I felt so bad for her. I wanted to give her a hug, but as a man you don’t hug strange children.”
2. Mean girl.
““Why do you sound like that? Is that your real voice?”
Mean girl training me on the phones at work.
And I was so confident on my phone voice.”
3. Is that normal?
“During college, parents took a friend and I out to dinner. Very normal dinner, chit chatted about whatever. After we left and were walking back to my car, he turns to me and says “Is that what a normal relationship is like?”
We talked more after that, I had met his parents a few times and they seemed strict but never seemed to have a terrible relationship. Turned out apparently his dad had cheated on his mom multiple times, dad had zero respect for any of my friends sisters and essentially expected them to do all the housework while the men did “guy stuff.”
Hunting, training for sports, school, etc. Turned out his childhood was pretty f**ked, dad was never around and he had to essentially be the father figure in the house. As the oldest child, never really saw a normal loving relationship that he could look up to.
My friend is a really nice guy, still has some messed up views of relationships though. I never realized how “abnormal” my very normal family/childhood was.”
4. Terrible.
“When I worked in a juvenile residential drug rehab, a 12 year old asked me why everyone had a problem with her boyfriend.
He was 32.
She had been so mistreated and abused, she legitimately couldn’t comprehend the problem everyone had with their relationship.”
5. Man…
““Can I wish for my sister?”
A 10-year-old student of mine whose big sister d**d 4 years ago.
We were working on an activity about dreams and aspirations for their futures.”
6. A bad situation.
“My ex fiancee asked me why I didnt have any friends, or hung out with people or went out to places.
It was because she put herself through crisis after crisis and I feel like I didnt have any choice but to stay and help her but when I had a breakdown and went through my own mental health crisis she broke up with me.
I hope she’s doing better but I honestly never want to talk to her again.”
7. One and done.
“When I was 19, I hung out with a cute girl from my high school that I never got to hang with when we were in school.
We had a great day together and that night she asked, “can we be like secret friends or something? I don’t really hang out with people like you.”
Never hung out again.”
8. Hope it worked out.
“I was like 22 and it was probably 10 pm or so at a Walmart.
I was on my way to a party and stopped for beer. The store was fairly empty and as I was in the beer aisle, I see this kid completely by himself.
He was about 5 and at first I thought it was kind of funny because he was trying to pick up a case of beer. I waited like 30-60 seconds, looking around for this kid’s mom/dad to come get him.
A couple people walked right by him like it was normal, so then I started getting worried. I picked up my two cases of beer and walked over and kindly asked him if he lost his mom or needed help.
The kid completely ignored the question and instead was thoroughly impressed that I was strong enough to carry two cases of beer. Eventually an employee noticed and came over as well. I told her everything I knew and she took over and told him that she was going to bring him to find his mom.
As he was walking away he kept looking back at me and I smiled and said goodbye. The kid stopped and said “can I just come home with you? I don’t like my mom.”
I was caught off guard so I just laughed and told him the lady was going to help him. Now I’ll never know the full story, or what happened to him but the more I think about it – that kid more than likely had a pretty s**tty childhood.
I mean, the store wasn’t busy and it was late at night on a weekday. It really makes you wonder why he was there in the first place, how he got separated from his mom and why would he ask to go with a complete stranger instead of worrying about where his mom was?”
9. No answers.
“My ex asked me what I liked to do with my family growing up.
Made me realize my family never did anything together and I literally had no answer to such a basic question.”
10. It hurts.
“I have a stutter and people always ask me why I’m so quiet it hurts because I want to be social but whenever I try I tend to be ignored or cut off half way through my sentence.
I want to be social and speak to people but it’s almost impossible for me.”
11. Ouch.
“As we passed the toy aisle at the store, “I know you don’t have much money right now, but maybe when you get some we could come back and get a toy?”
I was not doing well financially back then and my daughter brought me to tears in the middle of the store.”
12. I’m just tired…
“A few years ago I was at a small family gathering. We had them fairly often. Just me, my siblings, parents and niece’s and nephew.
I remember going out the back for a cigarette and my niece asked “why are you always sad?”. She would’ve been about 6yo at the time.
I was going through a horrendous mental period that involved a lot of alcohol, medication, and sleepless nights.
Of course I told her I was fine, just a little tired from working hard.
I remember thinking about that interaction the rest of the night.”
13. That’s bad.
“I finally got out of an abusive relationship after many years.
When I finally did my mom said, “you’re a hard person to like and nobody else will love you. Do you really think you deserve better ?””
