Enough school proxy

Lately, both in person and on this sub, I have seen a worrying amount of misinformation spreading about the political party Aon Tu. This misinformation either states that they are a left/liberal party or that they are not right/conservative. This is however clearly wrong as any amount of introspection of their statements and social media makes clear; any clear dive into their policies and statements make it clear that they are instead very right wing, if not far right. They use the many familiar terms associated with similar parties, hold the same stances, and even retweet them and their content.
In order to illustrate this below I am presenting the various tweets made by Peadar Tóibín (the current leader of the party, their founder, and currently sole elected official) as well as their official twitter account. I have limited it solely to tweets due to time and space constraints, I have also had to limit the amount of tweets due to the same constraints There is more and I strongly encourage anyway to check their accounts for themselves. If there is interest I can do a deep dive into their other socials and statements, however I do not think there is a way to access the backlog of debates they have had on RTE and radio unfortunately. I believe this thread will stand on it's own however and other such threads won't be needed.
I will present the below tweets without comment, sorting them only into sections for ease of reading. Some may contain a note below in order to give more context as to what the tweet is referencing. The one section I did not include was the various tweets on the referendum, this is because due to recency I did not think it was needed.
Vaccine Denial:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 12/07/2021

Aontú opposes vaccine Passports for indoor Hospitality.
Its discrimination against many people mostly the young.
Its mandatory vaccination through the back door.
Again the Irish Gov is alone in the whole of Europe in the extreme path it's taking.

Tweeted by Toibin; 17/10/2021

99.7% of the adult population in Waterford is fully vaccinated, yet it has one of the highest Covid-19 incidence rates in the country.
The truth is the Gov don't know why this is happening.](https://x.com/Toibin1/status/1449783978802794502)
Now they will refuse entry to pubs to 0.3% unvaccinated to see does that work. #NPHET

Tweeted by Toibin; 10/01/2022

No, it's not April Fools day.
That people being paid by the state are actually discussing this is incredible.
FF/FG/Greens need to knock this madness on the head ASAP.

Note: Linked news article can be found here; Nphet to consider mandatory vaccination, department preparing paper on legal and ethical aspects
Anti Covid Lockdown:
Tweeted by Toibin; 15/11/2020

480 people got Cancer today.
24 people died of Cancer today
27 people died of Heart Disease and Stroke today.
This will hardly get a mention in the media today.
#COVID19

Tweeted by Toibin; 13/05/2021

8 deaths related to Covid were reported yesterday.
We share our deepest sympathies with these families.
The manner in which Covid deaths are being reported is concerning.
They were all from March or earlier.
Reporting them yesterday gives people a false impression of risk.

Tweeted by Toibin; 26/05/2021

The majority of people who died from Covid caught Covid in a Nursing Home or a Hospital.
So while the whole country was shut closed most people died in locations that were run by or regulated by the government.
This is an incredible situation.

Note: A video is attached.
Tweeted by Toibin; 05/06/2021

All the the people with Covid in Hospital in Ireland would fit on 1 Double Decker Bus.
Yet people were baton charged in Dublin last night and
Pubs and Restaurants wont open indoors for another month.
#ItsTimeForCommonSense #OpenHospitality #southwilliamst #Aontú

Tweeted by Toibin; 14/07/2021

The Government's Hospitality Discrimination Bill has passed all stages in the Dáil after only a few hours of debate.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 30/10/2021

Some citizens are allowed into pubs.
Some citizens are not.
It's stunning that this has happened in the 21st century.
It's stunning that so much of society has just accepted it.
Worst of all, it's not even working.

Tweeted by Toibin; 24/11/2021

I have recieved information that the Goverment,
has carried out NO scientific research into the effectiveness or otherwise of the Covid Pass.
At all.
#FollowTheScience #TheySaid
It will be now legal to discriminate against certain Irish citizens.
A sad day for Ireland.

Note: The bill which has a picture taken of it in the tweet can be read here.
Tweeted by Toibin; 17/12/2021

Are the Gov going to say that a healthy young person thats triple vaccinated along with their Covid Pass can't have a pint after 5pm.
What's the point of it all so?

Tweeted by Toibin; 21/01/2022

Very interesting to see Nphet and the Dept of Health go from researching Mandatory Vaccines to lifting restrictions in 10 days!

Tweeted by Toibin; 12/10/2022

I have submitted this question;
To ask the Minister for Health, has he or his department ever received any data, evidence or information from Pfizer that indicates that that the Pfizer Covid Vaccine was ever tested in terms of its ability to stop the transmission of Covid?

Anti LGBT:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 24/10/2022

Women live in period poverty just a few miles from the Dáil.
Instead of helping them,
your virtual signalling political establishment
put a tampon machine in the men's toilet in the Dáil.

Tweeted by Toibin; 16/02/2023

Plans by FF, FG & Greens to change the law to allow 16 year olds to legally change gender, against advice of medical experts,
shows how completely alienated the political bubble is from the people of Ireland.
Aontú will oppose this and seek a return to commonsense and science.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 05/03/2023

When Minister O Gorman refused redress to many who had been in Mother and Baby Homes because of the 'lack of money', he raided hundreds of thousands from the Magdalene Scheme and Travellers supports & diverted the funding towards the LGBTQ+ Community.

Note: There is an article linked in the tweet, about an accusation made by Toibin. Read it here
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 06/03/2023

Varadkar is wrong. 9 &10 year old children are too young to be taught about transgenderism. We have a duty of care to children.
No research has been has been carried out on the impact of such education.

Tweeted by Toibin; 07/03/2023

I've asked the Minister for Ed what research has the Dept of Education carried out
on the impact on primary school children of delivering material on Transgenderism to them in the classroom?
We've a duty of care to children.
Education should be based on evidence not ideology.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 08/03/2023

Tóibín asked Varadkar if his Gov had carried out any research as to the impact on 8 & 9 year old children of teaching about transgenderism in primary school.
Leo refused to answer the question.
Radical changes are being introduced against majority consent.

