‘What do you wish people would stop romanticising because you’ve lived the reality of it?’ – 23 things that don’t live up to the hype

There are lots of things in life that look like they might be brilliant from the outside, but once you actually get them, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. For example, owning a boat sounds glamorous and fun, but the amount of time and money spent scraping off barnacles and paying for moorings outweighs the bit where you’re actually sailing. They’ve been discussing this on the Ask Reddit page, after user thatude123 asked:

‘What do you wish people would stop romanticizing, because you’ve lived the reality of it?’

And there were lots of comments from people who had been forced to remove their rose-tinted spectacles.

1.

‘Being a touring musician in a low level band. Living in a van with three other stinky drunks, waiting for the next inevitable vehicular disaster, not eating for days, staying in filthy motels, sudden snow storms, weird drifters, shady truck stops etc. It was fun for the first half of my 20’s but its ultimately a lonely and disassociated lifestyle.’
–hahayeahokaybud

2.

‘Mexican here. The narco/cartel culture.’
–Ok-Movie-9568

3.

”Hustle culture’ or ‘grinding nonstop’ or whatever, people aren’t meant to try and work as much as possible. We need to chill.’
–gotwaffles

4.

‘Neurodivergence. I embrace it because I have no choice, it’s how I am literally biologically made. But, man, it’s not some quirky personality trait.’
–kid_monkee

5.

‘Living off the land/grid.’
–NoLavishness1563

6.

‘The film industry. It’s full of psychopaths, narcissists, and dishonest people. Everyone has an angle, and no one cares what happens to you.’
–dahveeth

7.

‘Alcoholism. The number of dramatic characters who drown their sorrows by throwing back bottles of hard liquor while remaining healthy looking and functional. The reality is so much uglier and sordid.’
–Key_Molasses4367

8.

”Fixing’ the bad boy. If only people knew how nice, comfortable and safe it is to go for the good guys instead.’
–Black_cat_x

9.

‘Babies. You are never prepared. Look at any first time thrilled to be pregnant mother to be with her starry eyes and ‘babies are sooo cute’ talk and listen to all her plans for after the baby is born ‘when the pregnancy is over and everything will be so much easier’, compared to same woman two months after the birth.

‘Just offering to hold the baby while she has a shower will get you the same gratitude usually reserved for kidney donors.’
–IndyAnnaDollyNana

10.

‘Having big boobs. It’s hard to tell what is the bigger annoyance – the lower back pain or the inability to find clothes that fit properly because even plus sizes default to a ‘normal’ chest. I have to buy bathing suits one size too big just to have adequate chest coverage.’
–Brilliant_Tourist400

11.

‘Being a long haul truck driver. I’m not being paid to travel. You see very little except long stretches of highway and then small, select areas of each city or town you stop in. The work is hard, it beats the shit out of your body, your mind and your family. You spend most of your days exhausted and lonely.’
–3bigdogs

12.

‘War. Served as a Navy Corpsman along side the Marines. So many Marines joined with delusions of grandeur and a strong desire to ‘get some’. I was fortunate that I was never in combat, but I saw the aftermath of what we people can do to each other.’
–Synthetic_Hormone