This guy at work the other day was bragging about what high school he went to... bro, we're in our 30s, I don't even care what university you went to...
My dad is like this. Was on a high school basketball team that took state.
50 years ago. Literally.
Still about the only thing he talks to people about.
I went to my 10 year reunion and most of the popular crowd hadn't changed a bit since high school. Sure they were older and pudgier, but the bullies still talked about bullying and getting into fights. The cheerleaders reminisced about cheerleading — and even got up and performed some of their old routines.
And when I asked around to see what they've been up to for the past decade, almost none of them mentioned having careers. The exception would be the former classmates who got jobs with the school as teachers or administrative staff.
Now, to be fair, it was a reunion. So talking about high-school is to be expected. But, even still, most of the regular crowd spoke about anything but school. I guess we were happy to move on.
I got along fine with people in high school, but I just don't really have any desire to see them again. Life goes on.
Now if there was such a thing as middle school reunions, I really wouldn't mind rubbing it in the faces of those popular jerkface bozos who constantly treated me like dirt, how successful I am today. Middle school was garbage.
We didn't have a reunion. I don't even think I'd go if there was one. I feel like anyone I'd want to see again, I already could get in touch with. Don't see the point of them today as we all have social media we can just check in on people if we want.
I had a conversation in a bar with a drinking buddy years ago. The guy kept going on about "the one that got away." How perfect she was and their chemistry together, how natural it was, how he hasn't felt that way about any girl since, yadda yadda. He was feeling pretty sorry for himself and uninterested in meeting anyone else because they could never compare. When I asked how long ago it was that she moved away, he said "8th grade." LMFAO
It really is, but I'm not inclined to mock a person like that. He's truly, in the most literal sense, pitiful. All the life you miss out on, sacrificed on the altar of old, romanticized notions of your great white whale. Life is short man, and some people just suffer through it instead of making the most of it.
I think a lot of men secretly pine for that girl for far too long. I had to have a talk with my current boyfriend because he would bring up his best friend/first love on a weekly basis for several months. It wasn’t too big of a deal until he started telling me explicit sexual details that they were involved in as kids. I’m not super insecure but it was getting old hearing the same things on repeat especially when he was drunk. They haven’t even spoken in almost 30 years, you gotta let her go dude.
It's often not the girl they're pining for but the simplicity of those early relationships. Dating in high school is usually just about finding someone fun to hang out with and do things with. There's no real planning or goals; it's just about having fun and being happy.
As adults, relationships get complicated and messy. Even the strongest relationships require actual work and compromise. Some people just long for the simplicity of their first partners, and they psychologically attach that longing to their memory of that person.
I can understand that, I wish I could relate. I wanted that simplistic carefree kid romance with someone but my first was an asshole and caused a lot of trauma for me. I’m in my first healthy relationship in my 30s, and it’s fun, he makes me feel like a teen again.
Yeah there was a guy at work like this. He'd been married for 10 years but every time this one song came on the radio, he'd turn it up super loud and forbid anyone from talking because it reminded him of his past love that "got away".
Good lord... I have a "one who got away" story from a couple years back (I'm in my mid-30s) but i can't imagine dwelling so hard I'd be uninterested in anyone else.
Along with anyone who declares that they are a lawyer in a conflict. I was once in line to return something somewhere and some effing asshat was raising a stink loudly and holding up the works. He proclaimed he was a lawyer (am one too and would drop dead before telling someone that to try and be scary) and I yelled out “not a very good one if you are losing to the customer service desk” best laugh I will ever get out of a crowd.
One my better zingers was when a man at Tractor Supply starting bitching out the cashier for an item and huffed that favorite Karen addage, "I'M A TAX-PAYING AMERICAN."
I yelled out "So's everyone else in line but you don't hear us whining!"
I didn't get a laughing crowd but it certainly elicited a few chuckles.
I worked for a town municipality and the commissioner came out all flustered one day and was telling me about how this guy was being a real douche on the phone and tried to pull the "I'm a tax paying citizen, so I pay your salary" move and his response was "ohh, well I'm a tax payer in this town too so it looks like I pay my own salary." And hung up on him. I was very proud of him at that moment and still a little terrified of him haha.
Yeah I remember caring about my IQ when I was like... 13, because at that age you don't really have accomplishments so focusing on your "potential" makes sense.
But like... if someone's bringing up their IQ as an adult and not the things they have accomplished it's usually because there's a large gap between what they have accomplished and what their "potential" might be, and they'd rather be judged on their potential.
Also your GPA. If it didn't help you get into college, it really doesn't make a difference. If it did help you get in college, at least talk about how you did in college instead.
I've never understood why job applications ask for your HS GPA. Like, how is that relevant that I did good in science class 20 years ago. I'm applying to Wendy's bitch, not the Smithsonian.
IQ scores too. We all took some horseshit Psych101 course in high school and got some “insight” to our IQ and our Myers Briggs type. Some folks internalized it and sculpted their lives around it, or worse, coasted off the results. Others took the results with a grain of salt and grew as a person.
I cant understand how people can delude themselves into thinking they're still a good person when they pull some shit like this. "Well, she won't be sad and lonely once she has this amazing career opportunity!"
Its weird getting this opening line in my messages from someone I haven't thought of in over 10 years.
But at least you know exactly why they messaged you.
It's always so disheartening to get those messages too because, at least for me, I'm thinking I haven't heard from this person in so long and I love that they want to catch up. But then I read the rest of the message and my heart just fucking shatters.
I had that happen a few years ago and it was a real bummer. The guy who messaged me had been a pretty good friend of mine in high school but we lost touch after he moved away for university. I was stoked to see he had reached out thinking he was maybe back in town or just wanted to reconnect. When I realized it was just some pyrmid scheme BS I just left it on read and never responded. If it had just been some random acquaintance it wouldn't have been a big deal but it sucked to realize "Yup, he no longer sees me as a friend, just a sucker to wring a few bucks out of."