Note: There is an attached video.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/03/2023

Many people have been shocked by Paul Murphy's announcement.
But what's more shocking is that FF, FG, SF and the Greens,
are on exactly the same page as the hard left parties on teaching this ideology in every primary school in the country.

Tweeted by Toibin; 21/05/2023

This is incredible. All the actual crime that is happening on our streets and Gardaí are wasting time like this.
Even though there was no arrest here, this harassment creates a clear chilling effect on free speech and political discourse.

Note: There is an attached video in the tweet retweeted by Toibin, in it a Gardai is holding a polite conversation with an American holding a sign against "Gender Ideology." In their Twitter bio they describe themselves; "Father of two girls. Traveling the world to expose gender ideology and why children cannot consent to medical transition."
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 07/07/2023

Growing concern among parents that the new curriculum for 12 & 13 years in school is not age appropriate & is not science based.
Gender identity ideology is now mandatory for schools & thousands of parents will have no option but to withdraw their child from class.

Note: This article is linked on the topic of a statement made by Toibin.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 23/07/2023

This is why so many are angry with the Minister for Culture Wars, Helen McEntee.
Homicides are up, murder attempts are up, rape & sexual assaults are up, theft is up. Yet....
Gardaí management are focused on allowing male born Gardaí use women’s toilets.

Note: There is an attached article; here
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 28/09/2023

The Green Party are becoming increasingly authoritarian in nature.
If you dissent from government sanctioned views, you will be investigated.
This is the opposite of a liberal democracy.

Note: There is a linked article; it pertains to an investigation by the IABA into the usage of their premises by a "Christian Group" advocating for the removal of all LGBT+ content from the SPHE curriculum.
Tweeted by Toibin; 14/03/2024

It is reckless beyond belief to give dangerous chemicals and irreversible surgery to children with gender dysphoria.
This must be made illegal in Ireland immediately.

Note: Includes a retweet of this news article.
Anti Hatespeech bill:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/06/2023

Helen McEntee has become the Minister for Culture Wars.
Incredibly Varadkar accused PBP of being a threat to Free Speech.
FG, FF & the Greens are the biggest threat to free speech.

Note: There is a link article here.
Tweeted by Toibin; 26/07/2023

US gives Dublin a security warning for US citizens travelling to Ireland.
Meanwhile Minister McEntee is too busy with the Hate Speech Bill and Safe Zone Bill to worry about real people suffering actual crime.

Tweeted by Toibin; 28/03/2024

Helen McEntee is distracted by the Culture Wars.
People just want her to do her job, & make the streets safer.
Instead, she spent the last two years on a Hate Crime Bill no one wants. #BinTheBill

Note: There is an attached video.
Other:
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 15/02/2023

In the Dáil yesterday the hard left tried to close down a discussion on migration by calling people names.
This issue is too important. People have a right to respectfully ask questions and challange government policy.

Note: There is an attached video; it does not depict such name calling but rather Toibin accusing the government of name calling.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 24/07/2023

Another day and another culture war imported by the government from America.

Note: A retweet from Gript media with an attached video.
Tweeted by Toibin; 12/03/2024

There is a battle over the narrative of the referendum defeat happening at the moment.
Some within the political & media bubble want to erase the fact that so many people have had enough of the culture wars and want the country to get back to commonsense and bread and butter.

Tweeted by Aon Tu; 19/03/2024

At a Dept of Education 'In Service' day,
their staff told secondary school teachers not to use the word 'Mother' in class as they said it was not inclusive.
They are implementing Gov policy.
Aontú disagrees wholeheartedly with this policy.
Happy Mothers Day.

Tweeted by Toibin; 10/04/2024

Says the man who seeks to delete more Irish sovereignty with the EU migration pact.

Note: A retweet from Simon Harris talking about the need to defend Ukraine's sovereignty.
Tweeted by Aon Tu; 11/04/2024

The decision by FG, FF and Green MEPs to cede the power to control immigration into Ireland to Brussels was a serious mistake. Aontú oppose this pact and will fight to retain and regain sovereignty in Europe #aontú

Around exactly a year ago, when I was fifteen, I attempted suicide.
I tried to overdose on my meds, but I didn't end up taking enough to overdose.
I'm doing a bit better now, I think, though I still have crippling depression. It's hard to find motivation to do anything, even when it's things I like. I want to do things, but I just can't find myself caring enough.
Same thing with my school life. I'm graduating next school year and the thought kinda terrifies me because I've been so behind ever since quarantine because of my anxiety and depression (both diagnosed), and I don't know what college I'm planning on going to or if I'll ever succeed in life.
But, I'm trying, slowly but surely, to put my life together. I'm trying out new hobbies and attempting to go outside more (since my skin is too pale...even the lightest foundation is noticably dark against my skin), I'm also working on attending school more, getting my driver's licence, and trying to make more friends, since I have about four or five.
If you're still here, thanks for reading :)

