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The time I realized my 'funny' stories were just me being a jerk
I was on a third date at a pizza place in Cincinnati, telling my usual bit about a nightmare client from last fall. I said, 'So I told the guy his roof looked like a toddler's art project,' and she just stared at her plate. She finally said, 'You seem to enjoy making people feel small.' It hit me that for years, I'd framed every date story as a sarcastic win, but I was just the bully in them. I spent the whole drive home replaying a dozen old jokes that weren't funny. Has anyone else had a moment where they saw their own stories in a totally different light?
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margaret_kim131mo ago
Used to brag about how I'd "win" arguments with my sister by mocking her hobbies. Called it quick wit. Tbh it was just me being cruel for a cheap laugh. Reading this made me remember her face, and now those stories just make me cringe. Really changes how you see yourself.
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the_joseph20d ago
@margaret_kim13 you're not alone... had a friend who still cringes about the same thing years later.
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hannahs4520d ago
Oh man, that pizza place story hit close to home. I had this whole bit about my neighbor's garden that I'd tell at parties, calling it "controlled chaos" and making jokes about how he'd never get a tomato to grow straight. Then one day at a block party he handed me a jar of his homemade sauce and said "I know you think it's funny, but I just like growing things." I felt about two inches tall. Still think about that jar sometimes when I'm about to make a joke at someone else's expense.
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