r/CasualConversation

I was wondering if everybody would tell me their honest confessions, which they haven't told anyone yet, or very few people know about it (no judgments).

Hopefully that makes sense.

One thing for me is cosplay. I don't ever see myself doing cosplay. But, it's incredible to see what outfits/costumes other individuals create. People are so talented.

I'm currently 17, so I was around 11 when COVID happened. I obviously don't have the perspective of someone who experienced much of adult life before COVID, but even with that, I still feel like something changed after it.
I don't know, but life before and after COVID feels strangely different. Sometimes, it feels like we all died during COVID and are just living in some weird version of hell now.
I'm curious if people who were actually adults / older before COVID feel this too, and if so, whether they think it's just part of growing up or if the lockdown period genuinely changed something.

i am so tired of seeing the same faces over and over again in the big screen. this is stupid but idk i crave new faces, new talents, new directors, new ideas. independent movies are rarely shown where i live. also, i'm paying like 5 streaming platforms, and the movies i want to watch (mostly old indie movies) are nowhere to be found or i have to pay "premium" in addition to the subscription. whyyyyyy

what are your fav lesser known movies?

What does that really mean in real life?

I see many people getting away with horrible acts instead of being punished for it. Isn't that unfair?!?!

The expression doesn't really live up to its own, does it?

Movies are a good example for me. Choosing one beforehand, getting a drink and a snack, dimming the lights, and putting my phone away makes the experience feel completely different from casually pressing play and half-watching.

Nothing about the movie or the room has really changed, but that little bit of preparation makes it feel like an event instead of background noise. Maybe my attention span is simply being bribed with snacks, but it works.

Do you have a small ritual that makes an ordinary hobby, meal, or part of your day feel more special?

Some people (like me) go by their legal name. Some people go by a diminutive of their legal name, like Katie instead of Katherine or Tom instead of Thomas. Some people go by their middle name, and some people go by a name completely unrelated to their given name(s).

So I'm curious how you decided what name to go by? My family always called me by my diminutive name until I got to kindergarten and decided I liked my full name better. Some of my family continued to call me by my diminutive name until my cousin married someone with the same name and we needed a way to distinguish us.

I was talking to a coworker recently about what I did over the weekend, and I could tell from the look on their face that my answer wasn't what they expected. I played video games. Watched some anime. Ate chicken nuggets for dinner because I felt like it. And the whole time I'm telling them this, I could see the gears turning like, isn't this person a grown adult?

It's weird how we collectively decided certain things expire once you turn a certain age. Like you hit 25 and suddenly you're supposed to only care about muted colors, serious conversations, and food that sounds fancy on a menu. Anything else gets labeled childish or immature.

I've seen people get genuinely judged for their hobbies. Gaming, anime, collecting stuff, watching cartoons, dressing in bright colors. The list goes on. And it's not even subtle sometimes. People will straight up tell you to grow up.

But why? Who made these rules? I don't understand why enjoying something harmless means you're refusing to mature. You can pay your bills, hold down a job, take care of your responsibilities, and also want to watch a show with colorful animation without it being a whole thing.

The funniest part is the people doing the judging probably have their own stuff they'd be embarrassed to admit. Everyone's got something.

I'm at the point where I just do what makes me happy and don't really hide it anymore. Life's too short to pretend you don't like things just because someone else thinks you've outgrown them.

What's something you enjoy that other people have given you a hard time about?

I don't have kids but do a lot of work with schools. I have seen the effects of too much screen time but never really personally felt them until the other day. A friend's house was getting fumigated so she asked if her 12 year old twins could spend the day at mine since I work from home. They are sweet kids and I said no problem. Boy was I wrong! There were problems.

The girl ended up making plans with friends so was only here for a few minutes. The boy was here ALL DAMN DAY and I barely got any work done. It's not that he was trying to be obnoxious or anything like that. It's just that he requires constant stimulation and cannot deal with even a minute of silence. I set him up with his playstation and a TV downstairs and tried to work in my office upstairs. Never realized how much sound carries through my house! He was either screaming at his game or talking to his friends through a headset FOR HOURS. He also looked like a deer in headlights when I told him he was welcome to make whatever he wanted for lunch if he didn't want the Chinese leftovers I had in the fridge. It's not like my pantry is full of exotic foods that require culinary school to master. I had plenty of staples at the ready. He told me that his mom or sister always make him lunch. I'm pretty sure my mom stopped making my lunch around 4th grade and I quickly learned to make a mean egg sandwich.

Were my expectations too high? I fully thought that I would just be some nebulous adult presence, not an actual babysitter for a 12 yo.