I honestly feel guilty for even typing that I'm technically not "alone" since I have a few people that are friends and that care for me, but I still feel more lonely than ever before. It hurts me to see some of them care about me at all because it feels like wasted energy. I feel guilt for having any friends at all.
I'm a fucking mess, just barely holding together, pretending to be barely functioning most of the time. It feels like I'm selling people a lie. Just doing everything to keep them close while also pushing them away because I don't deserve any love.
And despite all that I still have this great sense of isolation and the laughable desire for romantic contact. I feel fucking ashamed for feeling love or being attracted to people. Everyone I know always assumed I was asexual or somthing because I got that deeprooted fear of showing that side of me. I feel disgusted imagining myself from the outside being in love or sexually attracted to someone to the point I'd feel bad for that hypothecial person. And throughout all those years not a single person has felt any romantic affection towards me anyway. I was only indirectly called ugly a few times, otherwise I avoided those kinds of conversations like the plague or made fun of myself publically to take away any ammunition. Basically being the class clown as a defense mechanism and because I hate myself.
In the end, I may be good enough as a companion but I think everyone realizes that I'm too fundamentally broken to risk loving me. That's a problem entirely on my part. I don't blame anyone for not loving me, it's honestly a smart choice. I just still hate it though I should appreciate it.
People keep telling me that I'm good with others, helpful, kind and even "social", but I feel like that only works because they can keep me at arm's length and don't touch me with a 10 foot pole.
Also of course, I don't look good, am a social recluse outside of mandatory things like school back then or Uni now, so noone really knows me beyond all that. Partially due to familial circumstances I can't control and tried to fix, but I'm too much of a failure for that. Stuck in this life cycle if I want to or not.
Having to "love yourself before you can love someone else" is a sentence I hear way too often and it breaks me because it feels like a sealed deal. There is no way out of this. Being unloved and unwanted makes me hate myself even more so how is this going to end? And I also know plenty of people that are in relationships despite hating themselves to this day.
It's just that I'm most likely fundamentally unnerving. Not even in a typical "creepy" way (god I hope so). It's not like I ever approached anyone romantically because it makes me feel like a creep and disgusted. I'm probably more like a plastic person, pretending to be real, or a chameleon changing depending on the people I'm with. All my sociability is fake and incredibly exhausting. I'm simply uncanny.
And yet I still have people that care way too much about me and I just feel bad for them. I feel awful that they put so much energy into someone that's been destroying himself all his life without an end in sight and that their love cannot replace my stupid fucking desire for romance. Something I never wanted as a kid and yet I still fall for people like an idiot.
And I can't talk to them about this because it'll just make them feel awful, guilty or like I may be blaming them. So I guess I'll vent about it here and eventually take it with me to my grave.

So my sister (23f) lives with my dad, she doesn’t work and he pays for everything. One night my dad got into it with her boyfriend and they decided to up and leave the same night with their two kids and took my dads car leaving him without a car. I decided to let my dad borrow my car so he could get back and fort to work. My sister then moved back into my dads house I don’t want to go into too much detail because it’s not so much about her messy life but more so the fact of how I’m screwed out of a car. He now pays for both cars because I cannot work without my car. I’ve been asking for my car back because I have to work, take kids to school, and ect. I never agreed to give it away indefinitely. He screamed at me over the phone for asking for MY car back. My sister is not going to pay for the other car and now my dad is talking about filing bankruptcy on MY car because he “can’t afford two payments” even though the only reason he has to pay for it right now is because I was nice enough to let him borrow it but i cannot work without a car. I have always paid for my car besides this months payment because I haven’t had it at all for this whole month. Anyways he is the co-signer on my car so I’m not sure if he’s able to bankrupt my car with my name on it? Either way, I tried to help my family and now I’m screwed out of a car I worked hard to buy. I pay all my bills and nobody helps me with my kids like they do my sister. He pays for everything, her and her kids whole life and always has. She had a meltdown and tried to screw him on his car and now I’m the one being screwed because I tried to help him having a way to work. This is what happens when you get involved with messy family.

Yeah well. School fucked up my mental health completely. I constantly have the feeling that i cant do this anymore. im tired. i have problems with my family (almost fighting every day) and i feel like im not good enough. I hate being in school and how nobody believes that i have social anxiety. i cant even eat or walk straight without feeling ashamed of myself. I got bullied and i lost my best friend some weeks ago. She manipulated me and stuff. i started cutting myself because i felt like i betrayed someone. i already had suicide thoughts when i was like 10 years old and it keeps getting worse. (im in therapy but i never told my therapist anything about this) So yeah. My life is fucked and im still thinking about killing myself. (cant wait for my two months summer holidays. atleast i dont have to study anything) wish me luck. :3

