Billie Eilish says Instagram comments were ruining her life. So she quit reading them. Smart.
Billie Eilish has gone from being a pop star to a superstar over the course of about a year. Her meteoric rise to fame has forced her to reevaluate how she deals with her fans online. She used to be happy to read the comments on her Instagram feed, but the tone of the posts…
Billie Eilish has gone from being a pop star to a superstar over the course of about a year. Her meteoric rise to fame has forced her to reevaluate how she deals with her fans online.
She used to be happy to read the comments on her Instagram feed, but the tone of the posts has become exceedingly negative. So she’s decided to stop reading them altogether.
According to psychologists, that’s a very good idea.
Eilish admitted she quit reading the comments during an interview with Louise Minchin from the BBC where she was joined by her brother, writer and producer, Finneas.
“Do you still read everything that’s on Instagram?” Minchin asked.
“No, no. I stopped like two days ago,” Billie responded. “Literally two days ago. I’ve stopped reading comments fully. Because it was ruining my life. It’s weird. The cooler the things you get to do are, the more people hate you. It’s crazy.”
“How do you make it better?” the interviewer asked.
“The internet is a bunch of trolls. And the problem is that a lot of it is really funny,” Billie said.
According to Psycom’s Margaret Jaworski, “We’re more likely to register an insult or negative event than we are to take in a compliment or recall details of a happy event. The negativity bias can even cause you to dwell on something negative even if something positive is equally or more present.”
Research suggests that it takes three positive comments to cancel out the effects of one negative remark.
Billie Eilish is smart to protect her own sanity by staying out of the comment section and not allowing it to affect her art or life. It’s fine for the public to have access to her art but there’s no reason she should be handing over her sanity as well.
In a small village in Pwani, a district on Tanzania’s coast, a massive dance party is coming to a close. For the past two hours, locals have paraded through the village streets, singing and beating ngombe drums; now, in a large clearing, a woman named Sheilla motions for everyone to sit facing a large projector screen. A film premiere is about to begin.
It’s an unusual way to kick off a film about gender bias, inequality, early marriage, and other barriers that prevent girls from accessing education in Tanzania. But in Pwani and beyond, local organizations supported by Malala Fund and funded by Pura are finding creative, culturally relevant ways like this one to capture people’s interest.
The film ends and Sheilla, the Communications and Partnership Lead for Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), stands in front of the crowd once again, asking the audience to reflect: What did you think about the film? How did it relate to your own experience? What can we learn?
Sheilla explains that, once the community sees the film, “It brings out conversations within themselves, reflective conversations.” The resonance and immediate action create a ripple effect of change.
MEDEA Screening Audience in Tanzania. Captured by James Roh for Pura
Across Tanzania, gender-based violence often forces adolescent girls out of the classroom. This and other barriers — including child marriage, poverty, conflict, and discrimination — prevent girls from completing their education around the world.
Sheilla and her team are using film and radio programs to address the challenges girls face in their communities. MEDEA’s ultimate goal is to affirm education as a fundamental right for everyone, and to ensure that every member of a community understands how girls’ education contributes to a stronger whole and how to be an ally for their sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, nieces, and girlfriends.
Sheilla’s story is one of many that inspired Heart on Fire, a new fragrance from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection that blends the warm, earthy spices of Tanzania with a playful, joyful twist. Here’s how Pura is using scent as a tool to connect the world and inspire action.
A partnership focused on local impact, on a global mission
Pura, a fragrance company that recognizes education as both freedom and a human right, has partnered with Malala Fund since 2022. In order to defend every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, Malala Fund partners with local organizations in countries where the educational barriers are the greatest. They invest in locally-led solutions because they know that those who are closest to the problems are best equipped to solve and build durable solutions, like MEDEA, which works with communities to challenge discrimination against girls and change beliefs about their education.
But local initiatives can thrive and scale more powerfully with global support, which is why Pura is using their own superpower, the power of scent, to connect people around the world with the women and girls in these local communities.
The Pura x Malala Fund Collection incorporates ingredients naturally found in Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil: countries where Malala Fund operates to address systemic education barriers. Eight percent of net revenue from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection will be donated to Malala Fund directly, but beyond financial support, the Collection is also a love letter to each unique community, blending notes like lemon, jasmine, cedarwood, and clove to transport people, ignite their senses, and help them draw inspiration and hope from the global movement for girls’ education. Through scent, people can connect to the courage, joy, and tenacity of girls and local leaders, all while uniting in a shared commitment to education: the belief that supporting girls’ rights in one community benefits all of us, everywhere.