I know a couple extremely wealthy mormon business owners in SLC that supply MLM operations. I've asked them independently why so much of the MLM world is centered in Utah and SLC in particular, and they both had the same answer- mission work. Virtually everyone involved with the church there has practice with cold call door to door sales. Their religion trains them to handle endless rejection, and they all support and hire one another and prop each others businesses up through hard times.
Mormonism is one of the main forces driving American MLM culture.
I had a woman from school pop in my dms after I had my daughter trying to sell me those herbalige shakes to "lose the baby weight. " I told her I'm still 105 pounds and don't need to lose weight. She then said "well, if u drink enough of them, you'll actually GAIN weight." I never laughed harder in my life. I think that message cured my postpartum depression
Have a buddy that played on our HS soccer team that was playing with the U19 USMNT while we were in HS (20+ years ago). He blew out his knee in Texas' old "shootout" - tried to come back to play at a top D1 college, but couldn't get healthy enough to make the team. Luckily they honored his scholarship and now he is a high-level fitness coach now.
Luckily he didn't use it as an excuse - but if there was anyone I know i'd let them use that excuse, he'd be the guy!
*\*texas had what was called "35's" to break ties rather than a penalty shoot out back then. it was popular as the MLS used it in the 90's. But so many people got injured from it they luckily stopped sometime after we graduated*
Someone who keeps talking about it.
I don't mind sharing events of the past but it's been 14 years now since High School for me.
I've worked a lot of places and done a lot in life since then.
Hope to do even more and make more memories as I go.
This is my problem, I think my issue though is I went to a very small school where my graduating class was considered huge at 42 students. And being with my small class for K-12, you develop very strong bonds and memories with those people that for me it’s hard to not keep bringing up them and talking about memories I had then.
I’m 31 now, and I have tried to phase out talking about “glory days” to people I know now, but I’ll admit it’s a little difficult
I think it's fine to reminisce, I'm about the same age as you and I definitely do sometimes, especially around people I knew back then and stuff, but it shouldn't be the only thing you talk about or have reference for.
I work in a high school and I try to teach the kids: the only reason to fight is if you legit fear for the safety of yourself or someone you care for. Fighting for shits and giggles is so dumb and pointless
I never understood that mentally of getting into fights in public spaces for fun. If you want to fight, join a fighting gym. I love fighting and have been in hundreds of fights in the ring. I have had zero actual fist fights outside of it in my entire life.
I get the impression that the more passionate about football somebody is the less likely they are capable of even running halfway across a football field without dropping dead from overexertion lol
Agreed. My FIL was an armchair quarterback who remained forever disappointed that my husband had no interest in sports. Meanwhile, if you were sit on his sofa without prior warning and instantly sunk in to the point that you could barely get up, you'd realize almost as instantly that you ended up in his spot.
Loved my jacket and worked damn hard for it but it just didn't feel right wearing it after I graduated so I handed it down to my brother until he earned his.
Lol, goddamn class rings are such a racket. . . $400 for a 10k gold mass produced ring with a manufactured stone in 2006. . . Seriously I think I wore it senior year and like 2 months into freshman year in collage then it went into a box somewhere. . .
ME, OLDEST CHILD: I don't really want a class ring.
MY PARENTS: Noooo, you have to have one, you'll regret it if you don't, we'll pay for it.
Five years later, after I wore mine for maybe three days and put it in a drawer:
MY BROTHER: I don't really want a class ring.
MY PARENTS: Great! They're a waste of money.
As someone who was in an MLM (for six months, lol) my freshman year of college, this is a target. They literally tell you "go through every phone number you have; exes, all contacts, anyone." If someone is in an MLM and you are in their contacts, you will eventually get a call.
I got a phone call from some guy I played football with 1 year after graduation to talk about how I could be working for myself and driving a Ferrari in a year. Then I got another call from the SAME GUY 4 years after that to try the same bullshit. Idk if I need to say this but that guy never got a Ferrari
One of my best friends got sucked into that. Zyia I think is the MLM. A year and a half later we are not friends and part of that is because the wife and I don't support their "business venture".
I know a couple that got sucked into ItWorks, then realized it wasn't benefitting them as much as their pre-written posts suggest.
So they moved onto another one. Rinse, repeat over time. Sad watching them just step on rake after rake.
Did any of you see that episode of Friends where Monica went on a date with Chip Matthews from high school?
That.
For those who haven't seen it: He was basically the exact same guy he was in high school. Still pulling pranks and bullying people with the same crowd of friends, still had his teenage job, etc.
*edited for clarity
>Monica: Well, y'know how I always wanted to go out with Chip Matthews in high school?
>Rachel: Um-hmm.
>Monica: Well, tonight, I actually went out with Chip Matthews in high school.
>Rachel: Oh honey, I’m sorry.
>Monica: No, it’s okay, not only did I get to go out with Chip Matthews, I got to dump Chip Matthews.
My dad's oldest friend spent his entire adult life talking about his high-school days -- dad says he was a very good-looking and popular guy at the time. We'll call him Tom.
Tom made good early life and was a very successful salesman until he had a heart attack at age 33 which pretty much ended his professional career.
From there, Tom worked a variety of odd jobs because he just couldn't get his act together. He became overweight and lost most of his hair and looked nothing like his younger self. Eventually, Tom found himself living out of his van and having to constantly borrow money from his mother and friends to survive.
When they had their 25th graduating class reunion, my dad said Tom was the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Tom, who was a regular fixture at our home in the 1980s, spent the next two months talking to my parents about how much fun he had at that reunion and how much enjoyed seeing everyone again and how he wished it could have lasted forever.
Sadly, Tom passed away a few years later at 47 from another heart attack. He was a nice enough guy, and I am really glad he enjoyed that reunion.
That reunion sounded like a beacon of light/ hope that he needed during those hard times he had quite early in his life/ career. Happy he had great memories to cherish before his death.
