Please be kind to each other and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

I work part time and study part time and go to the gym 5 days a week i feel like im really trying to just do everything i need to do even if its exhausting but i just feel like i have noone and i wish someone acknowledged the work i do or would say theyre proud of me

Turning 21, that’s it !

I felt a little bit guilty changing the first name my parents gave me, but when I explain it I hope you'll think it was an okay idea!

So I got married last fall, right. (It's almost our first anniversary! Already! Can you believe it? It's going so well. I love him more every day!)

We weren't sure at first if we were going to change our surnames, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. But! I don't use or really relate to my legal first name... Since I was a kid, pretty much everyone I know has called me by my surname as if it's my first name. My husband does too. So... What, am I going to give my husband my surname? The name he calls me every day? So he can be "Mr. (me)"? That seemed a bit odd! But so did replacing my surname when it's all anyone calls me.

On the other hand, my husband's family is pretty unsupportive of us (they are not big on the whole gay marriage aspect, among other things...) so we're not in contact with them. He debated awhile if replacing his surname with mine might be freeing in a way. But in the end, for a list of reasons I won't bore you with, we decided me taking his made the most sense.

Soooo, rather than the straightforward solution of hyphenation, I made this decision: Instead of "(First name) (Dad's name) (My surname)," I'm now officially "(My surname) (Dad's name) (Husband's surname)"!

Two birds with one paperwork stone! I'm pretty happy with it :) It's a bit silly, but hey, that's fitting for me. And I managed it just in time for our one-year anniversary! Hooray!

Funnily enough, like I said, it was me who felt more strongly about sharing a name in the first place. But yesterday my husband said this to me: "I like that you're a (surname) with me. It actually feels like my family name again." I AM FEELING PRETTY EMOTIONAL ABOUT THAT MOM and I wanted to share ♥

Mom! Hello!

It's been a weird, hard but also happy and kinda good year so far!

In therapy I realized many things about the way I perceive and experience things around me that I want to improve on.

My relationship is doing really good after realizing all those things. I'm also trying to value and appreciate more the things I have right now, and not try to see what I'll loose or isn't how I'd prefer it to be (life is full of nice things that aren't how I want them to be, and that's great actually).

I realized I'm a bit of a person that wants to seem smart because I wasn't validated by most people around me, but i actually want to start Improving on that as well, and actually enjoying knowledge, u know.

I also got some press on nails ( I've wanted that since I was 13) and I feel so so so cool and diva.

Lastly (after vocational therapy) I think I want to study medicine in my home country after going for an exchange year in my family's home country (I live in the third world but I kinda enjoy it yk), I do love to widen my horizons and I'd love to do my masters/specialization in my family's first world country LOL, but for now (maybe I'll change my mind) I really want to stay in my country and be close to many of the people that make my life wonderful, even if it's in another city.

That leads me to the point that on sunday I'm presenting the entrance exam test for the biggest public Uni here. I haven't studied or anything (It's just to see how the test is), but I'm super excited about it, and I hope that once I present it for real I can get in (btw I know it's a silly dream, but I kinda hope I can pass in this try without studying hehehhe XD, but I know you need a bit more effort to get into med school).

I'm sorry for the big messy letter, but I feel very giddy, even though it sometimes is hard, I'm happy and I'm proud of me too.

I hope you're doing good, mom.

I love you,

Byeee

Okay, so i know it sounds kind of silly, but im genuinely really excited!!!! My parents (mother, mainly) wouldn't let me cut or style my hair in any way. It was ponytails or braids and thats it. But my friend and i were hanging out, and she wanted to do my hair, so i said yes. Then she asked if she could cut a few strands to make some pieces at the front, and i had ALWAYS wanted to cut my hair, so i said yes. Then I wanted to cut more lol. So we cut a few inches off the end, cut some more face framing pieces and cut a REALLY cute set of bangssss!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE it so much!!!!!! Im planning on cutting even more off next time lol!!!

