Having piled on people who wasted money on bad decisions and folks who have had embarrassing moments in the bedroom, I thought it might be time to look at something that’s a bit more positive and inspirational that the collective internet hivemind has done.
And lo and behold, people have more than delivered in the form of their real life stories of proving someone wrong and subsequently finding success. But this being the internet and all, some pettiness did creep through in some stories but that just added extra spice. After all, who doesn’t like seeing doubters and haters get put in their rightful place in the bin?
So without further ado, let’s kick off with an inspirational tale of a woman rising through the glass ceiling of the manufacturing industry and proving that women belong everywhere.
Was offered a sales job instead of an industrial design job at a manufacturing company because "Women in the machine shop are a distraction"
That company is now out of business and I own a 100% female staffed CBD company. Women belong in the lab. ????
— Yes, I'm A Fire Sign (@KateAllDay) June 3, 2019
The pettiness quickly amped up as people shared their success stories but all of them were equally as inspirational as each other.
There were several tales of people being told they weren’t cut out in a particular industry (such as publishing, video games, and nursing), only for them to rise up the ranks and occasionally be promoted above the doubter.
When I was 22, a fancy older male DC journalist told me that I didn't "seem like a reporter" and I should go into book publishing instead. Incidentally, today is my 17-year anniversary at the NYT! https://t.co/8zXb9nv2Z8
— Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) June 3, 2019
When I worked at IGN a lifetime ago, a video game writer drunkenly explained to me how sportswriting was all a waste of time and trash content. A couple of years later, he tried to use me to get in at Grantland. https://t.co/R28x3YGfcC
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) June 3, 2019
The first person to interview me for the company I now work for said I wasn’t “cut out for this type of work”. Here I am 15 years later and they are not pic.twitter.com/KLiOGuIybY
— Natalia A. (@Nati_Ave) June 3, 2019
Them:
You can't major in Math.
You can't pursue a Ph.D. in Economics.
You ask too many questions.
You don't *look* like a math major.Me:
I successfully majored in Math.
I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Economics.
I ask thought-provoking questions.
I am what a math major looks like. https://t.co/922lYlN41t— Anna✨ (@itsafronomics) June 3, 2019
While in nursing school, my boss at the hospital where I worked told me she didn’t know why I was going to nursing school, I would never make it. When I finished nursing school, I applied for nursing supervisor, got the job, and became her boss. She quit soon after.
— WhyGee (@sacmom3) June 2, 2019
I overheard the family of the girl I was dating at the time saying “she’s dating a <certain race> What a waste! They are nothing more than servants and house keepers?” First, there is nothing wrong with that those jobs. That’s hard work! Secondly, I’m a physician ?
— Elate Collected (@Elate_Collected) June 3, 2019
There were some stories that were less about personal success and more about petty revenge, but these were just as entertainingly funny.
My highschool bully used to call me a lardass and throw ice at my head. Ended up going on a date with his Dad as my own form of revenge. Not such a lardass anymore ✌
— Liberal, Not Lefty (@liberalnotlefty) June 3, 2019
My freshman history/religion teacher told me I wouldn’t be a good fit for the AP World History class she taught and asked me a random question from the prep book to “prove” I wasn’t ready. I took regular World, studied on my own and got a 5 on the AP —better than her students ?
— Kaitlin Byrd (@GothamGirlBlue) June 3, 2019
I'm at this college party where this guy shouts over the loud music to a girl that he's a world class chess player. She says she's pretty good. His response: girls can't play chess. So I challenge him. We play in front of everyone. He stormed out, alone, when I beat him. https://t.co/9PrOf3FcQN
— Alechia Dow (@alechiawrites) June 3, 2019
So if you’re in a bubble of doubt over something just because someone said you were going to fail, know that you are more than capable to overcome it and you might even get a petty tale of revenge out of it out of it.