My favorite artist or singer is Selena Quintanilla. I am saying Selena because I think she is a timeless legend that will live on forever, even though she has been gone for 31 years now. Her legacy will never fade away. Selena had a very nice personality, kind spirit, and she loved and respected everyone around her, even the evil woman who took her life away. The only problem with Selena was that she was too forgiving and too trusting. This meant that people could easily take advantage of her, which the woman who killed her did. She took advantage of Selena's life, businesses, and everything else. Besides her tragic life and early ending, I think Selena would have been way bigger than Jennifer Lopez if she was alive today and still making music. Selena always talked about having a big family, a farm, and successful businesses when she was alive during the interviews with her! I think I will ALWAYS love Selena because she is just perfect in every way, in my opinion. You might not know who Selena was, but that's because she was a famous singer in the late 80s and early 90s creating Tejano music. That is why she remains and will remain the "Queen of Tejano Music". That will never change. Rest in peace, Selena Quintanilla.

today i was folding a stack of clean shirts and socks and realized i felt completely normal, like my head was finally quiet. no music, no podcast, just the soft sound of fabric and the little satisfaction of matching the corners. it’s weird how a boring task can make everything else slow down. i started thinking about how often i chase big moments for that calm feeling, when really it shows up in the middle of folding laundry or watering a plant. feels kind of nice to notice it when it happens.

We have more technology, freedom, entertainment, and ways to connect than any generation before us.

Yet somehow, so much of what we chase still comes down to something incredibly old-fashioned:

“Will this make me more attractive to someone?”

Money. Status. Fitness. Cars. Clothes. Careers. Social media.

Maybe beneath all our modern complexity, humans are still running some very ancient software.

I was expecting it to be kinda cheesy like most Amazon series are, but I really love the dialogue and how natural every conversation feels. The acting is pretty amazing too. (I’m on episode 7 no spoilers please)

I just like it. I (30mtf) recently met a girl (25mtf) who at first I found a bit too awkward for my regular tastes, but I saw a certain charm in her that captivated me (a certain je ne sais quoi plus she's really quite pretty) and now I think I'm actually pretty into her after seeing her a few times.

At first I was like "she's cute and seems sweet but idk if this is in serious consideration for me"; too awkward, too reserved, too dorky af for my "usual" tastes. I tend to gravitate towards someone a bit more extroverted and lively. But she has very quickly proven to be a very earnest, adventurous, passionate person with a lot of soul and wit. I detect no irony about anything she does and she's clearly self-aware about her own mega-dorkazoid tendencies. She's fully uncompromising and I'm just finding myself more and more attracted to her every time I see her. She's no longer reserved around me either; now she's just pure autistic rizz.

She's shown me more of herself as she's gotten more comfortable and I like what I see, and I'm glad I gave her a chance. I like the trajectory this has taken.

Feel free to share any stories you may have of cute shy people, or how you took a chance on someone you didn't think was your type but you ended up being into them anyway.

I know it sounds very basic, but it's what my "dream life" would be

Make enough money and income to just live in some chilled place like maybe Iceland or Norway in a cabin, watch the snow fall, have music in the background and have all the fiction books I wanted to read and go through it, bring colored pencils and pens with binders to draw and make my own projects.

Only have my phone for emergencies only, and for the music. That's all I would want to be honest. And to be more honest I don't know where the electricity and staple food comes into place. I would have to live near or in a town, but that's alright, I don't wanna be a complete isolationist

Now, the part where I want a family and kids is the tricky parts. I'm still going through this dream of mine

What do you think? I wonder whether it is similar to sleeping but much more calm and profound. My family thinks I am being "too dark," so I never ask them this.

I’ve always been a generous tipper at sit-down restaurants, but it feels like things have gotten completely out of hand lately. Today I went to a self-serve bakery, grabbed a muffin myself, walked to the register, and the iPad screen literally asked me for a 25% tip. For what? Swiveling the screen around? It makes me feel so incredibly guilty and awkward for hitting "no tip" even when no actual service was provided. Does anyone else feel like tipping fatigue is making normal daily interactions stressful, or am I just looking at this the wrong way? Let's be honest lol.

So why does it seem to me that in every post, i wonder

- is this real

- is this a bot

- someone farming

- someone pushing another platform

Make things difficult for a casual conversation

Thoughts?

I'm in my late 20s and recently noticed that my friend circle has gotten a lot smaller without me really deciding on it. I have people I'll happily grab a drink with if the timing works out, but not many people I'd call if something actually went wrong at 2am. In college I had a whole group I saw constantly, and now those same people are maybe twice-a-year friends.

The weird part is it doesn't feel like a crisis. I'm not sitting around feeling lonely most days. It's more of a quiet "huh, when did that happen?" kind of feeling. Like I blinked and the texture of my social life completely changed.

I think some of it is just life. People move, switch jobs, get into relationships, and nobody means to drift but it happens anyway. But I also wonder if I stopped putting in the effort at some point and just got used to the quieter version.

I'm curious when other people noticed this kind of shift, if ever. Did it bother you or did it feel like a natural thing that comes with getting older?

I hated reddit before, i used to get flagged but now the story is different, I just started with my interest and kept things real as they were. And now it feels so good to talk to all the people I can't define, I know it's just begging and it's going to go even further. Thanks reddit for existing.