You’ve already met Sheilla. Now see how Naiara and Mama Habiba are building unique solutions to ensure every girl can learn freely and dare to dream.
Naiara Leite is reimagining what’s possible in Brazil
Julia with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
In Brazil, where pear trees and coconut plantations cover the Northeastern Coast, girls like ten-year-old Julia experience a different kind of educational barrier than girls in Tanzania. Too often, racial discrimination contributes to high dropout rates among Black, quilombola and Indigenous girls in the country.
“In the logic of Brazilian society, Black people don’t need to study,” says Naiara Leite, Executive Coordinator of Odara, a women-led organization and Malala Fund partner. Bahia, the state where Odara is based, was once one of the largest slave-receiving territories in the Americas, and because of that history, deeply-ingrained, anti-Black prejudice is still widespread. “Our role and the image constructed around us is one of manual labor,” Naiara says.
But education can change that. In 2020, with assistance from a Malala Fund grant, Odara launched its first initiative for improving school completion rates among Black, quilombola, and Indigenous girls: “Ayomidê Odara”. The young girls mentored under the program, including Julia, are known as the Ayomidês. And like the Pura x Malala Fund Collection’s Brazil: Breath of Courage scent, the Ayomidês are fierce, determined, and bursting with energy.
Ayomidês with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
Ayomidês take part in weekly educational sessions where they explore subjects like education and ethnic-racial relations. The girls are encouraged to find their own voices by producing Instagram lives, social media videos, and by participating in public panels. Already, the Ayomidês are rewriting the narrative on what’s possible for Afro-Brazilian girls to achieve. One of the earliest Ayomidês, a young woman named Debora, is now a communications intern. Another former Ayomidê, Francine, works at UNICEF, helping train the next generation of adolescent leaders. And Julia has already set her sights on becoming a math teacher or a model.
“These are generations of Black women who did not have access to a school,” Naiara says. “These are generations of Black women robbed daily of their dreams. And we’re telling them that they could be the generation in their family to write a new story.”
Mama Habiba is reframing the conversation in Nigeria
Centre for Girls' Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
In Mama Habiba’s home country of Nigeria, the scents of starfruit, ylang ylang and pineapple, all incorporated into the Pura x Malala Collection’s “Nigeria: Hope for Tomorrow,” can be found throughout the vibrant markets. Like these native scents, Mama Habiba says that the Nigerian girls are also bright and passionate, but too often they are forced to leave school long before their potential fully blooms.
“Some of these schools are very far, and there is an issue of quality, too,” Mama Habiba says. “Most parents find out when their children are in school, the girls are not learning. So why allow them to continue?”
When girls drop out of secondary school, marriage is often the alternative. In Nigeria, one in three girls is married before the age of 18. When this happens, girls are unable to fulfill their potential, and their families and communities lose out on the social, health and economic benefits.
Completing secondary school delays marriage, and according to UNESCO, educated girls become women who raise healthier children, lift their families out of poverty and contribute to more peaceful, resilient communities.
Centre for Girls’ Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
To encourage young girls to stay in school, the Centre for Girls’ Education, a nonprofit in Nigeria founded by Mama Habiba and supported by Malala Fund and Pura, has pioneered an initiative that’s similar to the Ayomidê workshops in Brazil: safe spaces. Here, girls meet regularly to learn literacy, numeracy, and other issues like reproductive health. These safe spaces also provide an opportunity for the girls to role-play and learn to advocate for themselves, develop their self-image, and practice conversations with others about their values, education being one of them. In safe spaces, Mama Habiba says, girls start to understand “who she is, and that she is a girl who has value. She has the right to negotiate with her parents on what she really feels or wants.”
“When girls are educated, they can unlock so many opportunities,” Mama Habiba says. “It will help the economy of the country. It will boost so many opportunities for the country. If they are given the opportunity, I think the sky is not the limit. It is the starting point for every girl.”
From parades, film screenings to safe spaces and educational programs, girls and local leaders are working hard to strengthen the quality, safety and accessibility of education and overcome systemic challenges. They are encouraging courageous behavior and reminding us all that education is freedom.
Experience the Pura x Malala Fund Collection here, and connect with the stories of real girls leading change across the globe.
When Brody Ridder came home from school on May 24, 2022, his mom took one look at his yearbook and felt her heart crack open. He’d asked all kinds of kids to sign it. Two had. Two teachers had. And then, on one of the pages, in his own handwriting: “Hope you make some more friends. — Brody Ridder.”
He had signed his own yearbook. And then wished himself better luck next year.
