People love trash-talking. Sometimes, people say things that they don't mean just to join in on the "fun." It's an odd way to bond, but a popular pastime regardless. As much as we'd all like to believe that "sticks and stones may break our bones, but words may never hurt us," words do hurt. In fact, they can leave a lasting sting that can haunt us for the rest of our lives.
Ideally, when we hear people say bad things about us, we'd stand up for ourselves right then and there, but it doesn't always work like that. If only we could remember all the great things people say about us instead of the bad things. As these internet users can confirm, hearing nasty words happens all the time, but that doesn't mean they hurt any less.
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#1 When You Try Your Best And You Don't Succeed
#2 Unwelcome Critters
#3 The Internet Can Be Rather Cruel
When I was a preteen, I posted a picture of myself online with a minor celebrity. I later found that it was reposted on a message board. The majority of the comments talked about how ugly and pale I was. The only person who said anything nice wrote, "Don't say that, she posts here sometimes and she's really nice."
#4 Cohabitating Can Be Hard
#5 Some Girls Are Just Mean Girls
Two girls that I roomed with for a short while in college had been publicly posting on social media about how weird, annoying, and disrespectful I was. They found it ridiculous that I took an 8:30 a.m. class because, according to them, "only weirdos do that." They also accused me of making a ton of noise every morning. It hurt because I tried really hard to not be disruptive.
I wouldn't let my alarm go off because I woke up naturally anyway. I changed clothes in the bathroom, tiptoed everywhere, and wouldn't even EAT or ZIP MY BACKPACK in the room because I wanted to be quiet. As far as I knew, neither of them ever woke up on any of those mornings—and they never said anything to me about it.
#6 Judgments Can Hurt Down To The Core
#7 Make Sure To Double Check Who You're Texting
Fourteen years ago, my friend sent a text that was intended for someone else to me by mistake. The text was all about how I was awkward to be around. It read: "I spoke to Janice today, I'd forgotten how weird she is." I always thought well of her and never once judged her for her personality. From that entire experience, I learned the importance of picking better friends.
#8 Families Don't Always Stick Together After All
When my mother passed away, I received a file from my father that she had intended to give to me. It was a psychological profile, along with some personality tests. This wasn't a surprise to me since I'm autistic and have been in therapy since I was a child. However, there was a section about my family's struggle living with me throughout the years.
My brothers and my dad, in particular, were the ones having problems coping. Learning that my existence pained them was difficult. My parents basically got divorced because of me. My brothers were embarrassed by me. Even now that I'm older, I still feel like they don't take me seriously. I guess that's something that just isn't going to change.
Yet, despite all of that, I'm doing better than expected. I was never supposed to be living on my own. There was talk about assisted living or even an institution, but somehow I managed to leave home as soon as I turned 18. I got married, had kids, and even though I struggle a lot, I get by. I have a good relationship with all my brothers, even though they still have trouble treating me as an adult.
#9 A Mother's Hurtful Words Can Haunt You Forever
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#10 If Only He'd Hit The Mute Button
#11 Nasty Cheerleader Pranks
When I was in seventh grade, I lived in a backwater podunk town in East Texas. I was weird and an ugly duckling. In order to fit in, I decided to become a cheerleader since all of them were popular and well-liked at my school. I made the team and considered all of them my friends, even though they were mean to literally everyone who they didn’t consider “cool.”
One day, during a practice, the bases of my stunt dropped me and I fell flat on my butt. I ended up bruising my tailbone really badly. At our first game, we were on the sidelines and during a break, I overheard our team captain laughing about how funny it was when she and the other base dropped me on purpose. Apparently, they had hoped I would be hurt enough to not be able to participate in the game. As a 13-year-old, it destroyed me, but in order to still seem like I was liked at school, I didn’t tell anyone about it.
#12 From BFF To Worst Friend Ever In A Matter Of Seconds
#13 Problems With Body Hair
I overheard one of my aunts telling my mother that my arms and legs looked disgusting because of my body hair. She urged my mother to do something about it. I was 11 and really self-conscious about being a hairy girl. Thankfully, my mom defended me and told my aunt that her opinions were completely irrelevant.
#14 The Insults Kids Come Up With Are Endless
In 8th grade, I had the highest GPA in my class, so I got to recite the pledge of allegiance at graduation. At our rehearsal, as I was walking up to the mic, I overheard a classmate whisper to his friend, "Out of the whole grade, they had to pick the kid with the most annoying voice." It's been a decade since my graduation and I still shrink into insecurity when I remember it.