I (24F) am having issues with my friend group over the man (31M) that I picked. I’ll have to provide the long background story for context.
My friend group consists of several individuals. The specific few I will talk about I will refer to as “J” “M” and “A.” They are all (24F). J and M are a couple. These girls seem to have the strongest opinion about the ordeal. I met my friends in middle/high school. We didn’t become close until our college years. I love these people and we’ve gone on many trips and shared many experiences together.
In early 2023, I was asked out by a guy who frequented my place of work. He had apparently noticed me for some time. It is quite rare for me to “date,” but something about him gave me the sense I could trust him. He gave off good vibes overall. We went on a date a few days later and discovered we have everything in common. EVERYTHING. From our morals, values, hobbies, childhood upbringing, family dilemmas, favorite foods, love for traveling, etc. we are the same person in two separate bodies. The date was such a success and I knew then in my gut that he was going to be someone special.
Unfortunately, our beginning took a turn. We initiated dates back and forth that fell through due to valid reasons dealing with weather, conflicting schedules, etc. During this break between dates, he took the time to think if he was ready to start a new relationship. Although he liked me a lot, he was a little unsure unbeknownst to me. He’d been in several relationships before and they ended with him getting hurt whether they ended on good or bad terms. He was getting cold feet and didn’t know how to communicate that to me. He didn’t want to officially end it and he also didn’t want to lead me on so he said nothing for awhile. Although it wasn’t necessarily thought out, he was buying himself time until he knew how he felt (I learned all this later on). Then came about a month with no contact. During this time, he was dealing with family drama and I was becoming anemic. I eventually did need a blood transfusion. I mention this because that month apart went by fast and we didn’t have much time to linger over the thought of each other. I did notice he hadn’t reached out though. I’m certain now that he wouldn’t have ignored my messages had I sent any, but I was honestly waiting for him to reach out first. I was a little hurt to think that he had changed his mind and didn’t have the guts to tell me.
Sometime in that next month, when I returned to work after my hospital stay, I saw him at my job. I thought he saw me. He left and said nothing. I was actually devastated. He had been so kind and I didn’t know why he had a change of heart. At least he should’ve told me about it anyway. I decided that I was going to text him that night. I mentioned I had seen him at work, thanked him for the initial first date, apologized for not reaching out on my end, and I sort of wished him farewell under the assumption he wasn’t interested. It was very professional and I let him know that there were no hard feelings had he changed his mind. I was expecting some lame, typical excuse response if I even got one. He sent back this long text message apologizing, explaining himself, and asking me questions. He explained his fears and asked if we could start a “friendship” of sorts to keep a slow pace. There was chemistry of course, but he was afraid of me and now I was afraid of him. There was enough there to where we wanted to spend time together, but I needed to be sure I could trust him with my feelings and he also needed to be sure he could trust me with his heart. To this, I agreed to see him again.
We spent time going on casual dates and talking a lot. He became my friend. We talked a lot about what happened with the break over the following months. I told him how hurt I was and how communication is important to me. He understands the impact of going no contact abruptly. It has been entirely resolved and I also take responsibility in my part of not reaching out to him either. Ever since the break, he became consistent. We’ve talked every single day since. He was patient with me and I was patient with him. We earned each other’s trust and are now madly in love. It happened slowly and quietly. I have never met such a soft, kind, understanding, sensitive man. I am more myself with him than I ever have been before. If soulmates are real, then he is mine.
Now to the tea. Of course, my friends knew (most) all of this. I told them about the big events as they were happening. They were excited for me on my first date, they sympathized with me when he no longer reached out, etc. They were surely surprised when I decided to spend time with him again. I asked them to trust me. I didn’t think he was a bad guy. What happened was a mistake. As my man and I spent more time, my friend J would reach out asking me questions about him. I told only her about my concerns in the beginning. Back then, I was guarded and nervous to proceed, but it was something I knew I had to do. I had to find out for sure what kind of person he was.
Now, J, she’s a fireball. I love that girl, but I’ll admit she’s one to hold a grudge, keep score, and quietly judge. She’d never admit it. I made a mistake in choosing her as my confidant in those early days. I was looking for advice when speaking to her because I do value her opinion. She then went and told the other friends in my group, M and A included, about my man—what a bad person he seems to be, using her words, which frankly, are very different from mine. What makes me mad is she got to tell them about him, not me. Not even any of the positives either. This was all before they had even met him and they already didn’t like him. They had no problem scolding me for being with him.
Months down the road, I arranged a meeting for everyone. My friends thought a bar would be a great place. Still not sure about that. It was awkward. Nobody talked more than a few words. My man was shy and my friends didn’t really do anything to make him feel welcome. I was the only one babbling all night it seems like. You’d think that as time goes on, it’d be different. More meetings will help everyone be comfortable. Nope. Every time after was awkward. They haven’t spoken more than a few words to him at a time. It’s very “surface level” talk even now—a year later.
My last birthday had come around and J, M, and A took me out for drinks. It turned into a lecture session about how I seriously need to break up with him. They scolded me on “allowing a man to waste my time.” They criticized his career choice, our age difference, his “character,” etc. Mind you, this is based off of this one experience and a few other things that I mentioned to J in private that were no longer an issue. I cried myself to sleep that night thinking I was going to have to break up with him to please them.
Of course, I couldn’t. They still invite him to events and friend functions out of politeness, but it’s always the same. They don’t acknowledge him. It makes me especially sad when my man makes comments like, “I’ve never seen so many shy people in one room” (He thinks my friends are just shy when they’re really just ignoring him). He’s printed out their pictures for our scrapbook and labeled them as “new friends.” I haven’t told him the truth and I probably never will.
A few months ago, J, M, me, and my man had plans to go to this local indie concert. Tickets are free. The concert was on a Friday. The next day, Saturday, was scheduled for my man’s nephew’s 2nd Birthday Party. His brother’s family would be traveling from out of town to celebrate their son. Well, things didn’t go according to plan. The brother decided to come a day early, the day of the concert. I should have cancelled the concert date then when I learned this news, but I told J and M we were still coming because my man still wanted to go. We figured we’d be able to sneak away since the brother had come by himself and wanted to come over and take a nap since he works odd hours. Well, my man’s dad dropped by and the brother didn’t take his nap as he’d planned. Now, having company over with expectations, I made the difficult decision to cancel with my friends last minute. I realize it is rude, but something came up. I didn’t see how we could go anymore.
My friends let me have it. J and M were so angry. They told me how rude we were and how disrespectful it was to their time to opt out of the concert which was free and in town by the way. There was also the two of them and they could have easily gone on a date. I think it would’ve been equally rude to leave our company or rush them out the door. I picked my battle. I should have gave them more notice, but I didn’t know we weren’t going until the last minute. It couldn’t have happened any other way. We fought over text for awhile. She accused me of being so different now, saying and doing things out of the ordinary for me. The truth is, I’m just growing up. J ended the conversation saying, “Well, we’re just going to stay mad.” She claimed to understand my circumstance, but she didn’t. We didn’t talk for weeks after.
I eventually got invited to a breakfast date to which I declined. I have been avoiding all of them for awhile. I keep getting “I miss yous” from J. She keeps asking when we’re gonna hang out next. It’s also true that J and M are now moving 4 hours away at the end of the month. My problem may solve itself. That does sound awful though. I feel like an asshole. I have not been a good or present friend lately. I’m so busy, tired, and I have no room for petty drama. I’m not giving up my friends yet, but I will gladly choose this boy over them. He’s given me more peace in one year than they have in five years.
My boy and I are now engaged. I told my friends the news. They said some nice things I guess. J texted to let me know “If I’m really happy, she’ll support me.” This would be nicer if it was coming from a concerned friend. To me, this whole situation feels controlling. It’s more than concern. There’s venom behind it. They don’t care about the wedding either. They don’t ask me fun questions or get excited when it comes up. When I eventually explained how he proposed, they seemed disinterested. I could tell they were judging the experience. When I finally showed J the engagement ring in person all she said was, “Take it off” in a snippy tone so she could try it on.
I’m so disappointed in my friends. I always wanted a big friend group and especially to share this big milestone with. I haven’t even gotten excited about wedding planning because I’m dreading going over the bridesmaids list. Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for listening. I definitely need to get this off my chest and outta my life. I can’t believe I’m losing my friends over a boy.

