Sometimes in life, you have to make a split-second decision.
Here’s my story of badassery: I was in a small town on Lake Michigan enjoying the beach for the day with my parents and siblings in 2008. Two dogs splashed into the water and swam out REALLY far into the lake.
One dog made it back in, but it was obvious the other pooch was really struggling and he was still WAY out in the water. I could see him going up and down in the water and panicking. Other people on the beach were getting nervous and saying “oh, no” but no one was doing anything.
So I decided to act. I ran into the water, swam as fast as I could out to the dog, and dragged him back into shore. He fought me the whole way in because he was scared and left me scratched and bloody all up and down my legs, but I was glad I got him to safety.
Hey, what can I say? I’m a dog lover.
What’s the most badass thing YOU’VE ever done?
AskReddit users shared their stories of glory.
1. A scary situation.
“When I was in high school there was a man stalking me at my bus stop (quiet street, by myself usually but one other girl would sometimes take the bus too). He sexually assaulted me one day and then seemed to take pleasure in taunting me after.
I’d call the police from my cell phone every time but they’d take a while to show up and he’d be long gone. One day he showed up and I got fed up, I had a pretty good guess that he was hiding after I called the police and backtracking to the direction he came from. I pretended to get on the bus, but then I got right off again.
When the bus drove away, he came out of hiding and I followed him, with the police on the line the entire time. I ended up chasing him but then he went into a secluded area so I stopped. Police didn’t make it in time so he didn’t get arrested that day (although eventually he did). But that is the most badass and the absolute dumbest thing I have ever done.”
2. Two badass stories.
“Conventionally badass? I guess when four guys tried to mug me. They were totally wasted on something so I was able to disable two and scare the other two with only scratches and bruises.
In my opinion, when I kept a guy from bleeding out until an ambulance arrived when he fell through a window.”
3. Seeing red.
“On holiday, waiting for a shuttle bus at 6 in the morning my wife got attacked by a lunatic. Before he could touch her with his fist I jumped in between and punched him in the face.
I felt it was a life and death situation. In the end my wife and I scared him off with the help of a street dog that bit him in the ass. I don’t consider myself a violent person but I literally saw red.
I still have a scar on my chest from where his fist hit me (he was wearing a ring), but never when I see that scar do I feel like a victim.”
4. Saving lives.
“Held on to a person who was trying to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge until police arrived and we could lift her over the rail.”
5. Get rid of the creep.
“I once saw this little girl who turned out to be 7 years old crying by herself with a creepy guy around her trying to get her to walk with him.
She kept crying and saying she wants her mom so I asked her if she knows the guy she said no. I told him if he doesn’t leave I’m going to break his neck and then I told the girl to stop crying and to not go with anyone anywhere including myself. I told her to stay where she was and that I will stand a few feet away from her while she watches YouTube on my phone and that I will stay there until her mom finds her and that we won’t be going anywhere at all until her mom comes.
She stopped crying and sat down watching kid stuff on YouTube on the phone and I just stood there like ten feet away just making sure no one comes near her or that she walks away somewhere.
About ten minutes later her mom came out of a building and found her the girl saw her and yelled mom and ran to her. I explained to the mom what happened and she kept thanking me over and over.”
6. Glad that you’re safe.
“Three guys attempted to carjack me last week and instead of giving up my vehicle, I put the key in the ignition, put the car into drive, and got out of there.
I got 17 staples taken out of my scalp today – at least one of them was pistol-whipping me while he tried to get me out of my car.”
7. Nice work!
“I saved my dads life during a medical emergency on the side of the highway last year.
The 911 operator couldn’t hear me because of all the road noise so I didn’t have anybody coaching me through anything.”
8. A real hero.
“QRF response in Afghanistan, 2009. Humvee hit IED and gunner was pinned under overturned Humvee.
Returned fire, left my truck to go help the gunner. I was smaller, took off my vest and helmet and dug at him with my hands. Threw two tourniquets on his severed leg.
Jack holding humvee fails. I dig him out under the truck and we load him on medivac. Rest of us got out safe. Never met the dude, but he lived.”
9. That could’ve been ugly.
“One time I was babysitting my 2 year old nephew with my little sister. She was on her phone like always not paying attention. He was sitting backwards on the couch, I was sitting across the room from him.
I seen him starting to fall so I jumped up and went over, I swear this next part happened in slow motion like a movie. Right as he was about to land headfirst on the hardwood floor, I caught him, flipped him around and put him back on the couch.
I could tell he was prepared to start crying, but he never hit the floor so he just sat there confused. My sister missed it all despite sitting right beside him.”
10. Sounds intense.
“Gave birth in my bedroom with no pain meds or medical attention.”
11. Animal lover.
“My neighbour’s dog was hit by a car and i sat in the gutter nursing her for half an hour before the vet could get to her. She was too big and sick to be moved.
She was also in shock and very frightened. I felt she was going to die many times so kept talking to her and stroking her. I swear this kept her from blacking out. It all ended well and she went on to live a long and happy life.”
12. He won’t do that again.
“When I was 12, a guy kissed me after I expressly told him not to.Before I knew it, I heard a sound similar to a snail shell cracking, and he was on the ground with blood pouring down his face. I don’t know for certain, but I have an inkling I broke his nose.
Saw him again a week later with some kind of casting on his nose, and the colour drained from his face when he made eye contact.”
13. Listen to your gut.
“About 17 years ago I was at at a river in a third world country having a swim with 2 young village kids… I heard shots, got the kids out of the water put them under my arms and ran…. I could hear zips all around us.
When we were in the jungle and hidden the kids were unsure what was going on. I told them the firing as on the other side of the river and pointed to where I thought the firing came from.
All of a sudden we saw someone break cover from behind some rock and bolt. We’re so so bloody lucky I listened to my gut feeling.”
14. Overcoming your fears.
“I trained for two or three years at an MMA gym and fought in a cage. I lost, but winning was never the point. I was facing my fears.
I grew up in an abusive household, terrified of my father. Eventually I was just scared all the time interacting with other men. That wasn’t great trying to make a living in a steel plant. Someone would get mad about any little thing, never really pose a threat, but I would shut down.
At around 30 years old I went to a gym just trying to get past it all. I didn’t really tell any of them my history, but I think people picked up on it. It’s really empowering when you figure out you’re not made of glass. Getting punched in the face isn’t fun, but I got over my fear and it calmed me down.”
Let’s give all of these folks a big round of applause!
Nice work!
How about you?
In the comments, tell us the most badass thing you’ve ever done. We look forward to hearing from you!
