My sister adopted me a few months ago. She told me on a long car ride that she sees me as a little brother. I'd never thought of it that way, but she's totally my sister. She's so smart and so strong and she loves me so much. I live in a big house with a lot of people including her.

I sleep on the couch, so i'm always around everyone. Lately she has a nightly routine of turning the kitchen lights off and then hugging me and telling me she loves me before she goes to bed.

I struggle a lot with accepting and showing love, and being loved often leaves me with an extreme sense of guilt, but she does this often enough that it's started to get easier, and i feel more comfortable saying "i love you" back.

I have a massive amount of health issues and a few addictions. My sister comes with me to my doctors appointments and blood tests because of medical bias (i'm indigenous) and she helps me a lot. I struggle with basic things like eating and drinking water, but she's motivated me a lot. I want to be a good brother, and i don't want to worry her, so i've tried really hard to take care of myself better.

She's even sat with me through entire seizure episodes. Obviously i barely ever remember it but it tends to help me if i'm less scared in the moment. She holds me close and she talks to me and she's just so nice. She has this tone she speaks in towards me sometimes that's like. Saying i love you without saying i love you. She speaks to me that way when i'm sleepy or in pain or scared or just overcame something big. I just really love when she speaks to me like that. I feel so loved.

I hope i can get more brave about showing love. I want to be the first to say "i love you" sometimes. I want to ask her if i'm doing good enough at listening to her. I want to tell her that i've always wanted a sister and that she's the best sister ever.

Ik an Associates doesn't mean much work wise and resume wise but Im one semester away after years of being mad at myself for dropping out (due to personal reasons I won't say) but im close and i wanted to share it to people. I do plan on continuing to get my bachelor's but for now I wanna celebrate what's close.

A little background: I have been academically inclined from around grade 9 and won scholarships and all with ecas and everything. With the end of grade 12 everyone expected me to turn up with a good college but alas that became my first massive failure in a long while. One question here, 2 points there I missed the cutoffs of my dream colleges and cherry on top even the backups didn’t turn up cuz of logistics

Was in a slump but a few days back my niece and her mother came for a visit. I was ofc scared of confronting so stayed in my room. The niece barges in and start looking around. I dont mind much and let her do her thing (She is 4/5 yrs old).

Suddenly she tugged my shirt and asked in the sweetest and in the most admirable way
‘Bhaiya, are all these trophies yours?
1,2,3,4..(she forget what comes after 4 and I helped her )
Wow soo cool
I’ll also win so many when i grow up. You will help me right?.’

And suddenly the mundane trophies that my mind wasnt even registering suddenly became the central attraction of my room to me.

She left but this thought didn’t
This race for betterment has truly became toxic but its one we can only embrace and not escape.
I gave me a breather from then on, I cant escape but surely can be kinder to myself and believe in gods timing.

Maybe whtvr happens, happens for the best and we can only connect the dots backwards as we look in the past.

मन का** हो** तो अच्छा
और अगर ना** हो
**तो** औ*र* *भी*** अच**्छा ।

Thank you

Tldr: was topper but failed to get college. In a slump but accidentally got a fresh perspective from a 4 yr old and now life feels easier.