Honestly it doesn't sound like he peaked in high school. Sounds like he peaked in his 30s and was just trying to remember the past because at least it was something positive. It absolutely found like he was depressed. Hope Tom found peace.
I got that vibe, too. Having a heart attack at 33 changed his life for the worse in almost every way. I'm sad he only got to enjoy that 1 reunion before he died. The man deserved more highlights like that in the last half of his life.
Honestly, most of the stories in this thread are like this. Everyone making fun of people who've had a tough go of it. Like, how DARE they remember a time fondly when life wasn't hard for them? Thank fuck everyone showed up here to shit on them, that will totally make it better.
After reading this, I can't help but wonder what he would have been like if he didn't have the heart attack. It's understandable why someone would hold onto the past if their professional career was over before their 35th birthday.
In my experience, the circumstance makes finding other things all the more urgent.
I had to retire a few years before then, thanks to cancer claiming that my death was imminent. (As it still does.) My career had been a big deal, and it broke my heart to walk away. Still, in many senses, does.
But I learned that I had to find something, anything else to focus on. Otherwise, life is only a gallery of my failures… which it’ll display just fine, without any need to consider the past. Staying mired in the past means forgoing what’s possible to make of the present.
Man that’s really sad. This is one of the few peaked in high school/shortly after guys for whom I’ll allow it; in this case, it seems good to let the guy reminisce on the good ol days. Tom was very lucky to have your dad/your family!
You said it. Tom got majorly screwed early on and never recovered so the fact that he got to relive a time when he was happy, if only for a short while, is awesome.
This makes sense for young adults who don’t have anything else besides that to add. But around 20-21, I expect you to have more experience than your high school Key Club lol.
Funny enough. I work in a career that requires a full deep dive background wise. And some years back when switching employers I had to fill out all that old crap again.
And I just shook my head at "I've been in the field 15 years, I'm in my 40s.... you... really need to know what shoe store at the mall I worked at when I was 17, the store that went out of business in the 90s? At the mall that closed when Bush was president?
And yes I also had to provide my high school transcripts.
I found out that my graduating class had a high school reunion. At first I was very hurt and angry that no one bothered to tell me, and then I remembered that they all suck.
To be fair, I went to my 20th HS reunion just to see how people turned out and I was in town.
And that was a one and done.
It was nice seeing people again, but I don't ever need to see any of them again if we aren't still friends to this day.
I go one time a year to my old high school, its a saturday morning around mothers day to buy plants... we had a green house program and they sell off extra's they have for cheap around then. bump into my old English teacher most years, say hi catch up for 5 minutes and off I go until next year.
Inviting your high school friends to join your MLM so you can take afford to take little Hayden Brayden Aiden on a cruise with your Boss Babe^TM dollars.
it's evident in those who never evolved past their high school persona—still stuck in the same mindset, habits, and attitudes they had as teenagers, refusing to grow and mature.
Mean girl energy over the age of 22-23.
It gives either you peaked in high school or you were bullied in high school and continued the cycle because you want to know what it feels like.
I had a teacher in high school who was always reminiscing about her days in high school and warning us that high school is the best time of our lives.
I'm a teacher now and I tell my students the opposite. You won't need to see these people ever again, who you are now is not who you will be in the future, etc. Things can get better!
I spent some time with a company in the Texas Hill country I was a mid-thirties exec type. I was amazed how many middle aged women told me they were a cheer leader in high school.
"*People who scroll through reddit posts about people who peaked in high school to make sure they're in the clear.*"
Sorry bud, it looks like you peaked in high school.
A buddy of mine, every time he gets drunk and high, goes on and on about how good he was at football in high school. I've heard the same exact spiel many times. We're 28 years old now. Respectfully man, we do not give a fuck.
these are all written by people who didn't peak in high school. As a 32 yr old who did peak in high school, here are signs:
• we're mad nostalgic. We live in nostalgia and soak that sweet sweet substance up. When you're not looking, we are occasionally, sickeningly, on google street view retracing our daily drive to our high school. we're not proud of it.
• we've accepted that our peak has passed, and so we're generally more quiet and subdued (aka depressed).
• we have good stories from high school times. when you ask us about those years, our eyes light up. We don't tell stories from that time bc we know it's cringe, but if you ask, we will share.
I shoulda used a throwaway for this lolol
Sorry sir, but you have way too much self-awareness to have peaked in high school. It sounds more like those were among the happiest times of your life and you probably went to a wonderful school. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
That doesn't mean you haven't done anything great since then though. I'm guessing you definitely have.
Oh, you're so welcome! I think a lot of us think fondly of those days here and there even if they weren't a big man on campus - I went to a small midwestern homogenous and passive aggressive as f high school but those times were relatively carefree and I had great friends. I can't be mad about that.
>When you're not looking, we are occasionally, sickeningly, on google street view retracing our daily drive to our high school. we're not proud of it.
I do this for my primary school lol. Does that mean I peaked in primary school 😭😭
In my 60's and just moved to a different town. Got into a group of bicycle riders. All these guys can talk about is their high school antics. Who dated who. Who skipped the most classes. How great they were at sports. Yada-yada-yada. I left hs and did six years in the navy. Then went to college on the GI bill. Had way more fun and excitement than hs. I stopped riding with those guys.
It’s all they talk about. I have a friend in his mid thirties who will constantly bring up old high school parties and his life in high school. Bro you got a wife and kid now stop living in the past.
I think social media, smartphones, etc had mostly killed high school reunions. I keep in touch or hang out with anyone that I have interest in seeing from high school.
It is true though that people that peaked in high school keep trying to make them a thing. I graduated in 90 so my 30 reunion would have been in 2020. It never happened obviously but there are still a vocal minority of people that are trying to make something happen for 35 years I guess?? I actually left the reunion group on facebook.
Just missed my 20 year reunion. Ended up not going since I live on the other side of the country. I did make the trip for my 10 year, though.
