/g/ - girl talk

it's improved some things and made other things worse.
i've always been really sensitive and insecure and cared way too much about what people think. people like me usually stay on tumblr and other safe spaces because lolcow is too "mean" but because lolcow is SO focused on making fun of people and often nitpicking them, it's forced me to confront my insecurities and realize that no matter what you do there will always be someone who thinks it's fucking stupid, and they're not even wrong. They're not jealous or incorrect. It's just their valid opinion and it's up to me to not be hurt by their opinion if i believe in my own. Because lolcow has farmers from all tastes and walks of life making fun of equally diverse cows, it's forced me to see that changing myself for the approval of others really is a losing battle.

The only negative of lolcow I've gotten is that a lot of farmers have fears about aging that have rubbed off on me. I used to think of your 20s as kind of a monolith but seeing a lot of people paranoid about being "worthless" or "old looking" at 25 has made me feel a little paranoid. But that's my fault for being impressionable, and one thing I've finally internalized is that just because I get an emotional response from something doesn't mean the person saying it meant it with that implication, nor does it mean other people who are similar to me are getting the same emotional kneejerk reaction as me.

very tldr lolcow has forced me to take responsibility for how i react to the criticisms and opinions of others

Made me more aware of issues that women face in real life and online. That's the only thing it's improved I'd say and getting lovely advice and consolation from anons here is also encouraging, but I haven't had any negative affects at all and I've been posting here for 4 years since stamina rose days. I know better than to take imageboards seriously and realize they all have their own little crazy, out-of-touch hiveminds and quirks including this one.

>>80034
>fear of aging has rubbed off on me
You need some thicker skin. Anyone who's truly afraid of looking old at 25 is either 15 (and I know we have a lot of underage posters on this site now due to exposure and crossposting) or treats themselves like shit via eating shit foods, sitting on their ass all day, having unreal expectations of beauty (looking at photoshopped pictures all day whether the celebrities are considered cows or not), smoking, drinking, etc. and generally wasting themselves.
Most 25 year olds complexions haven't changed drastically over their last decade unless they have shitty lifestyle habits.

>>80041
Well, I'm 24 and I'm just now realizing that my face is changing from when I was in my early 20s and when I was 15 I just thought your 20s were all the same, but I see your point. I think I'll get over it as it's just a new idea I wasn't exposed to before so I have to rethink my old assumptions. I'm pretty insecure and impressionable and it's hard for me to be exposed to other people's insecurities without wondering if it's worth considering being insecure about myself. That probably sounds fucked. I really want more confidence and don't want my confidence to hinge on being extremely successful and exceptional.

Sorry to go off topic with my neurosis lol. It's also really nice to see a large number of women who are outspoken and think for themselves on political and social issues here. It causes a lot of bickering sure but there's still an underlying understanding that we all just have differing opinions, unlike tumblr or even sjw climates irl where "exposing yourself" as say, a TERF is met with guilt tripping, social rejection, and intimidation tactics. It's great to see so many women just having sane debates and discussions about these topics.

>>80052
I would say take a break from here every so often if some of the posters get to you at times. And yes, your face is going to change slightly, you won't stay baby-faced forever but, that's a good thing. A young adult's face is much more pleasant to look at than an undeveloped child's. However, you won't go from like 16 to 40 in a decade like anons make it out to be unless, as I said, you have bad lifestyle habits so you have nothing to worry about. Age gracefully, anon, and embrace the cycle of life because everyone's going through it and the ones stressing about it will be the most miserable in the end. Relax!

In my case, chatting with people here on /g/ and /ot/ helped me a lot. People on /g/ are generally quiet helpful and (most of the time) pretty nice.
Also, the Vent thread is pretty nice because you can just let off steam without being judged too hard.
/pt/ and /snow/ are entertaining and maybe helpful in a way that it shows you what not to do kek.
I don't like how nitpicky some people are and I have become hyper self aware over everyone's flaws (including my own) because of it but I don't really care. It's not like I developed horrible self esteem as a result. You just have to remind yourself that no one's perfect and especially not on lolcow.

/g/ in particular has really helped me, and also I used to be a lot more salty and the crowd of online friends I had encouraged this. Also am now better at seeing red flags in people and speaking up, and I've lost a lot of weight and learned to preen myself nicely. I love the community of /g/!