I'm disappointed by the very small number of video game lovers who feel "ashamed" that they have not achieved anything in life and feel "ashamed" about their love for video games (whether that is Baldur's Gate 3 or otherwise).
To give you a very brief story about myself, I studied law here in Australia quite some time ago. I was basically obsessed with video games but at the time I was more of a Halo / Call of Duty fan (as most people were at the time, to be honest).
Coming into law school, I felt inferior, ashamed of myself and thought that everyone else was better than me. My first year of law was surprisingly successful and after several years I realised that I was one of the top students in my class (this is a fairly prestigious university). Completing my law degree was a big vindication for me. I felt as though I had disproven all the "nay-sayers" and everyone who was so negative about my love for video games.
I live a fairly standard life, with a normal 9-5 job, but I still play video games quite a lot. And there is no shame in doing so. I know quite a few people who did not even attend university (or college for those American folks), and they are some of the most talented players I have ever seen (in League of Legends, CS GO, or otherwise).
Never feel ashamed for your love for video games. The reality is that if you are smart enough to play Baldur's Gate 3, you are smart enough to complete a law degree, because there are plenty of lawyers and law graduates that I know who struggle with using a computer and lack digital literacy.
This whole stigma about "nerds" and "video games" needs to go away. I think over time it has eroded. You can very much live a normal white-collar job life and still be super interested in video games.

Hi. I’ve been teaching my 5 year old daughter to play chess. She enjoys it and with a few younger kids I never have enough time to play with her (she’d play all day!) We are a different religion to those in her school, which means there are periods in her school day where she sits alone to read, etc.
What would be a good chess computer to get her to use during these periods, or at home when my attention is elsewhere? It can’t be one which has physical pieces like I had myself when I was a kid. Something on a tablet? Or what would you guys recommend? I’m not that tech savvy so would love some good recommendations.

I grew up with no friends, the rare times I actually got friends, they abandoned me. I’ll never find my person, I’ll never enjoy youth with a group of friends, I’ll never have a boyfriend. All of this because I’m not attractive enough to be seen as a human. I feel invisible to people, less than human. I feel terribly lonely and just wish someone could stand beside me. When I come home from school my jaw hurts because i haven’t spoken a word the whole day. I wish I could experience having company again, even if it’s bound to end.

Hello!
I'm new to this subreddit but not to the topic of spelling/grammaticalmistakes, as it seems to affect a lot of people. I've seen a lot of discourse on it, people saying it's enough to make them DNF a book, and others saying it's classist to expect perfection. In my opinion, it's a bit of both, but this is where I hope I can help!
I have English as my first language. And English was my favourite subject at school. I'm also autistic so I love following rules. When I see a rule is broken, it's like tripping over a step in my brain. I can get back into the story, but it takes a while. It also makes me trip when authors mix and match words from the various English dialects (mixing British/Commonwealth and US, for example). I have tons of experience with multiple Engl dialects and the culturally specific words/phrases they use, so if you want your book to have a specific flavour, I can help with that too.
I want to become an editoproofreader but don't know yet if I can afford the time and money to go to school for it, so I came up with this idea.
I'll proofread your book for spelling/grammar errors, as well as language/dialect cohesion, for free, with the only condition being that I can use your book as part of my portfolio-building efforts. That's it.
If this sounds interesting to you, send me a message and let's get a call set up!
Thanks for reading my post. 💜