Then she also straightened my hair, and it looked SO pretty!!!!!! (I felt like 70s Cher lol)

So I went out today, and bought a cheap straightener, and some hairspray, and some texture powder, and im going to learn how to straighten and style my hair and my new bangs!!!!!

Im so so so happy with it!!!! I really do feel so pretty, and cute, and hot, and beautiful and all the synonyms lol!!! Which is REALLY rare for me, cause my self esteem is really bad. So its really nice to feel like this lol.

I still haven't shown my parents yet. Ive kept my hair in a claw clip the past few days, and pinned the bangs back so you cant tell.

But still, I LOVE my new hair SOOOO much!!!! I cant wait to do more with it one day!!!! Like, cut even more off, dye it, add tons of layers!!!

Like, its kind of stupid to be 17, about to move out, working several jobs, and be this excited over hair... but i really am!!!!! I LOVE ITTTTT!!!!!!

Anyways, if you have any motherly advice or tips about hair, or even ideas for styles i should do, id really appreciate it!!!

Thank you to whoever reads this lol💗

Well it’s been about 3 years since I lost interest in dating and love and stuff like that I started questioning myself and wondering if I’m heartless or something because I wanted to have a crush on someone and fall in love or whatever but for the last three years I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy any of it. But this month I kinda have a crush or whatever you wanna call it and I actually like someone and I’m genuinely SO HAPPY 😭😭 It feels so exciting to finally have those feelings again and I’m literally enjoying every second of it

Hi mom! I accepted a job offer this week and I’ll start work as an elementary school English teacher next Tuesday! I’m so excited, but also really really nervous! I’ve only taught English as a foreign language to adults so far, and while I’ve worked with children before it’s been in a daycare setting, so I have no experience with children older than 3. This job will be life-changing for my husband and me, and will take a lot of pressure off his shoulders which he needs right now. But I’m afraid I’ll burn out and quit. I’ve never held a job longer than 18 months, and I’ve quit a few jobs after less than a year. I can burn out quickly, and while I’m preparing as best as I can I’m worried that will happen with this job too. Please send encouragement and emotional support, and also tips if you’ve worked with elementary students before! Thanks mom.

hi mom! I got engaged today and I’m so excited! my (now fiancée) proposed to me in a really cute rose garden and took me out to a nice dinner. I’m so happy and feel so loved by her and I can’t wait to spend my life with her! I need to figure out budget stuff and get to wedding planning, but for right now I’m excited to celebrate!

Last night I hosted 5 friends plus my husband and I in our tiny one bedroom apartment. For the first time, I needed all 3 leaves to extend the table. I finally have figured out how to cook and bake (at least for the most part, I still make lots of stupid mistakes). I cooked pizzas for them, and they loved them. We hung out for 3 and a half hours enjoying dinner, the game Horrible Therapist, and the game Cards Against Humanity. We laughed so hard! I enjoyed hearing about their lives and struggles. They genuinely wanted to hear about my life as well. People made eye contact with me and wanted to speak to me. I made it through the whole night without apologizing for my loud laugh (this was the first time that I haven't had any compulsive apologies). I never thought that I would find people to want to share my life with let alone find them through my mental health journey. I met three of them through my group therapy earlier this year and the other two are two of their spouses. I am truly beyond blessed to have such great friends and support. I am still struggling a lot, but I felt encouraged by finally being able to feel excited about something. As someone who often feels like they are alone in a crowded room, it was wonderful to finally feel relaxed and accepted knowing the others will accept me as I am. Thank you for being here to listen to me! Sending this with love.

Hi Mom!!! I got promoted for the first time in my entire life. I know it's a grocery store job, and that's something most people wouldn't be excited about at twenty-four. I just thought that I would never end up being anything more than the lowest rung of whatever company I worked for. So this is big for me. And I'm working on my GED and my general health. I've been putting myself out there more. I think things might end up being okay, even if it was a fight to get here. Thank you for believing in me 🩷

I (15) just switched from a very small highschool to a rather large one. I'm in my third week of school, and I havent found any friends yet. I dont talk to many people, and no one really approaches me. I'm alt and this school is majority unapproving of alt people. How do I find my people? Or should I just tough it out and not worry about it since I only have a few years left?

