Here’s my guilty confession: as a teenager, I was absolutely besotted by vampires, all thanks to Vampire Diaries. However, in hindsight, I don’t think I will just stand still if one comes barging after me in real life because I don’t want to be its food.
The thing is, almost all of us have such romanticized ideas of something, but they can all come crashing down when we actually have to live it in real life. When Reddit user SoloSammySilva asked, “What's something people only romanticize because they've never actually done it?” here’s what people had to say!
More info: Reddit
#21
Piracy.
People assume that piracy was all treasure hunting, drinking and sword fights thanks almost-exclusively to Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island". In reality, no buried treasure has ever been found in the quantities we'd otherwise been led to believe, there were never maps where X marked the spot and most pirates weren't world class swordsmen. The majority of pirates during the golden age were ex-navy officers or personnel, freed sl**es or criminals on the run who initially accepted pardons from England as privateers to prey on Spanish treasure fleets in the Atlantic. And even then, the "treasure" wasn't so much gold or jewels as it was spices, cloth and other textiles. Finding actual gold or jewels was extremely rare. Additionally, most pirate ships were not massive galleons or man-o-wars; they were pretty commonly sloops of 20-30 men and maybe a handful of 10 pound guns. Truth be told, most pirates didn't even k**l their captives either; they just tied them up, ransacked the ship and fled. It was extremely rare for someone to actually k**l a prisoner in a pirate raid. But even rarer still was ship to ship combat, as repairs were extremely expensive and most crews wanted to avoid drawn-out conflicts as much as possible.
People assume that piracy was all treasure hunting, drinking and sword fights thanks almost-exclusively to Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island". In reality, no buried treasure has ever been found in the quantities we'd otherwise been led to believe, there were never maps where X marked the spot and most pirates weren't world class swordsmen. The majority of pirates during the golden age were ex-navy officers or personnel, freed sl**es or criminals on the run who initially accepted pardons from England as privateers to prey on Spanish treasure fleets in the Atlantic. And even then, the "treasure" wasn't so much gold or jewels as it was spices, cloth and other textiles. Finding actual gold or jewels was extremely rare. Additionally, most pirate ships were not massive galleons or man-o-wars; they were pretty commonly sloops of 20-30 men and maybe a handful of 10 pound guns. Truth be told, most pirates didn't even k**l their captives either; they just tied them up, ransacked the ship and fled. It was extremely rare for someone to actually k**l a prisoner in a pirate raid. But even rarer still was ship to ship combat, as repairs were extremely expensive and most crews wanted to avoid drawn-out conflicts as much as possible.
Report
15points
#22
Getting blackout drunk. To this day, it's one of the few things I get really uncomfortable thinking about.
Report
15points
#23
Having twins. They see them when their parents finally get them out of the house. They're all cute in matching outfits.
And people say, "I always wanted twins!"
I almost died having these twins. They never slept. They fight like feral cats.
My house is never ever clean.
This is not something people should be wanting.
But they are cute. I have no regrets.
And people say, "I always wanted twins!"
I almost died having these twins. They never slept. They fight like feral cats.
My house is never ever clean.
This is not something people should be wanting.
But they are cute. I have no regrets.
Report
13points
#25
Infidelity
You hear in movies, you console your friends but only when you actually get cheated you will know how bad it is .
It literally makes you question everything.. at what point did your relationship break? How come the person you loved and trusted did this ? Were you not good enough ? .
You hear in movies, you console your friends but only when you actually get cheated you will know how bad it is .
It literally makes you question everything.. at what point did your relationship break? How come the person you loved and trusted did this ? Were you not good enough ? .
Report
13points
#27
Forensic work. Especially crime scene investigation.
I was CSI for several years before I transferred to my current position (NIBIN analyst). CSI is rewarding if you can do it, but it's a rough job. Not even just emotionally, but physically. I spent 45 minutes in the third floor (attic) of a house with no air conditioning in August looking for a knife that was on the front porch in plain view of homicide detectives while they sat there talking to the parents of the deceased. I was furious.
Lab work isn't necessarily better. You definitely have days of just looking at evidence under a microscope all day. It can be very monotonous.
I was CSI for several years before I transferred to my current position (NIBIN analyst). CSI is rewarding if you can do it, but it's a rough job. Not even just emotionally, but physically. I spent 45 minutes in the third floor (attic) of a house with no air conditioning in August looking for a knife that was on the front porch in plain view of homicide detectives while they sat there talking to the parents of the deceased. I was furious.
Lab work isn't necessarily better. You definitely have days of just looking at evidence under a microscope all day. It can be very monotonous.
Report
12points
#28
Library work in public libraries. It’s like retail except everyone gets to tell you their taxes pay your wages. I love being a librarian, but d**n do you meet some awful people, and it sure isn’t “reading books all day”.
Report
11points