Hey everyone! I've never made a post on reddit before so bear with me friends. This is also gonna be long because I physically cannot restrain myself from overexplaining.
Ok, SO me (24F) and my guy best friend (25M) have known each other since about sophomore year of college. Let's call him Tony alright. I met him through my college roommate and best friend, we'll call her Tina (Tony is Tina's cousin's husband's best friend). He went to a different college in a city about 2 1/2 hours away, but he came and hung out with his friend a lot and he lived with them during COVID. I'm a pretty socially awkward and shy person so it takes me a while to get comfortable around someone and be myself so I didn't really engage with him at first. It should also be mentioned, I've never been in a relationship or in love befoe; I've been on dates and done a thing or two here and there with some people, but I've always been shy so I'm kind of a late bloomer in the relationship aspect. He is not and he's been in relationships before and has experience doing the horizontal tango; an activity I do not have experience in!
Fast forward, tail end of junior year or beginning of senior year of college we start actually interacting and I open up a bit more. I then develop a small "schoolgirl" kinda type crush because he was a new friend and funny and nice, and I never really had any guy friends growing up so it was new to me and you know the daddy issues of it all. Ok so BOOM spring break senior year right (March 2022), we go on a vacation to NOLA with our friend group. My crush is in full swing at this point and during said trip, my bff Tina and I share a hotel room with Tony and his best friend Ted (sharing bc we are poor). So we get a lot of quality time and get a lot closer as friends. Skip to May 2022, we graduate college and my BFF Tina moves to the bigger city in the state we live in (where he lives) in June (we went to college in a small town). So, naturally I go to the city a lot to visit her and so in turn we start hanging with him more frequently since he's closer now. At this point, I'm over my crush and he's just my really good friend (I promise). Fast forward to December 2022, I move to the city as well and my bff Tina and I move in together so we see him even more, and he's spending nights at our place (on the couch). We get a lot closer and the main thing we do in our friendship is talk. He's a level 100 yapper, and I didn't used to be at all until we became friends honestly, but he just brings out the yap in me. We talk about anything and everything; we even argue about a variety of topics, but it's not with malice or rudeness at all; we're just talking. He's just genuinely the easiest person to talk to I've ever met; strangers just talk to him all the time.
So now we're gonna jump to December of 2023 (sorry for the jumping around, I'm an ADHD warrior). I've had mental health issues off and on since high school, but they got worse around this time. Around this same time, he started getting depressed as well as a few months prior he had been fired from a job and his car got towed amongst other things. My BFF is also going through it.We are all just going through some trials and tribulations lemme tell ya. So, we've all been leaning on each other emotionally pretty heavily lately. Recently, he spends multiple days in a row at our house. So, I've been working through the prior mentioned mental health issues these past months and I'm think I'm finally coming out the other side. I've actually been the happiest I've been in a very long time, but I'm also still struggling a bit because I feel as though my personality has changed drastically since this ordeal or maybe I'm finally feeling secure enough in myself to show my true personality idk, but in a nutshell I'm feeling open and brave which are qualities I don't have experience in whatsoever. As I'm finding myself, I think I'm also becoming more in touch with my feelings which is how I realized I had feelings for him, but anyways back to the nitty gritty. So I'm feeling all these new feelings and all, and my crush on Tony comes back with a terrible new twist: 100% real uncut feelings 😔. But, I am terrible at reading social cues and understanding other people's feelings so I genuinely can't tell if he feels the same or not. But, ever since I've realized my feelings, I've been noticing things more. Me, Tina, and Tony have always been very open with each other in the sense that we talk about anything and everything. We talk about sex, relationships, our bodies, etc. But, lately, I feel like him and I talk even more about sex and relationships and he makes more jokes or funny remarks about sexual or romantic things between us. To be fair, I have too (😝), so it may just be in response, but come on, it's to the point like, we jokin anymore?? So, the other day, I was joking about how I was gonna be a virgin at 40, and he said, "Nah, we'll figure something out before then." like what you mean by that?? And another time, we were riding in the backseat together, and the whole car was talking about eating a girl's kitty cat and I had made a joke about not knowing the feeling and he said, "What?? That's so sad bro" and then under his breath said, "we'll have to do something about it" like huh???? And I also have this crop top with butterflies on it that may be a lil revealing (🙈) that he complimented when he first saw me wear it. And now, whenever I wear it, he'll say something about it like, "Ohhh, return of the shirt" or something along those lines. Also a while back, I had told him about how my late grandpa would always sneak me Ho-Hos as a kid and how I missed him a lot, and in the next few days, he brought some over when he came to hang out like brooo 😩. He didn't say that was the reason or anything, but that would be a crazy coincidence I feel. He's also always showing me something on his phone like a video he thought was funny, a movie he liked, pop culture we talk about, music he likes, etc. He'll just appear in front of me with his phone 2.3 cm from my face saying, "look 👁👄👁". Also, we've both been talking a lot lately about how lonely we are and how we miss sleeping and cuddling with another person in the bed. I feel like I've been dropping hints, but I'm also scared to tip him off so the hints I think I'm dropping could be more like office friendly chit-chat in reality!
It should also be noted that after I got over my initial crush, I didn't find him attractive. I really didn't find him attractive when I had a crush tbh. He's definitely not my usual type at all; I'm a fat bi girl who usually goes for masc women or feminine men and he's a short skinny lil fella with a permed mullet 😭. I'm definitely not his usual type either which is another reason I have doubts about his interest in me. He usually dates skinnier girls. I'm finally okay with my body, but if you're a fat person, you know how absolutely anxiety-inducing it is thinking about shooting your shot and someone rejecting you because of your body. I don't think he would do that, but there's still that fear there. He's also mentioned recently how he doesn't care about looks and body and I'm like 🤨 you hinting at something?? Cause I've talked to him before about struggling with loving my body so he knows im self-conscious about it at times. I'm also hesitant because besides Tina, he's my best friend in the world. I would never want to do anything to jeopardize that friendship. I've been trying to get over it and/or ignore it. But, God, idk what to do anymore. It's driving me insane, and I hate that I'm looking for things and reading into things. And I feel like I'm acting weird or changing my behavior which sucks cause it's hard to control cause I'm nervous. But, I really don't think it's all in my head. I don't even know if I want to pursue anything and change our relationship forever, but I feel like I'm going crazy. If anyone has any insight or advice, it would be much appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
TL;DR: I (24F) think I'm in love with my guy best friend (25). We met when I was 20, and I think he may be flirting and secretly feel the same, but I truly can't tell. We hang out almost everyday, but I don't want to be seeing things that aren't really happening. I also don't want to ruin our friendship. I would really just like some insight on the situation or advice on how to tell if he's also interested. TIA! 🫶

As a grown man, I hate blaming my parents for issues I have. Compared to so many horror stories, my childhood, parents and family were wonderful. In general, I try to believe that people do the best they can with the resources they have and rarely have true malicious intent. Unfortunately, there is one “childhood trauma” that I am stuck with and I don’t see any way to get over it.
For as long as I can remember, my boomer parents and gen x siblings would absolutely torture me about girls. Like every girl I ever came into contact with from preschool on I would get the “oh that’s your giiiirrrrlllfrieend” crap. I was a sensitive, people-pleasing kid and this really bothered me. To make matters worse, My family had the awful habit of “making fun” of, quite literally, anyone on the planet. Too rich, too poor, imperfect physical features, race, ethnicity, religion, different style clothes, different interests or hobbies, nobody was safe.
I went through adolecence and young adulthood mostly terrified to interact with women. Just now am I getting to the point where I have actual platonic female friends. School dances and prom were major sources of stress. I had whole relationships in high school and college that I kept secret from my family, including a 3 year relationship with who I now consider to be the “love of my life.” How awful must these young women have felt that I was hiding them from my family? I’ll never forgive myself.
After college, I moved back home (see people pleaser comment above). A month later my longterm girlfriend broke up with me. Why? Because I was still hiding her from my family. I certainly can’t blame her and I hope she is living the life she deserves.
A hazy, drunken, depressed and miserable 7 or 8 years then ensued that frankly I’m lucky I survived. I was a total wreck on the inside but put together enough on the outside so as to not worry anyone. Good job, remained in shape, outwardly I was just a fun, drunk, party guy in his 20’s. No relationships. Any dates were to a bar. Very rare sexual encounters were risky, drunken, one or few night stand situations.
At 29 I started dating my now wife. After a few months of secret dating I fought through and introduced her to my family. I’m grateful that my wife pulled me out of the abyss. After a few months of dating I finally got my own apartment and started to live as an actual adult. We got engaged at a year and a half and married at two years. We’ve been married for 10 years. We have a house and two wonderful children. My thirties were far better than my 20s and 40’s are looking great so far. Except…..
Lately, I have not been able to shake feelings of regret or what might have been. While we get along, our marriage is like a business agreement. It works. We’re busy, the kids are busy, we don’t or can’t take time for ourselves, we are both constantly engaged in jobs, cooking, dishes, laundry, cleaning, kids activities, etc. We both tackle everything and neither of us is ever sitting or relaxing. It never seems like we can get ahead of things. My wife is totally codependent and cannot handle anything on her own. She also may be a hoarder in the making. She was diagnosed with OCD as a child and is probably somewhere else on spectrum, terrible anxiety, too. I’ve made all adjustments to accommodate her needs. New, self-employed job so I can control the schedule, no hobbies or friends, I am always available for her needs. She refuses to get any outside help with her mental health. It’s all on me. She’s miserable, always mad at something or somebody(her family tells me this is her historic personality and she’s just like other family members), always sick, she has gained well over 100lbs and the health issues that go with that are starting to creep in. More for me to deal with! Sex life is dead. Totally vanilla when it does happen-missionary with shirts and socks on. Multiple times over the past 5 years we have gone 8-12 months without intimacy. Any attempts to discuss these issues as adults are met with rage and blaming everyone else. Her position is basically that I married her and just have to live with whatever. She also knows I’ll never leave the kids(I’m not saying that’s the right call for everyone but it’s the right call for me).
Here’s the thing- I can handle a lot with a smile on my face. I am longing for those relationships I had in early adulthood where my SO actually wanted me to be happy sometimes instead of only living to serve her needs. I can’t get these ghosts of girlfriends past out of my head. Every single night I am having vivid dreams about them sexual and otherwise. Marriage with kids is a lot different than college relationships so who knows what could have been. For me, the unknown is what haunts me.

