This Story will Ruin Your Childhood

That line about adults not being real really stuck with me too, because as I've grown there's definitely been this sense of "is this it? Is this as together I will ever feel?"

The woman saying "you dont pass or fail at being a person" seemed like such a throwaway line, but it brought tears to my eyes for a moment, like its something no one has ever told me

"Fairy tales don't exist so that children know dragons exist. Children already know dragons exist; fairy tales exist to tell children dragons can be killed." - GK Chesterton

I once asked a coworker what it feels like to be a grown up. He was 44 and had a kid. He told me that he didn't know. It still blew his mind that he had a kid. He followed that with words I'll never forget, "There are two types of people in this world, those who have resigned themselves to adulthood and those that never grow up." I'll be 40 this year. I still don't feel like a grown up. I still make snow angels. I still get excited and dress up for halloween. I'm still afraid of the dark. I don't feel like I've aged. I'm just a little slower than I used to be. Body isn't quite what it once was. Life hasn't lost it's wonder. Don't think it ever will.

I went through a lot of trauma as a kid, but there's something that always gives me warm nostalgia: The warmth of early September slowly fading into a crisp clean autumn. It reminds me of fresh starts, new beginnings, and my favorite holiday (Halloween).

Moral of the story: if a worm crawls inside your fucking leg , tell your parents to take you to the ER

Gaiman has to be one of the most imaginative authors I’ve ever read.

"There's always the child inside." I think that's an interesting thesis and true for most people. To lose your inner child in its entirety is a terrible thing. It is to know that some part of you is missing, and no matter what you do or where you go, you can never get it back.

My mom is like Lettie. She always told me becoming a grown up isn't real. You'll get older , learn new things , feel new ways , experience new aspects of life but none of those things magickally turn you into an adult. Others may see you as one and you may be called one but you'll probably never feel like one and that's ok. You are only supposed to feel like you and work through those feelings to the point you feel content.

Also, i think Ursula or "the boogeyman" in this sense represents things like trauma or abuse, they're VERY REAL and isolating, something commonly endured so much by children.

It's no wonder my mom loves this story so much. She's a survivor of child abuse and she struggles with the trauma still, in her 60s.

I personally went through extreme trauma as a child and the adults had honestly always treated it all as a joke. This story honestly helped me realize that I’m not alone. I really do appreciate this video. I love watching your content so thank you

When I was a kid I got into science too soon, I started out watching dinosaur train and how it’s made but quickly got into how the universe works. I spent a large part of my childhood worried about meteor strikes and solar flares. The fact most of my close relatives were either old or sick didn’t help, as I went to more funerals as a kid than most people probably do as adults. There’s one thing that always brings me back to the good parts of my childhood, though. Going to sleep on a warm summer’s night listening to the frogs sing as rain gently patters against the window.

"You don't pass or fail at being a person," this legitimately made me tear up with how kind and poignant it is.

Does EVERY video you folks make have to be topped off with me clutching my knees to my chest and staring at a wall for twenty minutes? I don't care if the answer is yes I just wanna know so I can start scheduling it out ahead of time.

my immediate thought is that she's hecate. she being the three women. the maiden mother and crone. also this exploration of children where the possibility of an unreliable narrator obscures what is magic, reminds me of too far by rich shapero.

Man I did not expect this to be an animated summary of The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but I'm glad it was! When I met Neil Gaiman in person before the pandemic, I asked him what his favorite of his work was, expecting that it wouldn't be an easy question to answer. He told me that he didn't have a favorite, but that this book was the most personal. Then I went and read it. I have feared adulthood since I was around six years old, and am trying to ignore the fact that I've now reached it. I've often felt like adulthood offers me nothing in exchange for the loss of my childhood except for sexuality (and adults often find ways to ruin that for themselves, too). But why begin to think like an adult, anyway? Why not be like Randolph Carter and become king of a dream-city? No one is stopping you. Why not buy yourself an entire cake at the supermarket, just because you can? Why not talk to an imaginary friend? Or see an ocean in a duck pond? If you combine a child's sense of wonder and perception of the fantastical with an adult's intelligence and discernment, then you end up with something marvellous.

your voice is so comforting, it like a family friend or uncle who takes you in for a couple weeks when you parents are working out their divorce. I make me feel like I can be vulnerable.

Letty, Ginny, and Old Mrs. Hemstock remind me of Hecate, a goddess often depicted as three women each representing a part of women's lives. There's the young maiden represented by the waxing moon, the mother/pregnant woman represented by the full moon, and the old woman represented by the waning moon. She is the goddess of boundaries, crossroads, witchcraft, and ghosts. Sound familiar? It sounds just like Letty and her family. I wonder if Neil Gaiman took inspiration from that? What a captivating story, I really have no idea what it means or if there is any hidden meaning. But it is very interesting, thank you for sharing.

This strikes home as a 17 year old who is terrified as hell to grow up. I feel like I'm a kid. I'm an adult in 2 months. My imagination is wild (although not as wild as it was when i was younger) but i feel like I'll never grow up not really. Edit: Thank you so much for the likes and replies! It's really reassuring to see that there are other people who feel the same. I bet more people I know feel like this, but all my classmates are 'grown up' - with girlfriends or boyfriends, they look like adults and look so responsible. And then there's me, who still goes 'ew' when someone asks me if I am ever gonna get a gf. I still personally think 17 is too young for romance but ehhhh. I have autism as well so that dosen't help. This is really dumb, but recently I watched Death Note and I got really jealous of L because he has Watari, who is sort of like a caretaker to him, and Near who has people who watch over him too. I wish I had one, I mean usually that would be a parent, but when you're an adult you aren't supposed to rely on your parents right? So fun. Most people my age wanna be independant, move out etc, but I just wanna crawl into a hole. 😔 I'm hoping that one day I can afford to rent a parent figure who can help me. No idea what this rant was supposed to mean. Bye. Edit 2: I've been 18 for 14 days! I gotta say it's quite underwhelming...I didn't have any sort of celebration bc I have exam season (A levels) so it dosen't feel all that different. There ARE perks to being an adult I guess. I don't need to ask for my parent's details if I want to sign up for places which only allow people over 18 (and there are a lot of places...) I can actually do what I want. I thought that being an adult meant sacrificing imagination, creativity, and thirst for knowledge on all topics. I realized I'm not scared of being an ADULT. I was scared of being an adult stereotype - going to work, complaining all day, watching tv, having no hobbies etc. If I can be an "adult" who can still study whatever I want, I'm happy. I thought adults had to commit themsevles to one hobby or two they are good at, another reason why I feared growing up. Yeah I'm a nerd.