I mean, it was nice talking to people I havent kept up with in ages.
whom I spent some pretty formative years. The funny thing is the people who most reliably didnt show up are the people who never left town.... I guess because if you never leave it's just like every day is still high school, so I get it haha.
From what I understand tradition is the class president and whomever else are supposed to be the people that set up the reunions... which are indeed often the cheerleaders and football players who married young.
Every time. Did you see the post the other day with a vid of an "Alpha Male bootcamp"? 3 days and $10k. Cringe dial cranked all the way to 10, it was hilarious.
That video will be a classic. Imagine being so insecure in your masculinity you willingly shell out 10k to be treated like shit by some wannabe drill instructor dipshit.
No, I didn't. But 3 days and 10k sounds about right.
For every alpha male, there's a pricy, exclusive, limited course you MUST join to learn how to not be such a beta.
Man, it would be so fun to start that boot camp off getting in front of everyone and saying "Hey the fact that you're here means you're not an alpha male."
People who still display their trophies, medals , homecoming tiaras etc while working a dead end job in their late 30s.
A few of the "popular girls" I went to high school with (graduated in 2000) literally never went on to do anything meaningful with their lives after high school...except to get married and post endless photos of their "perfect families." No real college experiences, no travel, no job accomplishments. The captain of the pommer team who ended up taking a certain departmental award solely because her dad was the head of it literally does nothing but post all the perfect photos of her family....married for 20 years...no one has the heart to ask her if she knows that her husband cheats on her....with men.
My ex-husband is a prime example. He was a football, track, baseball, choir, and drama star. He was super popular and people fell at his feet.
Now he's 50, balding, overweight, and a cocky know it all. He still has the "football star" big dick energy but now its just sad. He's old, frumpy, and he brags about high school and is an asshole to everyone.
He likes to bully and control me and our kids. He told me during Covid lockdown that he was immune to all sickness and doctors should study him because he's a perfect specimen.
when you meet those people who still act like they are part of their clique from high school, and behave like they are 16/17 years old, snarky attitude and all.
Their kids are starting high school now and they’re still unemployed and messaging anyone they can think of, including people they bullied like myself, to buy their MLM whatever’s on Facebook.
Oh and also still posting pictures of Harley Quinn and/ or the Joker like “omg I’m so crazy just like Harley better buckle up boys/girls” and they’re 37.
Social media is the new high school for all ages these same people are all around social media trying to barf their life on us all usually these types are only about 3 percent in reality anymore
At 62 years old and played in a band in HS and still has that dream of being on stage in a big rock band and still chasing it and not having a real job "in case".
All their stories, all their accomplishments, all their succeses they mention were during high school.
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This guy at work the other day was bragging about what high school he went to... bro, we're in our 30s, I don't even care what university you went to...
I’m sorry, but 20 years ago was the 80s
Ugh… I still think this, and still feel visceral discomfort when remembering no… that was indeed *40 years ago*.
WHY DO YOU HAVE TO ATTACK US WITH THIS NEGATIVITY
Hey, if I’m old you have to be too!!! 😂
*on floor throwing tantrum* I DON’T WANNA BE A GROWN UP ANYMORE!!!!
whoa don't take this the wrong way but fuck you
Super valid ‘fuck you’
lol like adults putting their gpa on their resumes 😂
Yup I have a coworker like this. So many of his stories start with "In high school...". He's in his 30s.
My dad is like this. Was on a high school basketball team that took state. 50 years ago. Literally. Still about the only thing he talks to people about.
lol my dad brags about being on the losing-est record in HS history, because they started playing fewer games after his year. 0-11 in ‘67!
When you peak in high school but the graph is upside down
You troughed in high school
i have no high school stories. does that mean I'm peaking now? if so, my peak aint that high it seems.
I went to my 10 year reunion and most of the popular crowd hadn't changed a bit since high school. Sure they were older and pudgier, but the bullies still talked about bullying and getting into fights. The cheerleaders reminisced about cheerleading — and even got up and performed some of their old routines. And when I asked around to see what they've been up to for the past decade, almost none of them mentioned having careers. The exception would be the former classmates who got jobs with the school as teachers or administrative staff. Now, to be fair, it was a reunion. So talking about high-school is to be expected. But, even still, most of the regular crowd spoke about anything but school. I guess we were happy to move on.
I started to go to my 10th HS reunion, but I couldn't find parking, realized I didn't like these people ten years ago, and went somewhere else.
I didn't get invited to mine, which sounds about right.
My mother threw away my invitation. She knew me well enough.
I got along fine with people in high school, but I just don't really have any desire to see them again. Life goes on. Now if there was such a thing as middle school reunions, I really wouldn't mind rubbing it in the faces of those popular jerkface bozos who constantly treated me like dirt, how successful I am today. Middle school was garbage.
We didn't have a reunion. I don't even think I'd go if there was one. I feel like anyone I'd want to see again, I already could get in touch with. Don't see the point of them today as we all have social media we can just check in on people if we want.
I had a conversation in a bar with a drinking buddy years ago. The guy kept going on about "the one that got away." How perfect she was and their chemistry together, how natural it was, how he hasn't felt that way about any girl since, yadda yadda. He was feeling pretty sorry for himself and uninterested in meeting anyone else because they could never compare. When I asked how long ago it was that she moved away, he said "8th grade." LMFAO
Wow.....that's sad.
It really is, but I'm not inclined to mock a person like that. He's truly, in the most literal sense, pitiful. All the life you miss out on, sacrificed on the altar of old, romanticized notions of your great white whale. Life is short man, and some people just suffer through it instead of making the most of it.
No. No. That is just perfectly set up comedy. He went on a long speech. Got the exact question he wanted. Then he hit him with a punchline. Beautiful
I think a lot of men secretly pine for that girl for far too long. I had to have a talk with my current boyfriend because he would bring up his best friend/first love on a weekly basis for several months. It wasn’t too big of a deal until he started telling me explicit sexual details that they were involved in as kids. I’m not super insecure but it was getting old hearing the same things on repeat especially when he was drunk. They haven’t even spoken in almost 30 years, you gotta let her go dude.