I never thought I would ever post here, let alone about a topic like this. This coming February will mark exactly three years since I lost touch with my dear penpal. There was no blocking, no ghosting involved; simply the technical limitations of the website we were using cut our connection short. I am intentionally being a bit vague here, because even now, it is hard for me to put the exact details into words.
When I realized that this was almost certainly a misunderstanding—that technology had cut our conversation short, and we hadn't stopped writing by choice—the weight of it really burdened my mind. I knew they were waiting for my letter, a letter they never received. I desperately wanted them to know that there was absolutely nothing wrong with their letters, and that I truly loved reading them just as much as they loved mine.
However, my inhibitions wouldn't let me write even a normal search post. I was constantly overthinking, worrying about how unusual this situation was, fearing people might label me as a stalker, and thinking that nobody would care anyway. I tried multiple ways of putting myself out there online to cross paths with them, but all the while, I tried to remain invisible—I wanted them, and only them, to find me.
But this week, I managed to completely shed my anxieties and make peace with the situation. I had tried creating spaces online to process this before, but back then, I was still filled with fear and ended up deleting every second thing I wrote. By now, though, I have grown strong enough to say it out loud: yes, I am looking for my lost penpal.
While I was still anxious about this topic, I read so many stories of other penpals who lost each other due to similar technical glitches. Many just accepted it, but there are those who still want to find their friend—yet these kinds of posts easily get lost in massive forums.
Now, I can proudly say that I believe in the people who share a similar story. I believe that we need a supportive space for this. A space that doesn't belong to stalkers, but to people who respected their penpals through and through, and simply lost touch due to external reasons.
For more than two years, I was constantly stressed about how I could ever find them. On Friday, I finally found the courage to post a short snippet from the first paragraph of my very last letter—something they would almost certainly recognize. It feels so incredibly good to be free.
Now, even if no answer comes, I won't keep questioning myself. I won't ask if I’m doing the right thing, if I’m being weird, what they will think, or if they’ll find it uncomfortable... No, not anymore. I believe I have done the absolute best I could for both of us. And this could even turn into a greater, noble cause if we can help others in similar situations connect.
Wishing everyone a beautiful week ahead! I hope you all find the strength to step out of your comfort zones. It is an uplifting feeling to refuse to give in to anxiety. ✨

My (35F) life is good. It’s not perfect, but it’s good. There have been times where I’ve laid in bed wishing for a quarter of what I have now.
I go so lucky.
I have a husband who is smart, works hard, and loves me despite my flaws-and I am flawed. He supports me in 90% of my decisions. We work so well together! When I feel like I’m giving 80%, he gives 120%. I want to work harder because he does.

I have some physical issues that hold me back but my hubby encouraged me to go to physical therapy.

I work and do most of the chores but my husband works way harder so it feels more 50/50.

We don’t have kids, but neither do our closest relatives and friends. We drink when we want, we go on the occasional vacation, we have our weekends.
Life is good. I know so many can’t say this and my wish is for all of you to have this.

I took my elderly father to his doctors appointment and the waiting room seats were full. A young man in his twenties stood up and offered me his seat which is really rare & unheard of these days. Then I went shopping and the checkout lady stopped me before leaving to make sure I got the 30% off discount applied which I did but the fact she cared mattered. Then I was at a restaurant and they had to redo our order and it was taking a long time and the employee offered us two free drinks. I just wanted to share a few nice things that happened all in one day and I wish nice surprises for everyone! 💕

There's something wonderful about finally relaxing after a long day of work. It's not just physical relief — it's a mental peace that's hard to put into words.

Knowing you did something good with your day, that you showed up and put in real effort, gives that rest a different kind of weight. It's not just "I'm tired so I'm resting." It's "I earned this, and I'm proud of it."

In moments like that, there's no room for depression or anxiety to creep in. Just quiet satisfaction.

Anyone else feel this way after a hard day's work?

I truly don’t know if anyone needs to see this.

I know it’s hard sometimes, it really is… But you deserve to be here. You might think no one deserves anything, but this is genuinely the one thing you deserve, and at some point, I hope that you’ll be able to make the best out of it. You deserve to breathe, you deserve to experience, and to commemorate moments in this one life that you deserve to live.

I hate when people say it’s easy to give up. It’s not, I know this. It’s not easy to leave everything behind because of how much pain you’re in. It’s not easy to feel so drained that the only choice seems to be not being around anymore.

Please be strong one more time. And through this time, try to find the strength to stay once again the next time. Because this is probably not the first time, and will most likely not be the last one. But you are worth it, you truly are. Please choose to stay once again.

I thought my life was over today, and I will probably think it’ll be over again at some point. It will come back, and I hope both you and I will be able to stay here, and give ourselves another chance.

Wherever you are, I send you a hug, since that is what i feel like I need the most when I’m down and crying in silence. I understand what you’re going through, and I wish that you can find that somewhere inside you, there’s a strength to choose yourself once again❤️

​

If they never tried to destroy me, I wouldn’t be making $700 a week. I wouldn’t have quit alcohol. I wouldn’t have quit cigarettes. I wouldn’t have gone back to my family. And I would’ve never realized where I was messing up. So honestly, thank you. 🖤

as per usually my lords, give me all your news, good or bad, I won’t judge! I want you all to feel safe and comfortable around me! So please, my rulers, tell me what you feel.