yeah, christian elementary/middle school ruined my fucking life. i thought i'd be stuck with the damage forever because such a constant stream of systemic abuse during your most crucial developmental years (ie. my entire childhood until i was 14) has a way of seeping into every crack of your life and personhood and c-ptsd isnt a valid diagnosis in most places yet.
but suddenly at 28 i don't feel suffocated by christian school's influence at every hour of every day like i used to.
ghost (the band) was a big help. their music calls out a lot of the systemic issues within the institution of christianity, and presents a sort of story/thought experiment of "how would history have been different if there was always an equal satanic "church" to oppose christianity". it gave me the resources to take the child version of myself that screams and wails and bangs his fists against the inside of my head about the abuse and the loneliness and the fucked up methods of indoctrination and just. all of it. and it gave me the materials to sort of construct a kinder, alternate childhood for him to exist in where he isn't constantly being hurt by those people anymore. someone important (a famous singer!) knows what he went through, and doesnt want that for him, and that seems to be enough for him to finally feel safe and relax in his little corner of my thoughts.
maybe music isnt your cup of tea, but theres something out there that will help you more that you can possibly imagine and i know you'll find it someday. you gotta keep looking for something better even when it seems hopeless and like you'll never heal. ok? good luck out there. youve got this

I'm 27 with 5 years of work experience with a PMP certification. I started a successful business when I was 22, and later went into corporate marketing which is where I am currently at now. I went to a non prestigious school for undergrad and have a 3.0 GPA. I'm confident in being able to write compelling essays to supplement what I lack in academics. However, I'm wondering if that is enough?
I took a practice test for the GRE (hearing that it's better for those who struggle with standardized testing than GMAT) and scored 130 verbal and 138 quant. I'm willing to dedicated 2-4 hours a day for the next 2 months to study but considering how terrible my scores are now am wondering is it worth it? Should I try my luck at skipping out on tests and apply for waivers for my applications?
I feel as if I can be approved for a waiver due to the level of data analysis I perform in my current role. Would a waiver drastically hurt my chances even more and put me at a further unlikelihood of acceptance?

Hi. I’ve been teaching my 5 year old daughter to play chess. She enjoys it and with a few younger kids I never have enough time to play with her (she’d play all day!) We are a different religion to those in her school, which means there are periods in her school day where she sits alone to read, etc.
What would be a good chess computer to get her to use during these periods, or at home when my attention is elsewhere? It can’t be one which has physical pieces like I had myself when I was a kid. Something on a tablet? Or what would you guys recommend? I’m not that tech savvy so would love some good recommendations.

For context, my father and stepmother, both boomers, kept asking our elder daughter what she wanted for high school graduation. My stepmother kept pushing her to ask for something extravagant and expensive, so she asked for a laptop to bring to college. Stepmother said sure, but then we got this email before it even arrived:
Please have (teenage daughter) call (grandfather) to thank her for this gift. A text message is simply not enough.
We will be flying back to (X) on Wednesday 5/15 so please don't have her call and leave a message. Have her call Tuesday evening or Thursday and actually talk to her grandfather.
I realize (daughter) might have trouble starting this conversation, so, based on what you've told me, I think these are the various talking points that can get the conversation going:
1) Thank for you this very expensive computer and the expensive headphones and the printer. I need these for college but 2) I wanted them now because I am working (getting paid) over the summer for 3) (workplace) where I am working doing 4) _____, and _________ and this computer is really great because 5) ____________ and 6) It's got all this music stuff etc., etc. and it can help with editing ___________. 7) I also wanted the more expensive headphones because of the 3) X doing 4) 5) 6) and 8) living in a dorm room.
Hopefully (daughter)_can get wrapped up chatting about all the cool stuff she can do with this very expensive computer when she talks to her grandfather about this really great gift he got her for at least 5 minutes.

My girlfriend and I have been dating for a few months, and I (15M) and turning 16 in a few days and she (14F) is well, 14. Another thing is that she is old enough to be a freshman (I'm a sophomore) but her town has weird guidelines so she got held back a year and is in eighth grade, but her school is also a 7-12th grade school. Is this weird? We're a year and a half apart because she has a September birthday.
Only asking because when I told my friends she was 14 they gave each other weird looks meanwhile others haven't said anything about it being weird. Personally I am fine with it.
Edit: For added context I have known her since December 2023 but have been dating her since March 2024.

I was toxic with an ex, I had a ex who did drugs, abusive parents, worrying too much about what others think, not many friends, not taking school seriously enough currently, and seemingly wanting to be friends with multiple women (my personality fits that, I have a somewhat feminine personality).
Also: Deleting social media/information related to where I’m located and legitimately telling friends that I want to hide things about myself.
What can I do?