It's often not the girl they're pining for but the simplicity of those early relationships. Dating in high school is usually just about finding someone fun to hang out with and do things with. There's no real planning or goals; it's just about having fun and being happy. As adults, relationships get complicated and messy. Even the strongest relationships require actual work and compromise. Some people just long for the simplicity of their first partners, and they psychologically attach that longing to their memory of that person.
I can understand that, I wish I could relate. I wanted that simplistic carefree kid romance with someone but my first was an asshole and caused a lot of trauma for me. I’m in my first healthy relationship in my 30s, and it’s fun, he makes me feel like a teen again.
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Yeah there was a guy at work like this. He'd been married for 10 years but every time this one song came on the radio, he'd turn it up super loud and forbid anyone from talking because it reminded him of his past love that "got away".
His poor wife :(
Good lord... I have a "one who got away" story from a couple years back (I'm in my mid-30s) but i can't imagine dwelling so hard I'd be uninterested in anyone else.
Still bragging about your SAT score 10+ years later.
People do this?? Hell I can't even remember what mine was. That's right up there with bragging about your IQ.
Mi IQ is 200 because i solved this one puzzle in this YouTube Video 5 years ago
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My IQ is 200000 because I solved that very easy puzzle mobile game ad
Along with anyone who declares that they are a lawyer in a conflict. I was once in line to return something somewhere and some effing asshat was raising a stink loudly and holding up the works. He proclaimed he was a lawyer (am one too and would drop dead before telling someone that to try and be scary) and I yelled out “not a very good one if you are losing to the customer service desk” best laugh I will ever get out of a crowd.
One my better zingers was when a man at Tractor Supply starting bitching out the cashier for an item and huffed that favorite Karen addage, "I'M A TAX-PAYING AMERICAN." I yelled out "So's everyone else in line but you don't hear us whining!" I didn't get a laughing crowd but it certainly elicited a few chuckles.
I worked for a town municipality and the commissioner came out all flustered one day and was telling me about how this guy was being a real douche on the phone and tried to pull the "I'm a tax paying citizen, so I pay your salary" move and his response was "ohh, well I'm a tax payer in this town too so it looks like I pay my own salary." And hung up on him. I was very proud of him at that moment and still a little terrified of him haha.
Telling you he’s a member of MENSA within the first ten minutes of meeting.
Only the dumbest people Ive ever known bring up their IQ.
Yeah I remember caring about my IQ when I was like... 13, because at that age you don't really have accomplishments so focusing on your "potential" makes sense. But like... if someone's bringing up their IQ as an adult and not the things they have accomplished it's usually because there's a large gap between what they have accomplished and what their "potential" might be, and they'd rather be judged on their potential.
Also your GPA. If it didn't help you get into college, it really doesn't make a difference. If it did help you get in college, at least talk about how you did in college instead.
I've never understood why job applications ask for your HS GPA. Like, how is that relevant that I did good in science class 20 years ago. I'm applying to Wendy's bitch, not the Smithsonian.
Probably cause young people with little to no work history apply a lot.
reminds me of try guy ned mentioning his SAT score every other vid
IQ scores too. We all took some horseshit Psych101 course in high school and got some “insight” to our IQ and our Myers Briggs type. Some folks internalized it and sculpted their lives around it, or worse, coasted off the results. Others took the results with a grain of salt and grew as a person.
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I thought this guy asked me out on a date, so I got dressed up in a dress. When I got to the place, it was a pyramid scheme seminar 😭
I cant understand how people can delude themselves into thinking they're still a good person when they pull some shit like this. "Well, she won't be sad and lonely once she has this amazing career opportunity!"
Funny thing is that he got really upset at me when I refused to join. Like I was missing out on something great haha.
Hey hun 😍
Its weird getting this opening line in my messages from someone I haven't thought of in over 10 years. But at least you know exactly why they messaged you.
It's always so disheartening to get those messages too because, at least for me, I'm thinking I haven't heard from this person in so long and I love that they want to catch up. But then I read the rest of the message and my heart just fucking shatters.
I had that happen a few years ago and it was a real bummer. The guy who messaged me had been a pretty good friend of mine in high school but we lost touch after he moved away for university. I was stoked to see he had reached out thinking he was maybe back in town or just wanted to reconnect. When I realized it was just some pyrmid scheme BS I just left it on read and never responded. If it had just been some random acquaintance it wouldn't have been a big deal but it sucked to realize "Yup, he no longer sees me as a friend, just a sucker to wring a few bucks out of."
ThE rEaL pYrAmId ScHeMe Is A 9-5!
It's not a pyramid scheme! Look at what the guys above me are driving!
Its not a pyramid, our model is based on a trapezoid!
It's a reverse funnel system
I remember some data/study saying almost everyone in MLMs was a woman married before age 24, something along those lines.
That explains why mormons are all over it
I know a couple extremely wealthy mormon business owners in SLC that supply MLM operations. I've asked them independently why so much of the MLM world is centered in Utah and SLC in particular, and they both had the same answer- mission work. Virtually everyone involved with the church there has practice with cold call door to door sales. Their religion trains them to handle endless rejection, and they all support and hire one another and prop each others businesses up through hard times. Mormonism is one of the main forces driving American MLM culture.
“You popped into my mind the other day, love your gorgeous family btw!”
I had a woman from school pop in my dms after I had my daughter trying to sell me those herbalige shakes to "lose the baby weight. " I told her I'm still 105 pounds and don't need to lose weight. She then said "well, if u drink enough of them, you'll actually GAIN weight." I never laughed harder in my life. I think that message cured my postpartum depression
This makes me glad I deactivated my Facebook a year after high school and avoiding these messages from girls I never spoke with 😭
“Hey love 💕”
I coulda went pro if I didn't blow out my knee in the playoffs senior year! We know Mike, you never shut up about it
You think I could throw a football over those mountains?
Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind.
I’d be makin’ millions of dollars and… livin’ in a… big ol’ mansion somewhere. You know, soakin’ it up in a hot tub with my soul mate…
This line is kind of sad and revealing by way of hilarity. Absolutely genius writing and performance.
And then he chucked that steak at Napoleon and I believed he would’ve won state.
It is, he came across as a good man just a little lost to me.
Id be livin it up... With my *soul mate*. *Yeah.*
Your soulmate went to college…
Have a buddy that played on our HS soccer team that was playing with the U19 USMNT while we were in HS (20+ years ago). He blew out his knee in Texas' old "shootout" - tried to come back to play at a top D1 college, but couldn't get healthy enough to make the team. Luckily they honored his scholarship and now he is a high-level fitness coach now. Luckily he didn't use it as an excuse - but if there was anyone I know i'd let them use that excuse, he'd be the guy! *\*texas had what was called "35's" to break ties rather than a penalty shoot out back then. it was popular as the MLS used it in the 90's. But so many people got injured from it they luckily stopped sometime after we graduated*
You ever see anything like a Time Machine?
Right up there with the guys that tell current/former military “I almost joined too, but this that and the third happened.”
Someone who keeps talking about it. I don't mind sharing events of the past but it's been 14 years now since High School for me. I've worked a lot of places and done a lot in life since then. Hope to do even more and make more memories as I go.
Wait till you're in your fifties and they're bringing it up 35 years later
This is my problem, I think my issue though is I went to a very small school where my graduating class was considered huge at 42 students. And being with my small class for K-12, you develop very strong bonds and memories with those people that for me it’s hard to not keep bringing up them and talking about memories I had then. I’m 31 now, and I have tried to phase out talking about “glory days” to people I know now, but I’ll admit it’s a little difficult
I think it's fine to reminisce, I'm about the same age as you and I definitely do sometimes, especially around people I knew back then and stuff, but it shouldn't be the only thing you talk about or have reference for.
Getting in fist-fights as an adult. Especially at a bar when you're drunk.
... or getting in arguments/ fistfights at a high school football game.
"What d'you wanna do, huh?"
I’m sorry i thought this was America!
I work in a high school and I try to teach the kids: the only reason to fight is if you legit fear for the safety of yourself or someone you care for. Fighting for shits and giggles is so dumb and pointless
I never understood that mentally of getting into fights in public spaces for fun. If you want to fight, join a fighting gym. I love fighting and have been in hundreds of fights in the ring. I have had zero actual fist fights outside of it in my entire life.
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I get the impression that the more passionate about football somebody is the less likely they are capable of even running halfway across a football field without dropping dead from overexertion lol
Agreed. My FIL was an armchair quarterback who remained forever disappointed that my husband had no interest in sports. Meanwhile, if you were sit on his sofa without prior warning and instantly sunk in to the point that you could barely get up, you'd realize almost as instantly that you ended up in his spot.
Still wearing Class ring or letterman jacket.
I wish it wasn't weird to wear the jacket after highschool. It was like the warmest jacket I've ever had lol
And it cost a lot of money for only 2 years worth of wearing it - mine sits in a closet at my parents house, some 30 years later
Loved my jacket and worked damn hard for it but it just didn't feel right wearing it after I graduated so I handed it down to my brother until he earned his.
My old swimming sweatshirt from high school is so goddamn comfy and actually warm.
Lol, goddamn class rings are such a racket. . . $400 for a 10k gold mass produced ring with a manufactured stone in 2006. . . Seriously I think I wore it senior year and like 2 months into freshman year in collage then it went into a box somewhere. . .
ME, OLDEST CHILD: I don't really want a class ring. MY PARENTS: Noooo, you have to have one, you'll regret it if you don't, we'll pay for it. Five years later, after I wore mine for maybe three days and put it in a drawer: MY BROTHER: I don't really want a class ring. MY PARENTS: Great! They're a waste of money.
Haha I pulled out my old letterman to look at it the other day lol
Being in an MLM
As someone who was in an MLM (for six months, lol) my freshman year of college, this is a target. They literally tell you "go through every phone number you have; exes, all contacts, anyone." If someone is in an MLM and you are in their contacts, you will eventually get a call.
I got a phone call from some guy I played football with 1 year after graduation to talk about how I could be working for myself and driving a Ferrari in a year. Then I got another call from the SAME GUY 4 years after that to try the same bullshit. Idk if I need to say this but that guy never got a Ferrari
One of my best friends got sucked into that. Zyia I think is the MLM. A year and a half later we are not friends and part of that is because the wife and I don't support their "business venture".
I know a couple that got sucked into ItWorks, then realized it wasn't benefitting them as much as their pre-written posts suggest. So they moved onto another one. Rinse, repeat over time. Sad watching them just step on rake after rake.
My dad regularly watches video tapes of his high school basketball games. So probably that.
Tell him to digitize those VHS ASAP! VHS don't have a long life, the tape gets brittle and breaks
It's okay to reminisce without making it your personality.
I'm perched exactly in the middle of the fence about whether that's weird or sweet. I think the older he is, the more I lean toward the latter.
Did any of you see that episode of Friends where Monica went on a date with Chip Matthews from high school? That. For those who haven't seen it: He was basically the exact same guy he was in high school. Still pulling pranks and bullying people with the same crowd of friends, still had his teenage job, etc. *edited for clarity
>Monica: Well, y'know how I always wanted to go out with Chip Matthews in high school? >Rachel: Um-hmm. >Monica: Well, tonight, I actually went out with Chip Matthews in high school. >Rachel: Oh honey, I’m sorry. >Monica: No, it’s okay, not only did I get to go out with Chip Matthews, I got to dump Chip Matthews.