Cassandra Ridder posted a photo of the page to the school’s private Facebook parent group that night. She didn’t ask Brody first, but as she told the Washington Post, she knew he’d be fine with it. “Brody has always told me he wants to be part of the solution.” Her message to other parents was simple: talk to your kids about kindness. She had no idea what was about to happen.
snip* It is the time of year when kids are signing each other’s yearbooks. But what happens when no one wants to sign yours?
That happened to Brody Ridder, a sixth grader at The Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster.https://t.co/tCDWYkLD1A
Other parents showed the post to their kids. Seventeen-year-old Joanna Cooper got a text from her mom with a screenshot and made a decision on the spot, as she told KDVR. “We’re going to sign his yearbook,” she said, “because no kid deserves to feel like that.” She started texting friends. Meanwhile, Simone Lightfoot, also an 11th grader, was doing the same thing. “When I was younger, I was bullied a lot like him,” she told the Washington Post. “We walked in and we were like, ‘Where’s Brody at? Is Brody Ridder in here?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s in the back.’ And we’re like, ‘Brody! We’re here to sign your yearbook, bud.’”
The older kids didn’t just sign their names. As Goalcast reported in its coverage, they asked Brody about his hobbies, which turned out to include chess and fencing, and gave him a pep talk. Many of them had been in similar situations at his age. Once the upperclassmen started filling pages, the kids in Brody’s own class started getting up from their seats to sign it too. “It was like a domino effect,” Cassandra told Fox News. “It was beautiful.” By the end of the day, Brody had collected more than 100 signatures, paragraphs of encouragement, and a handful of phone numbers.
“It just made me feel better as a person,” Brody told KDVR. “I don’t know how to explain it. It just makes me feel better on the inside.”
The teenagers marched into Brody Ridder's class and filled the sixth grader's yearbook with messages of friendship and support. https://t.co/NAbQIBvTat
The story didn’t stay local for long. After Cassandra posted an update to her personal Facebook, it spread widely. Letters started arriving at the Ridders’ P.O. Box from people across the country and around the world, people of all ages who recognized something in Brody’s story. By July, at least 600 letters had arrived, with more still coming, including one dictated by a three-year-old to his mom.
Among those who reached out was Paul Rudd. According to the Denver Post, Rudd’s sister saw Cassandra’s post and contacted her to say the actor would love to connect with Brody. Rudd FaceTimed him and sent a care package that included a signed Ant-Man helmet and a handwritten note telling Brody that things get better and that many people, Rudd included, thought he was “the coolest kid there is.”
Cassandra and Brody have since partnered with The UGLI Foundation, an anti-bullying nonprofit, to keep the conversation going, according to the Denver Post. Cooper, the 11th grader who organized the original yearbook visit, said she planned to push for a schoolwide signing event the following year so no student would face an empty book again.
Brody said he’s not sure all the kids who refused to sign will become his friends. But something shifted. “It made me feel like there’s hope for the school,” Cassandra said, “there’s hope for humanity, and there are a lot of good kids in this world.”
While such comments may be well-intentioned, a woman’s viral video challenges the idea that they are actually compliments. Ting, who posts as @tingmystyle on Instagram, looks directly at the camera and says matter-of-factly, “I am 55 and I look exactly 55. Stop telling a woman, ‘You look younger,’ or ‘You look good for your age.’ It’s not a compliment.”
Ting says such comments only reinforce our youth-obsessed culture.
“Everyone ages so differently,” she points out. “What are we even supposed to look like at this age? So tired of hearing that ‘She’s in her 50s but looks 20 years younger.’ Why is that the goal?”
It’s a question worth asking—and definitely one worth pausing to answer. So often, people go along with what society dictates as the norm, and today that norm means trying to look younger than one’s age. But why? Traditionally, elders have been revered. When did we decide youth was superior?
As Ting declares, “I don’t survive five decades to be obsessed with looking 30. How many people never made it to 55?”
Getting older IS a privilege. When I hear people saying they won’t celebrate their birthdays or they’re sad about getting older I always provide a reality check. This life is not promised.
Aging is a privilege not everyone gets. Shouldn’t we feel happy to have lived as long as we have? Part of wanting to look younger may be that getting older reminds us of our mortality. But in reality, none of us knows our timeline, and if we see each day of life as a gift, the more days we’ve lived, the better.
“Women don’t owe the world youth, beauty frozen in time,” Ting states. “Looking my age, or even older than my age, is not a failure. Youth is not a standard. It’s just a season. And the seasons change.”