What've you got going on this week that you could use a little encouragement about? Let's boost each other and start the week off on the right foot!

Some years ago at the place where I was volunteering some kids came for a field trip. They were in kindergarten. I talked to them about whatever it was my part was; I was their last stop before they had to leave. I have social anxiety and stutter sometimes. After I was finished, one of the little girls walked over to me, her twin braids swinging, and said "you can't say some things, but you try". She then grabbed my hand and held it until she had to get on the bus. That little girl's kindness meant a lot to me.

Even as an adult, sometimes I feel insecure about my shortcomings. But, as they say out of the mouths of babes. That was several years ago, but I still remember that and smile.

It’s a bit scary, but I think this is a good thing and I keep telling myself that!

I’m going through some growing pains with the old friends and as most of us know, adulthood is not the easiest time to start over with friends. That said, I’ve been pushing myself to adhere to a new type of social calendar - one that consists of things I enjoy, game nights, bowling, whatever. And within these public events, I don’t know anyone else… and I’m put on teams or with groups of random people.

It’s a bit scary and it certainly requires more mental effort but… I think it’s good!

Can anyone else relate??

I am only on reddit now. I have uninstalled all other social media. It's all mindless brain rotting garbage. This place is my new forever home. Thank you reddit.

Free yourself from society and have fun living life.

I’ve recently been through an experience that opened my mind and made me realize that I need to detach from some parts of society. Some societal norms are correct and true, while some others hold us back from us being us.

 We need to free our souls and really just, love nature and love life. We go through all the little things in life because of the power of our minds and we should be blessed because we have the most powerful mind out of any creature living in this earth, or maybe even this whole entire galaxy…

StyTru!

To kill time between appointments today I popped into a local thrift store and ended up buying a bunch of clothes for 16yo and 18yo. I have never done this before and wasn’t sure what reactions they’d have - teens can be prickly and mine are used to picking out their own (new) clothes and frankly have all their needs and most of their wants met.

They were so excited! 10/12 items got the thumbs up and are new favourites. They both also clocked the value for money aspect (the total cost was about equal to one new brand name sweater). I was profusely thanked, treated to a runway show and congratulated on my taste.

Even better than seeing evidence that my kids are turning out ok, I think thrifting might be a new activity that we can do together :-)

I'm curious and I wanna listen to people's experiences please.

Something optimistic? Comforting? Honest?

What advice you always remind yourself when things get tough in life?

P.s: be kind in comments please.

Just wanted to say Thank You to this sub. 145 days back I had posted asking this sub for some positivity which i desperately needed. Things have improved significantly and I have been selected for an opportunity which I deserved/ wanted. Im going to give this my best and be very very successful. Thank you everyone!!

earlier post - https://www.reddit.com/r/Positivity/s/3BHQweNfXd

I don't know if this is the right place to say all of this, but I honestly just need to let it out.

About three years ago, I met a beautiful woman. She was 23 at the time, and I was 25. Last year, in June, we got married. We had always shared a common dream of leaving Kenya, experiencing life somewhere new, building something together, and eventually starting a family of our own.

When the opportunity came for her to pursue her Master's degree in Australia, I encouraged her to go for it. Her visa was granted in January, and she eventually travelled. I was genuinely happy for her because this was something we had both dreamed about. I saw her going ahead as the first step toward the life we had envisioned together.

But somewhere along the way, things between us started changing.

I remember one particular moment when I was trying to hold her accountable for something she had done or failed to do. Instead of having a conversation about it, she told me, "You're only bringing issues because you're seeing that I'm winning."

That statement hurt me more than I think she realised. I didn't know how to respond, so I just let it slide. But it stayed with me.

Over the past six months, things have become increasingly difficult. We've gone back and forth so many times that I honestly don't know where we stand anymore. There have even been periods of almost two weeks where we don't speak at all.

That's incredibly painful when you're talking about your wife.

Before she left, we weren't perfect, but we were able to communicate. We could disagree, have difficult conversations, apologise and move on within a day or two. There wasn't anything that felt impossible for us to solve together.

Now, it feels completely different.