>>80052
My face at 20 was weird-looking, almost fat despite me being underweight. It thinned out a bit around age 24 and now I'm much happier with how my features look than I was when I was younger.

Your features are not even really settled until mid-twenties. Everyone ages, no one can do anything about it. If you dislike something, there's probably a doctor out there who can fix it. But if you're into romantic relationships, trust me that your lover(s) is/are not going to pick apart your flaws. He/she isn't going to see what you see. There's nothing more attractive than being comfortable with yourself. That doesn't mean letting yourself go, but it does mean not broadcasting insecurity.

Everything I wrote above is also directed at myself, because I struggle with age/success stuff too.

definitely. i was way too much of a toxic ass leftist with an ~everyone is perfect and valid~ attitude

not only have i chilled and allowed myself to relax and take the piss of others, i've also distanced myself from leftbook and tumblr and it's like i'm breathing new air.

i don't know how i got to be that way in the first place since i've always been an imageboard gal,i think i was just insecure and fell into the trap of SJW entitlement. you'd think the nitpicking of others looks may make my self image worse but its sort of negligible. at least it makes me feel better than my old tranny friends never complimenting me since i was a bio woman and never needed it

Lolcow is the reason I left the confetti club (thank the lord.) I've also started moisturizing, drinking more water and using chapstick regularly because of all the tips people give to cows.

First of all, Lolcow helped me to improve my english reading skill (my writing are still pretty shitty as you can see…sorry bout that, 3rd language)
Then, the gender critical thread gave me the opportunity to build my opinion about trans with logical and smart arguments, and even reconsider my point of view on feminism.
Actually, libfems are very vocal in my own country and I tended to think that libfems=feminism. I know…I was an ignorant fuck.
Even if I still don't consider myself as one, sharing with "radfems" was a pleasant surprise. They're coherent, and open to dialogues.

And since I've a online presence to share my art+music, the cows mistakes are good "don't follow" exemples (ugh, I worded that weirdly, sorry…I'll sage)

More generally, I think that farmers are great and I wish I had more irl friends like them.

>>80177
Samefag but this is also the reason why I love my fellow farmers: that kind of fantastic sisterhood. Thanks my dear anon.

>>80034
I wasn't sure about that aspect of myself for awhile.

- I learned a lot about beauty, self-care and other shit in g/ot
- My need to criticise is satisfied just reading a few pt/snow threads so I don't do it irl anymore
- Got inspo for my novel from some extra funny anons ngl

-Political/philosophical threads allowed me to expand my thinking esp about gender without being shouted down the same way you do in other places (e.g. lefty places, non-anon places, mostly male imageboards)
-Learned a LOT about skincare and using essential oils that I now apply to my life
-Got me more interested in exercise and I've discovered I actually enjoy it
-Found a sort of "community" of women on the net who have similar interests in /ot/ and /g/ incl. good advice threads

(Seriously for a lolcow board some of y'all are great, kind people, idk why people assume we are all catty bitches 24/7)

Even though body image stuff and some of the infighting gets on my nerves or messes with my brain tbh, I find other parts of this board give me great laughs and camaraderie. All about the balance.

Luna saved my life, tbh. I said to myself one day in the middle of my filthy apartment with my hordes of clothes I didn't need "wtf, I don't even do heroin, what is my excuse? I can't live like this."

A week of perusing her thread forced me to make permanent lifestyle changes. I got rid of everything I didn't need and became a neatfreak. I learned to deep clean. I learned to cook. I learned to save money. Bless Tuna and her horrific blog, lmao.

>>91861
lol i feel similarly. i'm a slob at heart and i'll sit around all day and do fuck all if i don't make myself do otherwise, especially when i'm depressed/on drugs but even if not.

luna is a dark mirror of what could happen if i never tried to self improve and a reminder that behaving like that isn't just harmless laziness, it can get you and people you care about in deep shit. back in the day parents would make up monsters and urban legends to get kids to behave and stay safe. we have cryptid luna to remind us what happens when you give up and make lying in bed getting high your #1 hobby

the anachan thread cured my severe anorexia and I'm not even kidding so thanks for that I guess nonnies.

>>359952
love a successful recovery story, good for you nona

>>359958
Thank You Nonna!

Whenever I want to get off my ass, I ponder upon Shaynus, and get off my ass immediately.
On the other hand, this website's husbando threads normalized my unhealthy attachment to a character and this made me lose interest in 3D men. Where will this path lead me? Who knows.