Amen. When we hold youthful beauty up on a pedestal, we miss the beauty of every other season. And though women have borne the brunt of the expectation to remain young-looking, men are feeling the pressure to look younger as well. Just look at the Hollywood starsacross the gender spectrum getting facelifts and eyelifts. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good. But that’s not the same as trying to look young.
“We look our age not because we’ve let ourselves go, but because we’ve finally let ourselves be,” says Ting. “I am so proud to look my age.”
Embracing aging with pride
It feels like an act of defiance to let ourselves look our age, much less be proud of it. But with more than eight million views, middle-agers everywhere heard Ting’s message loud and clear.
“Ooooh, youth is not a standard, it’s just a season. Loveeeee.”
“‘How many people never made it to 55.’ My mum never made it. I would have loved to send this video to her.”
“Turning 39 next year and I’m excited! Like wow thank you for another year of life! I almost died in 2022 from a stroke and every birthday I’m just so thankful for my life.”
“Aging is a privilege. I’ve lost too many people who would have loved to be here, wrinkly & full of sun spots and grey hairs.”
“Yes! I’m 58. Don’t call me ‘young lady.’ Don’t tell me ‘happy 30th,’ on my birthday. Do you imagine I was having this much fun when I was 30? I wasn’t.”
“Yes! Yes! Yes! When I turned 50 someone said to me – and I quote – ‘That’s ok 50 is the new 30!’ And I immediately shot back – ‘God I hope not. At 30 I was knee deep in diapers, never got any sleep and cared way too much about what other people said.’ At 58 when someone tells me I don’t look my age all I say is yes I do and change the subject.”
I find aging actually so beautiful like there’s a certain elegance in older women who have grown to know themselves so well… have their own signature scent & style, unapologetically who they are, smile lines & endearing eye crinkles.. reapplying hand cream every hour
“I’m 55 too. My only goal is to have clear glowing skin. I’m not supposed to look like my kids and I’m okay with that.”
“I like giving compliments like wow you have amazing skin. Or wow you have such gorgeous shiny hair. Your eyes are bright – etc. You’re so right about youth-based compliments.”
Examining our own habits
So many are taking Ting’s message to heart, and it’s something to consider the next time we feel compelled to tell someone they look young for their age. Is this really a goal we want to reinforce? Or is it a social norm that needs to be thoughtfully examined—if not outright done away with?
Thank you, Ting, for putting it so plainly and for serving as an example for us all.
Having a lemonade stand is like a rite of passage for children in the United States. So much so that they’ve become a trope in many movies set in America.
Lemonade stands evoke nostalgia and fond childhood memories for many Americans. According to Smithsonian Magazine, 40% of Baby Boomers reported having a lemonade stand during their childhood.
So when a non-American on Reddit genuinely asked if lemonade stands are “a real thing” here in the States, they got a flood of emphatic responses.
Adding that in their country “parents would be embarrassed if their kids did that,” they asked Americans to describe “the vibe” of lemonade stands.
“Is it seen as a cute hobby or an actual way to learn about money?” they wrote.
And while many Americans confirmed that lemonade stands are indeed breeding grounds for future entrepreneurs, they also explained why they symbolize so much more in American culture.
American lemonade stands, explained
Some American Redditors took a more straightforward approach, describing what lemonade stands are all about and how they support kids with a business mindset:
“It’s not something kids do to actually support their families. It’s a for fun thing typically done when school is out for pocket money or for fun to learn about running a business.”
“I’ll also add that many people like to support kids doing this. I rarely want a cup of lemonade, but I pretty regularly stop to buy some when I see a stand in the summer. People like supporting kids who are putting in effort and people find it cute. It’s similar to kids mowing lawns, shoveling snow, selling bottled water, watering gardens, etc. for cash.”
“I don’t want the lemonade, but I want to reward the kids for initiative. I’ll usually pay for a few, drink one and then tell others to stop by.”
“I ALWAYS stop when I see one. Anytime I do I always overpay. $1 lemonade? Here is $5+ (depends on what I have). I’ve done it… 4 times so far? Not often but enough to make me happy to do it.”
“Yes and I personally believe it’s illegal to not buy lemonade from a lemonade stand, especially if the kids are young and having fun.”
“Yeah it’s viewed here they the kid is a ‘go getter’. They’re motivated and trying to get ahead. It’s not common on super busy roads, but on smaller neighborhood roads.”
Americans share their nostalgic lemonade stand memories
Others offered up their personal stories of how setting up a lemonade stand back in the day impacted them:
“I remember receiving a Sacagawea dollar as a kid selling lemonade!! Best customer ever!”