#15 Pretend Friendships Are The Worst
I had just moved into my dorm for my second year of college. My roommate was my best friend since 9th grade. My stuff hadn't arrived yet, and it was my time to register, so I asked him if I could use his computer. He said sure. I sat down and he had an AIM conversation open. He was talking with another friend of ours. I didn't scroll up, but from what was visible on the screen, they were talking about how weird I was and how awful it must be to room with me.
We still lived together that year, but we didn't hang out at all. We just existed around each other. I never asked him to hang out as friends and he never asked me. The day we moved out was the last time we ever spoke. That was over ten years ago. We chatted every day for six years, then stopped talking to each other completely. I still don't know if I did something to flip his opinions of me, or if he ever liked me to begin with.
#16 The Power Of Dread Is Real
I have epilepsy and I overheard my parents talking to my neurologist about some of the side effects my seizures would cause if they persisted. The neurologist said I would basically become dependent for everything, as well as suffer from severe memory loss and a decline in IQ. It really hurt to hear that in a few years I would go from honors classes to special ed. Thankfully, my seizures have stopped and the only lasting side effect is some memory loss.
#17 The Lesser Twin
My dad saying he expected my twin sister to do great things. It wasn't so bad until he followed it up with, “I don’t know what we’ll do about Candice, though.” He still doesn’t know I heard that and I plan to keep it that way. One day, I'll come home for the holidays and rub in his face my successful life in New York, with my six-figure job and my million dollar penthouse apartment.
#18 Perhaps Not The Most Masterful Chef In Training
I went to school for a year for culinary arts. There was a program-wide competition and I was one of the only people in our section who wanted to compete. During an exam, I was waiting for some sugar to boil. I stood at the front of the room by a burner when the other chef in charge of the competition came in to talk to our chef.
They were whispering to each other for a few seconds, and then I clearly heard our chef say, "Well, it's not that she's bad—" After seeing that I was staring right at him, they stepped out of the room. Looking back at it now, they were probably just surprised that I wanted to compete since I was definitely not the most outgoing person in the universe. Still, it hurt to hear them talk down on my skills.
#29 It's Also Possible To Kill People With Unkindness
A mutual friend of ours was there and she had just broken it off with her boyfriend. I talked to her and tried to do whatever I could to let her know it would be okay. I’m no therapist, but I did my best, you know? I knew what a bad break up felt like, as I was also going through one, so I tried to help in any way that I could.
Anyway, after I left the table, I overheard her talking to my ex at the bar. She said she found it hilarious that I was trying to give her advice. “Well, nobody has ever loved him, so what does he know about any of this?” Then, they started laughing. I don’t think they know I heard, but I grabbed my coat immediately and took a long walk home. I don’t need people like that in my life.
#26 Watch Out For The Mother-In-Law
I accidentally saw messages popping up on my mother-in-law’s iPad as she was texting her friend from another room. The messages were about how I used to be attractive but not anymore since I got fat. My mother-in-law even said that her son was basically a saint for still being with me. It broke my heart. I guess I discovered her true colors that day.
#21 As If She Wasn't Insecure Already...
#22 Feeling Utterly Unwanted
#23 If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say, Don't Say Anything At All
#24 People Are Shallow
“He’s a great guy, I just wish he was hotter.” My girlfriend of two years said this to her friend, thinking I didn't hear her. We have been together for five years and all this time, I never realized she didn't find me that attractive. We're still good to each other, but ever since hearing her say that, my self-esteem has taken a huge hit.
#25 When Fat Shaming Goes Too Far
#26 They Sure Trash-Talked The Wrong Guy On The Ski Hill
I was on a ski vacation with a group of about a dozen people who I skied with for years. We basically get together to distribute the cost of on-mountain lodging. Anyway, I was on the chair lift ahead of two other people in the group and overheard them talking about how I was bad for the dynamic because I go out first thing in the morning rather than wait for everyone to be ready.
I told them after they got off the lift, "If you're going to literally talk about someone behind their back, make sure it's not loud enough to be overheard by them. I spend hundreds of dollars and travel hundreds of miles to have fun skiing, not spend more time stopped on a mountain than sliding down it." They turned beet red and apologized, but that was the last time I went on a trip with that group.
#27 They Tagged Him As The Worst Kind Of Crazy
"He'll probably be voted 'Most Likely to End Up in an Institution.'" That one was... rough, to say the least. I've always been kind of animated in nature, and a lot of people find me funny. I guess I didn't realize that some people could mistake my personality for crazy. In the following years, I toned down a bit and tried not to be so out there.