I (21M) i'm currently at half of my Bachelor's degree, Some of my professors have been a bit ambitious with their assignments, making them a pain in the ass that drains my energy and time in something that i don't have enough skills for. This has been getting heavier and heavier recently, and this had forced me to make changes i don't usually do.
-I sleep less and less than before, with this, i sleep later than usual -Sometimes i eat a lot less than what i should, while i also get episodes of gluttony, to the point of almost throwing up -I've been feeking REALLY Dizzy and my coordination is just shit. -I have headaches almost everyday -I get too stressed and slow that it makes it really complicated to articulate words or sentences, forcing myself to speak slower and loud. -i can't see with clarity, and i don't use glasses. -i get a lot of pain over my shoulders and my neck
Not to mention that my neighbors began their remodeling work, and for some stupid reason they only do it from 7 am to 9 am. If i go to sleep at 4 am, this fucks up completely my sleep. I've been feeling really burned out that it takes me HOURS to even get enough motivation to do anything productive.
And what do i get from my parents? "It is what it is, stop drowning in a glass if water and quit whinning, you're not gonna survive in the real world if you keep being like that." I KNOW, I FUCKING KNOW, i hate that i can't fail, and they see every little break as a waste of time, not to mention that my dad believes i should be working on vacations instead of taking breaks, i can't even choose where I want to work at, he wants me to work specifically in Physical, demanding jobs, why? because he doesn't want me to look for Part-time jobs for money.
My parents don't believe in Burnouts, They will only believe that you need to take a step back when you're almost dying. I don't wanna drop off of school, i just want everything to come to a fucking end, take a break and get sone empathy from my parents.

Hello, i Need advice because i got terrible insomnia And i dont know what to do. Im not sure where to start As i really buried in my head in this tired state I think the more noticeable problems started like 3 ago when i started using Meth (methamphetamine) .After the high i woke up 6 Hours later not Being able to sleep again. Even if i was up 3 days straight i only slepit 6 rarely 8-9 Hours And woke up in a conpletely destroyed state.i also remember when i was younger , before using drugs , i had similiar sleep where i slept 5-6 Hours And then i Went back to sleep for another 2-3 Hours , but after waking up the sleep after that felt i was like half-awake. Im not sure if thats true or my mind just made that up , but there was some problem of that kind for sure. Since i started doing Meth i feel it started worsening. When i was comming Down , i started to feel pulsating sense through my whole body , i even feel my head Is moving/ticking because of this. I also see it when i look at my Belly , Its pulsating like there was the heart. This started like 2 years ago maybe. Right Now im 1+ year almost clean. During this year i used like 4-5 times , i know i fucked it up because i was drunk And chased it, but i dont think it has any relation to my current problems. Like 8 months ago when i finished School And started working, i realised im fucked up. I can't really sleep whenever i want no matter how tired i am. I Need to be up a long time enough to feel extremely tired And be calm enough to sleep. Its like 18 Hours i Need to be up before i can get some sleep. When i fall asleep i wake up after 2-6 Hours And usually can't fall back asleep. When i lay Down i feel the pulsating through my whole body And in my head And it prevents me from getting Calm enough to sleep, also at any position i lay Down i Always feel unconfortable. Sometimes when im able to fall asleep again , im in a half sleep state where anything Wakes me up So easily And i immediately get up And Have thoughts like i just laid Down with my eyes closed the whole night. I feel completely destroyed, no matter if i sleep 3 or 6 Hours that night. I wake up with extremely dark circles under my eyes , i got weins visible all around my eyes. This Is killing me every day And i got suicide thoughts because of this. Anyone had similiar problems And solved them ? For my health condition i got diagnosed adhd when i was young , i declined to take any pills for it, it was at like 5-9 years old. I Felt pretty normal back then. I also started drinking kratom like year ago. I thought Its the kratom causing this but i completely stopped Like month ago And nothing has Changed , i just feel more like a zombie , because the kratom at least helped me to stop feeling the dark circles i Have under my eyes. Because of this problem i started drinking Beer , like 4-5 bears a day . I also Smoke weed since i was 14. I tried stopping for 3 weeks And nothing has Changed. I feel like i only use weed And alcohol right Now to help me Cope with this weird problem. If i slept normal i would Have no interest in alcohol at all.Any advice Will help please , im only 19 right Now And can't imagine living the next 10-20 years like this , i better kill myself. I dont Believe time Will fix this , i was thinking Its Meth first but i know way heavier users And never saw anyone with this problem. And Its getting worse when i dont use for 1+ year , so i dont really know.

I was toxic with an ex, I had a ex who did drugs, abusive parents, worrying too much about what others think, not many friends, not taking school seriously enough currently, and seemingly wanting to be friends with multiple women (my personality fits that, I have a somewhat feminine personality).
Also: Deleting social media/information related to where I’m located and legitimately telling friends that I want to hide things about myself.
What can I do?

Hi,
I'm Daniel from Spain, and I'll be turning 15 this month. With my birthday coming up, I've been thinking a lot about my future. Like many others my age, I don't really have any clear ideas about what I want to be when I grow up, and I know very little about financial matters. For example, I'm unsure about things like banks, credit cards, interest, rent, and managing money.
In school, I'm taking a course called "Informatik" (Computer Science). I'm interested in it, but I'm not sure if I'm creative enough to pursue a career in this field. I also play football as a hobby, but I don't think it’s a viable career path for me.
I moved to Germany in Mönchengladnach three years ago and have learned the language quite well. I'm currently attending a Realschule, and if everything goes well, I have two more years to go. I know I need to decide what kind of place I want to study at next, but I’m not sure about my options and what they involve.
My main goal is to have a stable life. I don’t aspire to be a millionaire, but I definitely don't want to end up homeless. This is why I need to understand financial matters better. My parents say that many parents expect their children to start living independently once they turn 18. I want to be prepared for that.
My parents, who are from Africa, didn't have the same educational opportunities that I have. I don’t want to work extremely long hours just to make ends meet. I also don’t plan to have a partner right now, as I’ve heard that can be expensive.
So, if anyone reads this, could you please give me some tips on choosing a career and managing finances effectively? I’d really appreciate any advice.
Thank you,
Daniel