“When I was of the age (early 1970s) we had a giant lemon tree in our yard, that we used to make the lemonade. Ours was definitely not ‘warm and horrible.’ Ice came from the trays for free, but my mother lent us the money to buy the sugar, and we paid her back from profits. I guess she was really into the authenticity of the business experience.”
“My dad made me pay him back for the frozen lemonade cans (where you add water to create a quart or half gallon), but didn’t tell us until after so our price of $0.50 barely covered it. Killed my business initiative real quick Selling coffee at the bottom of my driveway that was across from a polling place was far more effective.”
According to Smithsonian Magazine, the first recorded lemonade stand in the U.S. appeared in New York City in the fall of 1839. The publication also noted that in 1880, The New York Times reported that “a customer can have a glass of ice-cold lemonade, made before his eyes, for five cents.”
Back then, lemonade was hawked by adults. By the early 1900s, it had become a popular entrepreneurial venture for children. Kids initially sold lemonade for charitable purposes. After states passed laws in 1918 requiring school attendance for children, lemonade stands became a summer staple.
In recent years, many states have cracked down on lemonade stands due to public health concerns. Some began requiring permits for kids to run them. However, many states have also bucked regulation—including Georgia and Texas—ensuring that lemonade stands continue to be part of many American childhoods.
In 2004, the film Catwoman (directed by a French visual effects supervisor known simply as Pitof) was unleashed on the world, and it did not go well. The movie received scathing reviews, landing at 8% on Rotten Tomatoes (with an audience score of 18%). This didn’t go unnoticed by the Golden Raspberry committee, which bestowed seven nominations on the film, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Actress for Halle Berry.
Did this stop Berry from having a good time? Absolutely not. In 2005, she created one of the most iconic power moves Hollywood has ever seen.
For those unaware, the Golden Raspberry Awards (better known as the Razzies) began in 1981 as a satirical antithesis to the Oscars. The idea was that if filmmakers received prizes for “good work,” they should also have to accept awards for the “best worst” movies.
So when Berry “won,” she didn’t just take it in stride. She used it as a reminder that she’s one of the entertainment business’ most incredible performers.
Posted on the Razzie YouTube page, we see two presenters announce her name: “Halle Berry for Catwoman.” The crowd claps and laughs as we see a clip of Berry in the film, sniffing catnip manically.
“Ladies and gentlemen—Halle Berry.” The crowd erupts as Berry, clad in a beautiful black dress, comes roaring onto the stage holding both her Razzie and her Oscar, which she received in 2002 for her work in Monster’s Ball. She feigns shock and excitement as the crowd jumps to its feet for a standing ovation.
Berry’s speech
“Oh my gosh,” she yells into the mic while milking every cheer. She pretends to hyperventilate, perhaps even tearing up a bit. “Thank you, guys! Thank you so much! I never in my life thought I’d be up here winning a Razzie.” The crowd laughs uproariously. “I mean, it’s not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you!”
What she does next is on another level. She holds up her Oscar and screams, “And no, I don’t have to give this back—it’s got my name on it!” Now the audience knows she’s in charge. She composes herself and says, “Ya know? I’ve got so many people to thank, because you won’t win a Razzie without a lot of help from a lot of people. So please indulge me and let me go through this.”
Spoofing an Academy Award acceptance speech, she begins her list of “gratitude.” “First of all, I want to thank Warner Bros. Thank you for putting me in a piece-of-s–t, God-awful movie! It was just what my career needed, ya know? I was at the top, and then Catwoman just plummeted me to the bottom. Love it!”
She pauses, then says, “It’s hard being on top. It’s much better being on the bottom.” The list continues. “I want to thank my manager, Vincent Cirrincione,” she says, and ushers him onto the stage. Cirrincione humbly listens while she kids, “This guy loves me. He loves me so much that he tells me I’m the greatest actress who ever was. He loves me so much that he convinces me to do projects even when he knows they’re s–t!”
He humbly nods and plays along. “My only advice to you, Vinnie, is next time I do a movie—if I get a chance to do another movie—maybe you should read the script? Just counting the zeroes behind the one really isn’t enough. You’ve really got to read the script. Love you, man. Love you!”
Berry is far from done.
“I want to thank my agent and lawyers, who obviously don’t give a s–t. They’re not here tonight, but love you guys! I want to thank the writers—all twenty of them—for thinking this was a good idea.” She adds, “You tried, hey.”
She couldn’t do it alone
Now it’s time for her fellow actors to receive some love.