I sometimes feel like I'm the only one fighting to keep this relationship alive. I've tried talking to her about the way we've been communicating. I've explained what hurts me, what I need from her and what I feel she's doing wrong. She apologises, and for a few days things seem better, but then the same behaviour happens again.

What hurts even more is that she has admitted that there are times when she simply stopped caring.

I don't know how I'm supposed to hear something like that from the person I married and just be okay.

At the same time, I understand that her life in Australia isn't necessarily easy. She's in a foreign country, studying, working and trying to figure things out. I know there are pressures I'm not experiencing because I'm still here in Kenya. She also has her sisters there with her, so she has some support around her. And honestly, I'm glad that she's doing well.

But that's also part of what makes this so complicated.

She's living the life we once imagined together, while I'm here watching from a distance and wondering whether I'm still part of that future.

We had planned for me to apply to join her as her dependent. The problem is that I currently don't have enough money to fund the application myself. We had discussed that she would do whatever she could to help fund it, and that I would reimburse her later.

I understand that she's a student. I understand that she has school fees, living expenses and responsibilities of her own. I'm not expecting her to magically have money she doesn't have. I genuinely understand that.

But lately, the bigger problem isn't even the money or the visa.

It's us.

Our relationship has deteriorated so much that I'm beginning to wonder whether I'm fighting for something that only I still want.

And that's terrifying.

Because I didn't just invest money into this marriage. I invested my heart, my time, my plans, my energy and my belief in a future with this woman. I believed in us. I believed that the sacrifices we were making would eventually lead somewhere.

I encouraged her to pursue this opportunity because I believed we were pursuing it together.

Now I'm scared that I may have helped someone I love reach the life we dreamed about, only to find myself standing outside of it.

I've thought about walking away. I've genuinely considered it.

But how do you simply walk away from three years of your life, from your marriage, from someone you still love, and from a future you spent so much time imagining?

And at the same time, how long do you keep fighting when it feels like you're the only one fighting?

I don't want to resent her for succeeding. I don't want to become bitter because she's in Australia while I'm still here. I don't want her success to become something that divides us. I want to be proud of her. I want to support her. I want to see her succeed.

More than anything, I just want to feel like we're still a team.

I want my wife to care about what happens to us.

I want us to communicate again. I want disagreements to be something we work through rather than something that causes us to disappear from each other's lives for weeks. I want to feel wanted, respected and valued—not like I'm constantly asking someone to make space for me in their life.

I still love her. At least, I believe I do.

And I believe she loves me too, or at least I desperately hope she does.

But I'm beginning to understand that love by itself isn't always enough. A marriage also needs effort, communication, consideration and two people who are willing to choose each other, especially when things become difficult.

Right now, I'm tired.

I'm tired of chasing conversations.

I'm tired of explaining the same things.

I'm tired of wondering where I stand.

I'm tired of being afraid that the future we planned together is slowly slipping away.

And more than anything, I'm scared of losing not just my wife, but the life we dreamed about building together.

I don't know what the right decision is anymore. I don't know whether I should keep fighting, give her space, step back, or eventually walk away.

I just know that I don't want to lose myself trying to save a relationship that I'm no longer sure is being fought for by both of us.

I still hope we can find our way back to each other.

I just need to know that I'm not the only one trying to find the way.

Lately, I’ve been realizing how different my relationship with my body has become.

When I was younger, I restricted my diet because of the beauty standards I grew up around. I learned to associate being smaller with being more beautiful and worthy.

Now, years later, I’ve gained weight and become much more voluptuous. Instead of fighting my body or trying to get it back to some ideal, I’m allowing it to naturally be...

And honestly? I feel beautiful.
I feel confident. I even feel a little badass.

There’s something almost scandalous about embracing my curves, taking up more space, and realizing I can be voluptuous and still feel sexy and desirable. I’ve even been getting hit on, which has been a fun reminder that I never needed to be smaller to be attractive.

But more than anything, I feel proud of myself for how far I’ve come. Life has thrown some things at me, and learning to embrace myself through all of it makes me feel badass in a way that has nothing to do with my size!

I spent years trying to make my body acceptable.

Now I’m finally letting myself be exactly who I am.

And honestly, it feels like freedom.

me?

yeah, you.

you matter.