/b/ - Random

>Where were you 10 years ago?
a child
>5 years ago?
In high school, in some fun school orgs
>2.5?
Starting college
>Did your life go as you expected it to?
No, failed all of my classes & lost my full-ride scholarship first year of college because I didn't attend classes.
>How has culture changed and your perception of the world in these intervals?
Yes, made me realize I am a small fish in a big pond, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Everyone around me is far more impressive and has accomplished far more by my age.
>Would you do anything differently?
Attend class.
>Finally, leave a message for yourself or for minors of the future.
Apply for scholarships and everyone (most) people have something to offer.

>Where were you 10 years ago?
Freshman in high school. Probably miserable and obsessed with anime.
>5 years ago?
Studying for my undergraduate degree. Living in an apartment with my friends. Having lots of fun.
>2.5?
Just moved to the city that I’m currently living in and about to start a Masters program. I remember feeling nervous and stressed, especially because I didn’t know anyone where I was moving to and my classes were all online.
>Did your life go as you expected it to?
I guess. I have a job, my own place, and am still interested in a lot of the same stuff I’ve always been into. I also still lack friends, have little social life, and no history of dating or sex, which I thought would change eventually.
>How has culture changed and your perception of the world in these intervals?
I think people have become increasingly online. From high school to now, my perception of the world has obviously changed. I realize how much technology has fucked with our mental health and am more of a doomer when it comes to where society is heading. I also realize that most people aren’t as horrible as I thought they were. I realized male validation was worthless and doesn’t mean anything. I’ve also accepted the idea that I’ll probably be single for my entire life.
>Would you do anything differently?
I wish I would have lived in the moment more instead of daydreaming all the time, especially in high school. I wish I could have leaned more heavily into my interests at an earlier age instead of waiting until college, but it’s better late than never.
>Message for the future
Future me, if you’re still around: keeping doing what you’re doing. You’re doing a good job even if it doesn’t always feel like it. I know you’re doing your best.
Miners of the future: Sorry that you’re terminally online like me. You’re probably doing your best too.

I remember when everyone that wasn't on tumblr made fun of the concept "nonbinary"

>Where were you 10 years ago?
Middle school. Terminally online & considered strange by most. Didn't give a fuck though because I lived in my own world entirely.
>5 years ago?
High school. Partied all the time, formed a very solid group of friends that's still going strong, had enough stupid fun to last me a lifetime. Led a bit of a secret life but that's a very long story.
>2.5?
College. Months before a turning point that would rearrange my life completely, for good and for worse. That's, as you guessed it, another long story.
>Did your life go as you expected it to?
Yes and no. I'm less accomplished than I thought I would be, but I'm working on rectifying that. I'm way more independent and competent than I had assumed I'd be before I had to go and live on my own. Almost no one can truly upset me, no part of ordinary life scares me or intimidates me. I had to go through a lot before I arrived at that point.
>How has culture changed and your perception of the world in these intervals?
The world feels completely different post- and pre-pandemic. 2013 might as well have happened in a parallel universe.
>Would you do anything differently?
I'd keep records of everything.
>Finally, leave a message for yourself or for miners of the future.
One day you will miss this moment.

>>221020
This is actually what I had in mind when I made this thread, sort of. I thought
"Holy shit less than a decade ago nonbinary, agender, etc. were all heavily made fun of, its amazing that now it is widely accepted and they ask your pronouns on forms with'other' as an option" and then I just started thinking about everything in general that has changed, and thought this was a nice thread idea.

>>221024
Yeah, this crosses my mind pretty regularly. It's fucking insane. And it seems like the left has collective amnesia about it ever happening.

The biggest change outside of that for me is how much technology has advanced. My laptop is faster than ever, my computer hastn't needed replacement in years because modern tech is just… good enough for most things we want to do. I'm digging all the advancements in AI and hoping to get into stable diffusion soon. My phone has the performance of a computer and can run really cool programs. And I get to benefit from all of this without having to have grown up in the age of social media. It's so great.

>>221020
This, same thing with the whole listing your pronouns shtick, I can still remember a time when people would joke about this very thing becoming a reality.
I don't know why Wall Street is so interested in shoving tranny shit down our throats, cause there's no way the schizo ramblings of a bunch of eunuchs could've caught on with normal people naturally.

>>221040
It's because they exaggerate issues specifically picked to get the sheeple fighting among themselves rather than against them.

I work at a clothing store in a certain coastal place in a very 'progressive' country, and there's a loads of incredibly rich people here. Bankers, Russian oligarchs, huge entrepreneurs, etc. Everyone has a yacht, a futuristic-looking car, it's insane. And there is practically zero tranny shit there, bar the rare specific fetishistic venue.

But in the mid and poorer areas? The rest of this country? There's loads of it. And it's just propaganda to distract you and waste the time of people with the guts and personality to fight for what they perceive to be right. They want those heroines (and heroes) fighting for inane bullshit rather than the plutocrats that are screwing them over.