“I want to thank the cast. You know, it’s really important. In order to give a bad performance like I did, you need a lot of bad actors around. So I want to thank all of them for being bad right along with me! One of them is here—Alex Borstein. Come on out!”
Borstein, who played Sally, the “sassy best friend,” mugs and chews the scenery onstage as she stumbles out with fake tears. The crowd cheers. After they calm down a bit, Berry gets more serious. “One of the best things about Catwoman is I got to make some really wonderful lifelong friendships, and this lady is one of them.”
Borstein composes herself and gazes into Berry’s eyes. She continues, “And you know what? I want to thank you for every single day looking up at me and telling me I was doing a great job—that I was the best Catwoman you ever saw. I want to thank you for lying straight to my face every day. You know, in Hollywood they lie behind your back, but she lied straight to my face!”
Again, the crowd goes wild as Berry refocuses her energy. “I also want to thank our director, Pitof—you know, that one-name French guy? Thank you very much.” She admits his accent made it hard to take direction. “I mean, I didn’t know what the hell he was saying, but I’m sure it showed in my performance. But it was truly a joy and a pleasure.”
Her acting coach is now on deck: “I want to thank my acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck. She just wrote a book called The Power of the Actor. You all should rush to get it. It could change your life too.”
Berry ends on a serious note, saying, “When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there’s no way you could be a good winner. If you weren’t able to take criticism, then you were not worthy of getting your praise.”
She then shares a story of having begun in beauty pageants and learning to control her rage when she lost. “So as you can imagine, I wanted to slap the s–t out of the Razzie people that brought me here tonight. But I won’t do that. I’ll do what my mother taught me and I’ll stand here graciously. I’ll take the criticism—take it as a lesson learned—and hope to God I never see these people ever again. Thank you all!”
The response
The audience claps with joyous applause. So did the comment section. On the official YouTube page, there are over 4,000 comments, with one reading, “This lady is classy as hell! Anyone who accepts their Razzie in person has my respect, and the delivery was absolutely priceless!”
Another comment references the time Adrien Brody gave a six-minute speech for his Best Actor win for the film The Brutalist. The YouTuber jokes, “This speech is longer than Adrien Brody’s 6-minute speech, and hers is undeniably not a second wasted.”
A clip circulating on Instagram has nearly 18,000 likes and a heap of support for her talent and her sense of humor. One person jokes, “The fact that she brought her Oscar…”
If you’re looking to move abroad from the United States, the United Kingdom seems like a natural candidate on its face. After all, moving to the UK means you’ll already speak the language, be relatively familiar with the country’s political structure, and exist within a similar pop culture and media ecosystem.
But many people who move to London or its surrounding areas are stunned to learn just how different American and British cultures can be.
Ashley Jackson recently moved from Amarillo, Texas, to South Manchester. She’s been documenting her journey acclimating to the new culture on her TikTok channel. Recently, she shared three “mortifying” experiences that almost made her rethink her new life in the UK.
In the tongue-in-cheek post, she reiterates that despite the difficulties and hilarious flops that have arisen from her new life, she’s still having a great time living in Manchester. But things were certainly touch-and-go for a while at first.
“One, I’ve had a full-on conversation with a person and I didn’t understand a lick of it. She had a very different accent I couldn’t understand,” Jackson says.
Accents and regional dialects in the UK are among the most diverse and wide-ranging in the world. In the U.S., there are subtle differences between Southern, Cajun, and Northeastern accents, for example. But that’s nothing compared to what even locals encounter in the UK. Even they sometimes have a hard time understanding more niche or obscure dialects like Glaswegian or Devonian. Most Americans are woefully unprepared for the accents they encounter there.
Issue number two for Jackson? “It hailstoned. While on a hike up a hill, it rained, hailstone, my daughter was crying. Everyone was wet, soggy, feet muddy. Quite traumatizing for all of us, but we’re still here.”
Weather in the UK can be all over the map, but one thing the region is famous for is rain and hail. Heatwaves and climate change have only contributed to hailstones becoming larger and more frequent. In another video, Jackson says acclimating to the weather in the UK has been a challenge, noting that she had to “toughen up.”
And finally, issue number three: “I was cut off by my GP (general practitioner) after the 10-minute mark. I didn’t realize there were 10-minute time slots for doctor’s appointments. Learned that one the hard way.”
One big appeal of living in the UK is the mostly free healthcare provided through the NHS. However, appointments can be hard to come by, and many doctors are strict about keeping visits under 10 minutes so they can manage their patient load. Jackson was stunned to be “cut off” in the middle of a visit, but for locals, that’s just the way it goes.