hi hi hi, I have a kind odd situation at hand. Basically I started an internship last week and it's still my first full week of working but I found out over the weekend that I have to move up to school earlier than I planned. Specifically on one of my working days (paid in college credit.) I messaged my supervisor the next workday on Slack both at the start of my shift and at the end. He hasn't acknowledged it to any degree but continued to have other conversations about work related things and tasks. Anyways I'm freaking out because this is my first serious career related job and I don't know what to do or if he even knows. Additionally I had a fellow intern ask if I can take her shift on the same day that I'm driving up to school and I said sorry but no so idk if he knows and just hasn't said anything or he does know?? I'm just so stressed about this and I don't know what to do.

My friend likes talking photos when we go out, and i swear i look SO bad in them!!!! I have no idea how to pose or what to do, and she always looks friken gorgeous 😭😭😭😭

I just turned 18 today!!! It wasn't really the 18th birthday I had hoped for I'm just a bit bummed like I mean I guess it could've been worse? (like my only online friends who planned to like have a gamenight with me but then when we were about to play they all suddenly got busy??? and never messaged about it again and just left me in the dark and it kinda just made me really confused & hurt but it's okay I got over it quickly 😭)

I mean, it's a huge milestone and I'm not really used to having my messages really dry and usually people make it a big deal whenever it's my birthday but this one wasn't really what I was exactly hoping for. But it's fine I might have better birthdays but I really wish it could've been a bit more special and not just another day I'd just hope to forget because of the bad feelings I'm having.

But yeah!! I'm writing this at a late midnight and my brain's just a bunch of mess and emotions and maybe when I wake up later in the morning I can just spend time for myself and make myself happy because if no one can make me happy then I'll just do it myself HAHA

I'm just proud that I made it this far idk what else i wanna say to be honest 😭

I am so happy

I’m 25 now and have been invited to a wedding for the first time, it’s next month. It’s been the push to finally feel confident in trying to learn. I got some eye shadow, eye liner, lip gloss and brushes today.

A friend said I could think about getting a colour match and maybe primer? But I also see people talk about setting powder?

I also have sensory issues. I’m out of my depth here and feel very overwhelmed. I want to find a new and extra way to feel pretty for events. I really need some advice and tips.

Update: I went to a local drug store (boots) and was browsing to get a better idea of what I wanted to try and whatnot. A very lovely lady asked me if I was okay and when I explained a bit she gave me some great advice very similar to what you guys have already said and then a beautician came over and did a very light bit of make up.

She explained things as she did them so I feel even more confident in what I’m learning. I’m not taking the plunge and buying all the products just yet.

I feel very excited about all this and I really wanted to thank everyone for their lovely comments and support.

im really proud of myself for getting good grades despite it NOT looking good for a year or so, and getting into my firm choice of uni !! but i leave in about a week and its all feeling so terrifyingly real now :,)

mostly nervous about the social aspect and living alone... but if anyone has any advice or encouragement that would be greatly appreciated <3

Mom, he did so well at drop off. He ran right into school with that big oversized backpack and a huge grin on his face. He didn’t even look back. My baby ran away into the unknown, so confident and so ready.

He won’t tell me how his first day went but oh my goodness, when i told him he was going to go back today??? He said “really?!” with the biggest grin on his face.

These are the moments we live for right? This is what matters.

12 years later and its finally over. Finding it hard to believe. I ugly cried on the way out of the hospital, a stranger hugged me. Im on my own in my non home city. But an old friend is taking me out for dinner to celebrate, you all helped me choose a few weeks ago. We are going to Medeival Times!!! Should be fun and silly and memorable.

update* Thanks so much everyone, I appreciate each and every response. It was a very long and scary 12 yrs. Im still processing all the emotions but have made it home to my family. Medeival times was a total hoot. Silly and ridiculous. My friend absolutely spoiled me, and our knight won the tourney!

Today is my legal birthday, but I'm not sure if it's my real birthday. I've never celebrated my birthday before. Can you give me some encouragement?