>Where were you 10 years ago?
Highschool, lonely in my first year without my best friend or my other friends around. I began learning how to be self-contained in social situations. Around this time I watched many cartoons which was my first step in deciding I wanted to storyboard when I grew up. As it stood, I liked to draw a lot and was moderately good in my classes.
>5 years ago?
I was almost finished saving up money for university (not for art, my dreams had long since been given up). Just 4 months ago I made the decision to stop cutting myself, to lose weight, to stop being angry, and to get better. This was difficult but I stayed true to it.
I had also stopped talking to a woman online who meant a lot to me. It's strange to realize it's been this long.
>2.5?
I had just finished spending summer with someone who I consider to be one of the most important people in my life. We are no longer friends, but my friendship with him taught me so much about being understanding of others and regulating my emotions. I like to think I impacted his life for the better as well.
I was also not doing the best academically because I hate what I chose to study, but I would make moves in the coming months that will hopefully secure a future for me (still yet to fully realize this).
>Did your life go as you expected it to?
Absolutely not, but I'm okay with that. I'm happy and healthy now.
Sometimes I feel bad for missing out on my dream of storyboarding for cartoons, but I still enjoy drawing comics and getting involved with the local art community so it's not all bad. I also hoped to find my soul mate by now, but that can wait.
>How has culture changed and your perception of the world in these intervals?
It's weird to see everyone use the internet so much now since it was weird to be very online when I was still a youth. There are still a few degrees of separation between the "terminally online" and norms, but the average person will have some knowledge about shit that would surprise a 15-year-old me.
Also never would have seen the explosion of KPOP coming. Nor the fact that the average zoomer is a low-level weeb.
>Would you do anything differently?
Typical "I wouldn't be me if I changed something!"
But I would have tried to become social earlier. I missed out on a lot by giving in to my fears for so many years.
>Finally, leave a message for yourself or for miners of the future
For myself: Hope you moved out and been able to act on your sexuality at last. I'm comfortable with myself after all these years, so I hope you kept that up and met a nice woman who you collect weird shit with in a cute little house. Has your relationship with mom survived? Is she well? I'll always love mom.
To others: I hope this site still exists years from now. It's meant a lot to me and others over the almost 5 years I've been using it. Stay safe and love yourselves.

>Where were you 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, I would still be in highschool. It was the year before I actually found my first 'real' friend, and so that year I was pretty depressed.
>5 years ago?
Five years ago, I would have still been in university. Honestly, university had its ups and downs but I liked it much better than highschool. I think I would also be getting used to having a phone (my parents never allowed me to have a phone, no hate, but when I started university I have to admit, it was weird because everyone my age new how to use a phone/twitter/etc… and I didn't. No regrets, honestly.)
>2.5?
I actually remember this precise time very well. It was awful and one of the worst times of my life. I had so much work and couldn't care for myself. I wanted to jump of a building TBH.
>Did your life go as you expected it to?
Not at all. I think I expected that I would have more friends/want more friends. As an adult, I'm completely fine with interacting with as little people as I do. It's soothing to not be surrounded by people
>How has culture changed and your perception of the world in these intervals?
Honestly I think it's hard because everyone will feel pressured to fit the 'average', almost everyone will want to have a normie life / do things at the pace society sets for them. In reality, going at your own pace is fine, too.
>Would you do anything differently?
Honestly, I wouldn't change too much. I wish I could go back in the past and tell teenager me to stand up for myself more, but I doubt it would have changed anything.
>Finally, leave a message for yourself or for minors of the future.
Don't worry about completing life milestones at other's pace. Others completed university faster than me and I was embarrassed, but them getting out faster didn't necessarily mean more success.

>>221040
>>221070
Don't forget all the MONEY they make off of it.
>>http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/Transgender-Astroturfing.pdf
If you make a tranny you are suddenly selling chemical products to them for LIFE. And the medical procedures (not just cock mutilation, but all the other things that make a mockery of the female form too). And cosmetics/clothing (of which they will be far more dependent on, and much more willing to be "stereotypical" in their choices).
This is why they focus so much on the MtF. The MtF is stupid enough to think plastic surgery and dress go spinny is all there is to being a woman.
An absolutely titanic industry being invented out of thin air.

>>221012

I've blocked out so many fine details of my life it's not even funny but I'll do my best I guess.

>Where were you 10 years ago?

14. I guess that means it's around or when I started high school so that's at least good because I stopped getting bullied in high school for whatever reason. I still can't explain to this day why because I've always been a perfect target and constantly was in middle school to the point it made my life a living hell.

In high school, I was invisible as shit but at least I wasn't getting tripped on on a daily basis, yelled mocking, horrible shit at while walking home, having someone constantly ask or comment on why I'm so quiet (Happened in high school too but nowhere near as badly), have people scratch their face at me when they walk past (So as to mock my ticks), etc. etc. I still had my one friend but managed to make even more just by virtue of association with him.

>5 years ago?

Pretty fucking bad in it's own right. I had just withdrawn from my first year of college because of how many classes I had repeatedly failed (Stopped attending any of them, got so bed-ridden I wasn't even showering and ate all my meals in bed. Came the closest to ending my own life that I ever have before.) I enrolled in a local community college to re-take some of the classes I failed and started working a fast food job on the side to help pay for my classes with it. The manager was a giant fucking asshole that constantly micromanaged me, started talking shit about me, and made me break down crying to the point I quit.