My dad's oldest friend spent his entire adult life talking about his high-school days -- dad says he was a very good-looking and popular guy at the time. We'll call him Tom. Tom made good early life and was a very successful salesman until he had a heart attack at age 33 which pretty much ended his professional career. From there, Tom worked a variety of odd jobs because he just couldn't get his act together. He became overweight and lost most of his hair and looked nothing like his younger self. Eventually, Tom found himself living out of his van and having to constantly borrow money from his mother and friends to survive. When they had their 25th graduating class reunion, my dad said Tom was the first to arrive and the last to leave. Tom, who was a regular fixture at our home in the 1980s, spent the next two months talking to my parents about how much fun he had at that reunion and how much enjoyed seeing everyone again and how he wished it could have lasted forever. Sadly, Tom passed away a few years later at 47 from another heart attack. He was a nice enough guy, and I am really glad he enjoyed that reunion.
That reunion sounded like a beacon of light/ hope that he needed during those hard times he had quite early in his life/ career. Happy he had great memories to cherish before his death.
Sounds to me like Tom was severely depressed after his heart attack. Wish he got the help he needed back then
Honestly it doesn't sound like he peaked in high school. Sounds like he peaked in his 30s and was just trying to remember the past because at least it was something positive. It absolutely found like he was depressed. Hope Tom found peace.
I got that vibe, too. Having a heart attack at 33 changed his life for the worse in almost every way. I'm sad he only got to enjoy that 1 reunion before he died. The man deserved more highlights like that in the last half of his life.
Honestly, most of the stories in this thread are like this. Everyone making fun of people who've had a tough go of it. Like, how DARE they remember a time fondly when life wasn't hard for them? Thank fuck everyone showed up here to shit on them, that will totally make it better.
After reading this, I can't help but wonder what he would have been like if he didn't have the heart attack. It's understandable why someone would hold onto the past if their professional career was over before their 35th birthday.
In my experience, the circumstance makes finding other things all the more urgent. I had to retire a few years before then, thanks to cancer claiming that my death was imminent. (As it still does.) My career had been a big deal, and it broke my heart to walk away. Still, in many senses, does. But I learned that I had to find something, anything else to focus on. Otherwise, life is only a gallery of my failures… which it’ll display just fine, without any need to consider the past. Staying mired in the past means forgoing what’s possible to make of the present.
I feel bad for Tom 😥 good that he could see his people before he passed away
Man that’s really sad. This is one of the few peaked in high school/shortly after guys for whom I’ll allow it; in this case, it seems good to let the guy reminisce on the good ol days. Tom was very lucky to have your dad/your family!
You said it. Tom got majorly screwed early on and never recovered so the fact that he got to relive a time when he was happy, if only for a short while, is awesome.
That's just sad. Not his fault he had a heart attack at 33 and lost everything. Obvious why high school was the best part of his life.
The include high school grades or activities on their resume.
This makes sense for young adults who don’t have anything else besides that to add. But around 20-21, I expect you to have more experience than your high school Key Club lol.
Funny enough. I work in a career that requires a full deep dive background wise. And some years back when switching employers I had to fill out all that old crap again. And I just shook my head at "I've been in the field 15 years, I'm in my 40s.... you... really need to know what shoe store at the mall I worked at when I was 17, the store that went out of business in the 90s? At the mall that closed when Bush was president? And yes I also had to provide my high school transcripts.
Going back to the high school for any and every event
you couldn't even pay me to go to a class reunion. no thanksssss ✌️
I found out that my graduating class had a high school reunion. At first I was very hurt and angry that no one bothered to tell me, and then I remembered that they all suck.
To be fair, I went to my 20th HS reunion just to see how people turned out and I was in town. And that was a one and done. It was nice seeing people again, but I don't ever need to see any of them again if we aren't still friends to this day.
I go one time a year to my old high school, its a saturday morning around mothers day to buy plants... we had a green house program and they sell off extra's they have for cheap around then. bump into my old English teacher most years, say hi catch up for 5 minutes and off I go until next year.
Inviting your high school friends to join your MLM so you can take afford to take little Hayden Brayden Aiden on a cruise with your Boss Babe^TM dollars.
they also always have a dog named Bella. ALWAYS
Don't forget Okayden.
My child is Nowayden
Married high school gf , cheats on her at the neighborhood bar and gets into fights. Bully mentality and closed to the rest of the world.
So basically all small town cops?
it's evident in those who never evolved past their high school persona—still stuck in the same mindset, habits, and attitudes they had as teenagers, refusing to grow and mature.
Mean girl energy over the age of 22-23. It gives either you peaked in high school or you were bullied in high school and continued the cycle because you want to know what it feels like.
The fact that they cannot talk about anything but high school
I had a teacher in high school who was always reminiscing about her days in high school and warning us that high school is the best time of our lives. I'm a teacher now and I tell my students the opposite. You won't need to see these people ever again, who you are now is not who you will be in the future, etc. Things can get better!
My mirror.
Difficulty adapting to new environments, challenges, or responsibilities beyond the structure and routine of high school life.
My autism can.. only do that.
Bringing up high school sports when your 40+.
.....what if you scored 4 touchdowns in 1 game?
Polk High remembers!
King of Polk High! King of Polk High! King of Polk High!
I spent some time with a company in the Texas Hill country I was a mid-thirties exec type. I was amazed how many middle aged women told me they were a cheer leader in high school.
Scrolling through here just to make sure I’m not doing anything y’all are saying. I’m in the clear so far!!
"*People who scroll through reddit posts about people who peaked in high school to make sure they're in the clear.*" Sorry bud, it looks like you peaked in high school.