Americans moving to the UK often experience extreme culture shock. We sometimes expect the cultures to be so similar that the small differences that do exist catch us completely off guard.
The language, though fundamentally similar, can take Americans a while to pick up on. British culture is full of slang, regional dialects, and colloquialisms that can be confusing for outsiders. One American who moved there, for example, was baffled when everyone kept calling her cookies “biscuits.”
A lot of American daily conveniences either don’t exist in the UK or are far more rare. Air conditioning and garbage disposals, for example, are hard to come by. Houses and living quarters in general are much smaller than what most Americans are used to as well.
Work culture is very different in the UK as well. Citizens usually have a stronger work-life balance and a government-mandated minimum of five weeks of paid vacation.
In short, moving from America to the UK won’t necessarily be easy just because of the common language. Whether you ultimately enjoy American or British culture more is a matter of taste, but it will take some getting used to—that’s for sure.
As for Jackson, she says in her videos that even if the adjustment wasn’t easy, she loves the rain, the NHS, and the walkability of life in the UK. She just had to stick it out through a few embarrassing faux pas before she could start enjoying all the perks.
Tourists see new places with fresh eyes and fresh observations. In 2024, 72.4 million tourists visited the United States, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. (That’s a lot of eyes seeing America in a new light.)
Tourists to the States have pointed out that Americans really do like to put ranch dressing on everything. They’ve also noted that in the U.S., squirrels seem to run rampant.
While these are insightful observations, most Americans would say they already know them to be true. On Reddit, Americans shared the shocking realizations they had about the U.S. that were only revealed to them by tourists.
As one American noted, “I’ve lived in the US my whole life. Somehow, I’ve never noticed this before.”
These are 15 eye-opening things tourists brought to Americans’ attention that truly blew their minds:
Culture
“We sure do have a lot of flags everywhere.” – myfourmoons
“American coins don’t have numbers on them. Some of the coins will say ‘One Cent’ or ‘Quarter Dollar’ but I don’t think that’s helpful if your English is not so good. And sometimes that labeling is just not in a place that easy to see on a coin.” – chocotacogato
Michael White, a former spokesman for the United States Mint, told The Gainesville Sun that the reason coins in the U.S. don’t have numbers is simple: “It is an artistic choice in the majority of instances.”
White added that certain coins in the past in the U.S. have used numerical notations, including the dime, nickel, and quarter. The article notes, “From 1809 to 1836, there was a half dollar imprinted with ’50 C.’ That was changed to ’50 cents’ for two years and then, in 1838, artistic choice deemed it should be called ‘half dollar.’”
“The gap around the stall doors in public restrooms. It’s weird, and I hate it.” – SidheRa
“Bank drive-thru lanes. I was told ‘why don’t you just get out of your car and walk in the bank?’” – JWilsn_Art
According to Wells Fargo, “motor banks” (aka drive-in and drive-thru banks) were invented in the U.S. and came into existence in the 1930s.
“That every morning, all American children from kindergarten to 12th grade, stand before the US flag (found in every classroom, ofc) and recite “the pledge of allegiance” to the country in unison, with their right hands over their hearts. Upon learning this universal American school experience, my Russian colleague said: ‘That is the most Comm*nist thing over ever heard!’” – jzzdancer2
The Pledge of Allegiance, written by Francis Bellamy, debuted in 1892, according to the American Legion. Over the years, it went through various edits until it was recognized by Congress and included in the U.S. Flag Code on June 22, 1942.
“How much daily life revolves around cars. In many cities, if you don’t drive, you basically don’t exist. It’s convenience on steroids.” – Prior_Bank7992
Mannerisms
“That Americans switch between hands when eating with silverware, cutlery, etc.” – BasilRevolutionary38
Called the “cut-and-switch” table habit, it’s described by NPR as when you “hold your fork in your left hand and cut with your right and then put down your knife so you can switch your fork to your right hand before you take a bite.”
Americans actually adapted this use of cutlery from the French. Writer Mark Vanhoenacker explained to NPR, “Americans got it from France in the 19th century even as France was giving it up, and no one knows why France gave it up. Maybe just convenience or another change of fashion.”