14. All alone.
“We had some kind of talent show in elementary school and and all the parents sat in the gym and watched us.
Everybody had someone there except me, so this kid in my class asked where my family was and I just shrugged my shoulders and he asked “Doesn’t anyone love you?” and I had to excuse myself and cry in the bathroom, because I knew he was right, nobody loved me.
I had tried to keep it a secret and I was terrified that everyone at school would know.”
15. Not cool.
““Can you imagine how bad it would have made us look as parents if you succeeded?”
Told to me by my mom as she was taking me back home from the hospital after my s**cide watch.”
16. Brutal.
“I was having fertility problems and couldn’t get pregnant after 4 yrs of trying.
A child once asked me “Do you think there just aren’t any babies who want you to be their mother?””
17. Heartbreaking.
“”Is this what a real family look like?” My best friend grew up in a rough neighborhood getting beaten up by his dad and abandoned by his mom.
He knew very little of normal family interactions, hygiene habits, morals (he was ok with lying, stealing and some more) and had almost none of the common sense you’d expect from a 14 yo boy. Still, he was a funny and rather charismatic SOB and it was basically instant friendship.
After spending a lot of time in our house (initially 2-3 days a week, getting to whole months during some tougher times), he got a pretty good hang of all the family and the “living in society” thing. Simple stuff like being kind, not stealing, washing his clothes and using deodorant. When he asked me this question, some months after meeting my parents and sisters, it broke my heart to the point I cried like a baby in front of him.
Now, almost 10 years later, he calls my parentes “Mother” and “Father”. He’s getting a major in History and wants to teach. Unfortunately he still struggles with some psychiatric conditions, like depression and anxiety, but is under treatment and getting better.”
18. By yourself.
“I was at Coldstone with my friends who are married. I ordered my thing and went over to the cashier and they asked me “Are you alone?” and for some reason it just cut deep.
They didn’t mean anything by it, but in that moment I realized that I felt so alone, even surrounded by friends. Then I had ice cream and felt better.”
19. Felt like crying.
“”Wait, aren’t you going to hit me?”
I worked as a music teacher, and had a 15 year old student who originally came from an African country play a passage incorrectly on the instrument repeatedly.
We only had one instrument of the kind she played, so I reached out my hand and asked her to hand me the instrument over to show her, when she saw me playing, she asked me that question with genuine confusion, and I realised what hell her school life in her home country had been.
She not only thought I would hit her for not playing correctly, but also that she deserved it.
I felt like crying when I got home that night.”
20. Left out.
“”Why don’t they talk to me?”
She was an outcast in hs and I guess I kind of was too even though some of my friends weren’t. She was nice enough but because she was poor and had ill fitting clothes and anxiety. Other kids didn’t know how to talk to her and some of them were mean.
Last I checked she was selling Avon and in a bad relationship. I really hope she got out, I’ve lost contact with her since then.”
21. Depressing.
“I don’t really have any close friends. It’s depressing.
On my 25th birthday, my husband and I went to dinner and we happened to run into my husbands co-worker and his wife, so we sat together for a couple drinks.
My husband said it we were out for dinner for my birthday. We were making small talk and the other guys wife asked “where are your friends at?”
I felt so embarrassed. My face gets red and my heart sinks every time I think about it.”
22. Hahahaha.
“We were watching the movie The Martian.
About 3/4 of the way through my GF turns to me and asks if this really happened.”
23. Kids are cruel.
““Are you a boy or a girl?”
This was earnestly asked to me on the playground when I was 13. I was very chubby, and had grown out my hair (my dad had a cool ponytail, and I wanted to be like my dad). But puberty hadn’t really kicked in yet, so I guess I looked pretty androgynous.
I told the girl that asked I was a boy, and she nodded and walked away, returning to a friend who then cheered in triumph, I guess they won the bet.
That messed with me for a while.”
24. Oh…
“I moved away for almost a year. The day I moved back to my home town, I excitedly went to my old martial arts dojang to see if I could sign back up.
Long story short, I loved these people like family. Upon entering the building, I was glared at and cold shouldered. I went back outside, thinking maybe I interrupted something. The head instructor came out and I greeted him enthusiastically. He said, “Oh. You’re back…?”
He turned around and left. I had two other heartbreaks in a similar fashion before I decided I had more self worth than what these people rated me for and moved on.”
Now we want to hear from you.
Have you ever had an experience like this?
If so, please tell us about it in the comments. Thanks!