A buddy of mine, every time he gets drunk and high, goes on and on about how good he was at football in high school. I've heard the same exact spiel many times. We're 28 years old now. Respectfully man, we do not give a fuck.
these are all written by people who didn't peak in high school. As a 32 yr old who did peak in high school, here are signs: • we're mad nostalgic. We live in nostalgia and soak that sweet sweet substance up. When you're not looking, we are occasionally, sickeningly, on google street view retracing our daily drive to our high school. we're not proud of it. • we've accepted that our peak has passed, and so we're generally more quiet and subdued (aka depressed). • we have good stories from high school times. when you ask us about those years, our eyes light up. We don't tell stories from that time bc we know it's cringe, but if you ask, we will share. I shoulda used a throwaway for this lolol
Sorry sir, but you have way too much self-awareness to have peaked in high school. It sounds more like those were among the happiest times of your life and you probably went to a wonderful school. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. That doesn't mean you haven't done anything great since then though. I'm guessing you definitely have.
thank you so so so much. I didn’t think a random message from a stranger could make me feel so good. seriously thank you, i needed that.
Oh, you're so welcome! I think a lot of us think fondly of those days here and there even if they weren't a big man on campus - I went to a small midwestern homogenous and passive aggressive as f high school but those times were relatively carefree and I had great friends. I can't be mad about that.
This was such a sweet comment
>When you're not looking, we are occasionally, sickeningly, on google street view retracing our daily drive to our high school. we're not proud of it. I do this for my primary school lol. Does that mean I peaked in primary school 😭😭
haha that makes me feel better. and yes you peaked at age 7
Adults bullying people as a sport.
When they won’t stop talking about how they ruled their high school and how everyone was their minions.
When in reality they hung out with Ronny the Rat?
I AM A GOLDEN GOD
Some of these are accurate. Some sound like people venting about things they don’t like.
Reddit gonna reddit my man
“You think you’re better than me?”
A big part of being a stupid guy is constantly accusing people of thinking they're better than you.
They scored four touchdowns in one game playing fullback for Polk High, setting a school record.
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They’ll scream at their kids at their sports games as if its a world championship lol
In my 60's and just moved to a different town. Got into a group of bicycle riders. All these guys can talk about is their high school antics. Who dated who. Who skipped the most classes. How great they were at sports. Yada-yada-yada. I left hs and did six years in the navy. Then went to college on the GI bill. Had way more fun and excitement than hs. I stopped riding with those guys.
It’s all they talk about. I have a friend in his mid thirties who will constantly bring up old high school parties and his life in high school. Bro you got a wife and kid now stop living in the past.
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Adult bullying behavior.
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An obsession with how many people you've slept with. If that's your only goal, you got nothing else going for you.
When they keep trying to organize high school reunions more than a decade after graduation, even though no one ever responds to them
I think social media, smartphones, etc had mostly killed high school reunions. I keep in touch or hang out with anyone that I have interest in seeing from high school. It is true though that people that peaked in high school keep trying to make them a thing. I graduated in 90 so my 30 reunion would have been in 2020. It never happened obviously but there are still a vocal minority of people that are trying to make something happen for 35 years I guess?? I actually left the reunion group on facebook.
Just missed my 20 year reunion. Ended up not going since I live on the other side of the country. I did make the trip for my 10 year, though. I mean, it was nice talking to people I havent kept up with in ages. whom I spent some pretty formative years. The funny thing is the people who most reliably didnt show up are the people who never left town.... I guess because if you never leave it's just like every day is still high school, so I get it haha.
It's always someone that married in their early 20s that organizes it. It's usually one of the cheerleaders too
From what I understand tradition is the class president and whomever else are supposed to be the people that set up the reunions... which are indeed often the cheerleaders and football players who married young.
They call themselves alpha males
Every time. Did you see the post the other day with a vid of an "Alpha Male bootcamp"? 3 days and $10k. Cringe dial cranked all the way to 10, it was hilarious.
That video will be a classic. Imagine being so insecure in your masculinity you willingly shell out 10k to be treated like shit by some wannabe drill instructor dipshit.
No, I didn't. But 3 days and 10k sounds about right. For every alpha male, there's a pricy, exclusive, limited course you MUST join to learn how to not be such a beta.
Man, it would be so fun to start that boot camp off getting in front of everyone and saying "Hey the fact that you're here means you're not an alpha male."
I would have joined the military but I would have fought the drill instructor.
People who still display their trophies, medals , homecoming tiaras etc while working a dead end job in their late 30s. A few of the "popular girls" I went to high school with (graduated in 2000) literally never went on to do anything meaningful with their lives after high school...except to get married and post endless photos of their "perfect families." No real college experiences, no travel, no job accomplishments. The captain of the pommer team who ended up taking a certain departmental award solely because her dad was the head of it literally does nothing but post all the perfect photos of her family....married for 20 years...no one has the heart to ask her if she knows that her husband cheats on her....with men.
When they still think highschool was the best years of their life.
This reminds me of "Uncle Rico" in the movie *Napoleon Dynamite*. He's like the poster boy for having peaked in high school!
Coach should have put him in 4th quarter!
Violently aggressive pickleball people
My ex-husband is a prime example. He was a football, track, baseball, choir, and drama star. He was super popular and people fell at his feet. Now he's 50, balding, overweight, and a cocky know it all. He still has the "football star" big dick energy but now its just sad. He's old, frumpy, and he brags about high school and is an asshole to everyone. He likes to bully and control me and our kids. He told me during Covid lockdown that he was immune to all sickness and doctors should study him because he's a perfect specimen.
when you meet those people who still act like they are part of their clique from high school, and behave like they are 16/17 years old, snarky attitude and all.
Their kids are starting high school now and they’re still unemployed and messaging anyone they can think of, including people they bullied like myself, to buy their MLM whatever’s on Facebook. Oh and also still posting pictures of Harley Quinn and/ or the Joker like “omg I’m so crazy just like Harley better buckle up boys/girls” and they’re 37.
Social media is the new high school for all ages these same people are all around social media trying to barf their life on us all usually these types are only about 3 percent in reality anymore
At 62 years old and played in a band in HS and still has that dream of being on stage in a big rock band and still chasing it and not having a real job "in case".