Patricia Grisafi
For each part of our lives, there are lessons we learn that are difficult. Not everyone learns the same lesson, and some honestly sound oversimplified and cliched. Life is hard, and a simple saying — even well-intentioned — isn’t always going to put things into perspective. But sometimes, folks need to take some advice from others, no matter how difficult.
On Reddit, women are sharing some of the “hard-to-swallow-pills” they’ve had in their lives, hoping that maybe they can make a difference in someone else’s experience.
1. Fulfill Your Potential
“That seeing someone’s potential means nothing unless they try to fulfill it on their own.” — ScorpioWaterSign
2. You Can’t Control Everything
“You can do everything right and still get f*cked. You can’t control that.” — definitive-airwave
3. Work On Your Health
“After about the age of 25 I realized I had to work to stay healthy – physically and otherwise. Did not see that coming and it felt really unfair at first, then I realized that if that’s my bar for unfair then I’ve had a pretty f*cking good life so far and I should count my blessings and go run.” — thewhitewallisblue
4. It Shouldn’t Be Confusing
“If they like you, you won’t be confused.” — Persiope
5. You Can Be Toxic
“That sometimes you can be the toxic one, even if you have the best intentions. Accountability is important.” — lioness-2208
6. Who Cares What You Look Like
“That it’s ok to be ugly/unattractive. It was so hard to learn because my whole life I was taught that if I wasn’t attractive, I was worthless. I spent YEARS punishing myself mentally and physically in the hopes that it would make me prettier? That one day I’d wake up good looking and finally have worth? Now I’m 28 and after many years, I have accepted the unattractiveness. I am happier than I’ve ever been, I am free.” — kodieshmodie
7. Know Your Worth
“Learning how subjective it is. You think I’m hot? Cool. You think I’m ugly? All good. Who I am and my worth doesn’t change depending on who wants to fck me on any given day.” — soulmeetsmeatsack
8. You’re Mostly Alone
“Very few people care about you. Like at all. Even most of your acquaintances and relatives; often even so-called friends. Exceptions exist for a select small group of ‘special’ people.” — VeronicaMarsupial
9. Avoid Pushy Men
“If a man is pushy about small things he will probably be pushy in other ways too.” —SnooTigers6225
10. Your Parents Aren’t Perfect
“Your parents are people too with their own issues.” — underscorehey
11. He’s Probably Not Interested
“He’s just not into you.” — But-srsly
12. Single Life Is Fulfilling
“Love and partnership isn’t guaranteed to everyone. Growing up I didn’t have a big interest in having a boyfriend but always assumed I’d find the ‘The One’ because that’s what always happens, right? Wrong. I’ve been single my whole life but suddenly…it doesn’t bother me anymore. I learned that being single is not a death sentence, it’s still a life worth living and it’s no less fulfilling than a married one. Having a man is not the achievement we are taught it is, and our lives certainly don’t depend on it.” — soulmeetsmeatsack
13. Care For Mental Health
“Depression doesn’t go away.” — nosiriamadreamer
14. Jobs Aren’t Guaranteed
“You can do everything right in college and have honors, connections, and experience, and still not find a career when you graduate.” — everythinglatte
15. Misogyny Is Real
“That misogyny is so deeply ingrained in most cultures that most people don’t recognize it when they look it in the eyes. And that women, acting from internalized misogyny, can be as dangerous to you in non-sexual ways as men.” — pucemoon
16. People Don’t Always Change
“People don’t always change not matter how hard you try to make them.” — Kind-Cantaloupe7987
Featured Image: Pexels