#28 Don't Insult Her Cookies
#29 She's Got The Brains, But They Don't Think She Has The Looks
His mom tried to comfort him by saying, "When your grandpa met her for the first time, he asked me about why on Earth you would date someone that ugly. You deserve much better than that. I said to your grandpa, I don't know, as long as he's happy. Don't worry, you're a good kid." It still hurts and I think about it often.
#30 Never Assume People Don't Understand Your Language
When I migrated to Europe, I was trying to set up things with the town hall for my residency. The person helping us spoke rather poor English. I was very stressed out over the entire process, so I guess she thought I was being difficult. The town hall worker went around the corner and started complaining in Dutch about me, thinking I couldn't understand her.
She was saying all this anti-immigrant junk. She clearly didn’t expect me to understand Dutch already, but I heard most of it. It was some of the worst things I’d ever heard, including things like how “I should deport myself,” or “give myself up to the immigration police" because I apparently didn’t belong there. What a welcome.
#31 The Negative Feels When Your Parents Don't Believe In You
#32 The Mistress Comes First
#33 It Must Be Stressful To Be So Cruel
I heard my high school best friend tell another student which fake name to use when talking about me. I was in the room and heard it all. Suddenly, all those conversations about “Jabrell” make so much more sense... I guess it worked in my favor because knowing their code name for me meant I could always know the truth about what they thought about me without needing a truth serum.
#34 That's One Way To Get Out Of The Closet
Back when I was closeted, I overread on a friend’s phone a group text of girls laughing about how I was “so 100% gay" and needed to stop lying to myself. It was both hurtful and eye-opening, considering I wasn’t even really out to myself yet. Fast forward to now and I am extremely comfortable with who I am. I guess that situation helped me develop some tough skin.
#35 Some People Just Like To Live On The Surface
In high school, I started opening up more about my mental health. Not that I'd bring it up constantly, but if someone asked me why I had such cracked skin on my hands I’d just tell them, straight up, “I have OCD and it causes me to wash my hands too much.” If someone asked why I was being so quiet, I’d tell them, “I’m just feeling a bit anxious today.”
A “friend” of mine told our other mutual friend that she didn’t like being around me anymore because I “talked about my mental illness too much.” Simply because I was open about it and wasn’t ashamed or afraid to talk about it. These days, I don’t talk about it so much; mostly because of what she said. I don’t like to burden anyone with it.
#36 The Ring That Wasn't Big Enough
My ex-wife told her sister how her engagement ring was so little she couldn’t show it off. She kept going on and on about how it was pathetic that I couldn't afford anything bigger. She also said it was an absolute challenge for her to pretend, for months on end, how happy she was with the ring, even though she really wished she could just chuck it away.
#37 You Can't Trust Just Anyone With Your Nudes
I opened my laptop that my boyfriend had used earlier to check my email. His account was still signed in and a message thread to his ex was open. It contained nude photos of me that he had shared with her without my consent, along with many hurtful and inappropriate words. It was the most hurtful thing anyone had ever done to me.
#38 A Good Friend With An Unkind Boyfriend
#39 Drink Up
#40 A Mother Is A Mother, Blood Or Not
#41 That Dark Eastern Look Isn't For Everyone
#42 Who Ever Heard Of A Bad Smile?
I heard my friend telling someone during school days that I have a bad smile. To this day, I can't smile without thinking of that line. At the time, I came home crying to my parents begging them to get me braces. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford it financially at the time, so I spent that whole period of my life self-conscious about my teeth.
#43 Not The Thinnest Girl Around
#44 Divorce Can Get Uglier Than We Thought
My parents were arguing and declared they were going to get divorced. They then started yelling about who got to keep the kids. They argued over my sister and both of them said they didn't want me. I was nine years old at the time. I'm still messed up about that 19 years later. I just recently cut ties with them for good.
#45 Asparagus Hair
I walked up to the bar to order a drink and stood behind an empty chair. The woman sitting next to the empty chair placed her purse down to let me know the seat was taken... so I kindly told her, “Oh! I’m not trying to take that seat. I’m just ordering a drink and going to sit with my friends over there!” She nodded her head and I continued to wait for the bartender. The woman’s boyfriend (I’m assuming) came back to sit down and she “whispered” to him, “That girl with asparagus hair tried to take your seat.” (My hair is short and very curly). To this day, I have NO clue what asparagus hair means but I’m still offended.
