Some unsettling experiences leave an emotional and mental mark that lasts a lifetime. Even though they are hard or painful, these experiences shape who we are and how we see the world. They may test our strength and resilience, but they also teach us important lessons that stay with us throughout our journey and have an eternal effect on us.

“A man tried to buy me from my parents when I was 4 and we were traveling abroad because I had green eyes and blonde hair. The man grabbed me and tried to bargain with my dad, but my dad was a big guy and grabbed me back. We quickly left that area.” © Reddit user lurkashrae

“My little brother and I used to look for bugs, salamanders, and other things under rain gutter trays when we were younger. My little brother picked one up to find a baby snake when we were about 4 to 7 years old. He picked it up by the tail and played “ring around the rosie” while spinning it around. We thought it was funny at the time, but as we got older, we found out the snake was a baby copperhead, which is very dangerous. It would have been easy for him to die if it had bitten him.” from norasusanboyle on Reddit

“I remember a red and yellow snake-like thing made of socks very clearly. Its mouth looked like a lamprey and its arms and legs were thin and made of bone. I now think these things are hallucinations, which I still have, but I will never forget what it looked like.” Not a known author/Reddit

“I took the elevator down from the hotel where we were staying. The elevator got stuck in the middle of two floors, with the upper half of the doors still on the floor. The doors still worked, though. I pushed the doors open. To be honest, I had never been in an elevator by myself before. I was always afraid it would get stuck. I got scared, so I got out of the elevator and went down to the floor. It looks like I would have been torn in half if the doors had shut or the elevator had begun to move. I still get chills when I think about it.” actor5454 on Reddit

“I had a friend who used to scare me when I was 4. He was as tall as a man and had dark brown eyes. I thought I was the only one who could see him, though. While I was sitting on my bed one day, talking about how our friendship could go forward, my mom heard me and came into my room. When my mom walked in, my friend got scared. My mom screamed when she saw him, and he ran away. After nine years, my mom told me that this “friend” of mine was a family member who had died 15 years before.” From reddit user michelle_cocacola

“In my front yard, I was having fun as a child. I think I was 9 years old. Someone in a truck pulled up in front of our house and asked if I had seen his dog. No, I said. I agreed to help him find his dog. I told him I couldn’t go anywhere right now because I had chores to do. His dog was giving him a lot of stress, so he asked me to make sure. I told him I was okay with that and went back to my house. He left.” From shardik78677 on Reddit

“My mother woke me up and told me to put on my seatbelt. I was sleeping in the middle seat in the back of the car. After about 5 minutes, we crashed our car. I now understand that my mother could have thrown me out the front window if she hadn’t had that gut feeling.” From Jaffasinep on Reddit

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