Fortunately, I passed my classes with all As and started moving onto better jobs soon after that. Finally came back to my 4-year university. I had a brief stint tutoring Chinese kids online. Had to get up at 5:00 AM for it (due to timezone difference), then get the bus that was like an hour an 30 mins commute to an from school just one way. The job was beer money, became complete packing peanuts when COVID started (Would only earn like 7-14$ a month from it, if I was lucky), and then made me get laid off without getting told anything but I was able to get a campus job the following semester which was much better. I switched my major to something I'm actually interested in, as up until then I had no idea what the fuck I was even in college for (Old advisor would ask me what for and I would just break down crying in her office).

>2.5

I'm still working on campus, at a much better job. It's a different campus job now, but it's also related to my major this time and I just did an internship last summer related to it so I now have actual experience in my field. I still have virtually no friends, or at best half-friends, but I am still miles better back from when I tried to rope myself in my room or would come back home every single day covered in ice cream from a job where everyone treated me like utter shit. I'd rather it be a lonely, but comfortable life rather than what I went through up until now.

>Finally, leave a message for yourself or for miners of the future.

Don't fuck up in college like I did. Skipping classes caused me to get put on academic probation, almost get kicked out, and then gave me a whole headache trying to get my financial aid back because of it. I had to enter a program for students on probation that required me to meet with a counselor, "success coach", "peer mentor", etc. and go over my progress so that I could unfuck myself academically. It helped but I think it could have all been avoided if I at least just attended class.

I've realized since then just how many colleges classes you can pass even if you do literally just the bare fucking minimum in them. Especially if it is gen eds, like the ones I failed and for which 70% of students don't care for. Maybe if you go to an Ivy it's different, but for my school these classes are literally just a repeat of ones you get in high school. Personally, I started putting my effort into all my classes - even those - so I even ended up getting on the President's List, then the Dean's List, and then the Honor Roll the first three semesters I came back. They are easy As and can boost your GPA so much.

>Where were you 10 years ago? 5 years ago? 2.5?
Ten years ago? I was in middle school. Rotating between waking up to go to school and get made fun of routinely. Going home to do my homework. Playing indie PC games on my mom's desktop computer. Drooling over creepypasta characters I thought were hot. Riding my bike outside to play at the park either with friends, or by myself. My friends also loved creepypasta, games, gossip, and all that dumb shit. I actually had a clique… Now that I think about it…that was the last time I had what I considered to be friends. Socially, I think I peaked ten years ago…
>Did your life go as you expected it to?
I thought I was gonna be a wealthy artist. But no. I'm just a college student, studying Neuroscience, and working part time to clean up trash from a store's tile floor. The closest I have to being considered friends are on the internet. I'm not wealthy, I grew out of having art as an intense passion. I'm not the person I wanted to be ten years ago. I listen to different music, I dont play computer games on a daily basis anymore, I wear clothes besides sweat jackets and pants, and I replaced creepypastas with scary documentaries of mysterious real cases. So much has changed. I used to love Jeff the Killer, but now? Going back to comics like Pastatown on DeviantArt is like returning to an aged out, desolate playground that you used to regularly spend time with.
>How has culture changed and your perception of the world in these intervals?
Of course, like with lots of people, lots of shit has happened to my life after the age of twelve. Now? I'm way more grumpy than I was before. More negative. But with that, more aware of how reality actually works. It's as if I were Spongebob, but now more of a Squidward.
>Would you do anything differently
If I was transported back to my twelve year old self with all the knowledge I have now? I would do everything differently. I would take idiotic things much less seriously. I would place more focus onto the right schooling now that I know what I want to be. I would even change what I eat. Avoiding certain people. So, so much would change from that point on.
>Finally, leave a message for yourself or for miners of the future.
Due to my dad's traveling job, I had to move across the country away from my own clique and life from that certain middle school and neighborhood. I never saw or heard of any of my friends, peers, or even bullies again because nobody had cellphones or felt like knowing how to write and mail letters. So for such a long time, I wondered and wondered how they ever turned out. If they were even still alive. If they ever still thought of me, even in a passing small remembrance. To personally celebrate the tenth anniversary of the year at which my social life had peaked, I found all my childhood friends and peers on Facebook. They have changed too. Some got fatter, some actually lost weight. Some "glowed" up their looks. Others aged like milk. Some went to college. Others just kept working at fast food. Some have started seemingly functional families. Others became single parents or had to settle with men who looked like child molesters. Others lost their children in tragic circumstances. Some do community work. Others got sent to jail. It is so surreal to look at these same, but different faces, and finally see what has happened and become of them all along. I don't have any emotion toward this new information, other than pure awe. Ten years ago, on this very day, one of my high school-aged bullies submitted his seemingly final post on Facebook, announcing that he was done with social media. As much as I dislike cliche, cheesy phrases…it's really as if time really flew. Just like that, 2013 was ripped away from me and molded into 2023. Ten years have, almost frighteningly, gone by so fast. I can remember scenes of my old life, but that was a decade ago..
What the fuck, man.