“We smile too much. To the point where foreigners, specifically Asians (Korean and Chinese) have pointed out that our smiles feel disingenuous and mean nothing. Really hit home, but despite that, I still smile ‘too much’.” – BMdabbleU
“How much casual socializing we do with strangers. From small talk to things people in other places consider weirdly intimate (like talking about health problems).” – Practical-Water-9209
“The lean! The fact that people from the U.S. tend to lean on things while standing, no matter how inappropriate a place or circumstance. I’ve thought about it, and I think its because the U.S. (for the most part) isn’t walkable, so we aren’t used to standing for as along as other countries.” – Lobstertales143
The Central Intelligence Agency has deemed the “American Lean” a dead giveaway that someone is an American. In 2019, Jonna Mendez, the CIA’s former chief of disguise, and Gina Haspel, former CIA director, told NPR that Europeans can easily spot Americans in a crowd.
“They think that we are slouchy, a little sloppy,” Mendez said. “And they think that they can almost see that in our demeanor on the street because they stand up straight. They don’t lean on things.”
Food
“Root beer tastes like medicine. It’s still my favorite soda but… yeah it tastes mediciney.” – TheNerdNugget
“Had a German foreign exchange student and she said ‘All American breakfast is dessert. Pancakes, donuts, Cinnabon, muffins, French toast…’ I was like yea you have a point lol.” – dom954
Words
“Apparently Americans use the word ‘awesome’ a lot. I’ve had people in other countries tease us for how we think everything is awesome lol. But to be fair, tons of things ARE awesome, and also you’re talking to me on vacation when I’m in the best mood of my life lol.” – Gold_Telephone_7192
“‘Yeah’ ‘Yeah no’ ‘Yeah right’ ‘Oh yeah’ ‘Hell yeah!’ All mean different things!” – zippy_97
Oh, Olive Garden. The hold you have on our American souls. We know it’s about as authentic to Italian food as Taco Bell is to Mexican food, but does that make the breadsticks and Alfredo sauce any less addictive? No, certainly not.
Still, one cannot expect an actual Italian person to hold the same fondness. And yet, one American host mom insisted on introducing her Italian exchange student to it anyway.
In a hilarious three-part series, we see Rhonda, an American, tell Alessandro, an Italian, “Today’s your lucky day! We are taking you to dinner at a very special place!” She then does her best to coax Alessandro out of the car and into the Olive Garden where they’re currently parked.
Alessandro was “not mentally ready” for Olive Garden
Alessandro, however, is NOT feeling it and even asks if there was a McDonald’s nearby where they could go instead. He then declares, “I’m not going anywhere.”
After several pleas, all to no avail, Alessandro eventually gives in. Though he clarifies, “This is something against my will, just so you know,” as he passes the “Benvenuto!” sign.
Scouring the menu, poor Alessandro can’t help but exclaim, “Mamma mia! Why am I here?!” When Rhonda suggests getting the fettuccine Alfredo, he looks downright appalled. You can actually catch his nostrils flaring.
The real history behind the very American fettuccine Alfredo
As Rhonda points out in the video, Alfredo sauce would not be found in Italy—at least not the thick, cream-laden version we know here in the United States. The original Roman dish, made by Alfredo di Lelio around 1908, was simply butter and Parmesan tossed with hot pasta water to create a silky coating.
As legend has it, silent film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks—one of Hollywood’s first power couples—tasted the dish while in Rome and loved it so much they popularized it back home. With the American mentality often being “more is more,” the recipe eventually evolved into the heavier, cream-based sauce known today. Another theory is that Italian immigrants adapted the recipe to American tastes. Either way, American sensibilities are to blame.
Back to Olive Garden…
Holding his head in his hand, Alessandro eventually orders the fried mozzarella and calamari (honestly, solid choices), which he seems to enjoy well enough. He also tries the fried ravioli. Though he cannot quite comprehend why ravioli needed to be fried in the first place, he graciously labels it “interesting,” which feels like the international diplomatic way of saying, “I only tolerate this.”
But you know what? He absolutely DEVOURS those breadsticks and Alfredo.
“I feel like I’m betraying Italy right now,” he says, clearly enjoying the salty, creamy, oh-so American indulgence. Alfredo di Lelio must be rolling in his grave!
The series ends with Alessandro being forced to reconcile with what we Americans know to be true: Olive Garden is in no way, shape, or form authentic, but it is super tasty nevertheless. He may never admit this back home, but in that booth, surrounded by unlimited carbs and a very pleased host mom, he cannot deny the appeal.
Wonder if he’ll ever be brave enough to try the chicken parm…
A lot of parents feel guilty about letting their kids watch TV. But a little bit of screentime isn’t always a bad thing. There are shows with legitimate educational value like Ms. Rachel or Sesame Street. Educational programming can be an amazing way for kids to accelerate their learning of counting, the alphabet, and social behaviors.
In some rare cases, they can learn even more than that from their favorite TV shows: Like bravery and strength. Just take it from 3-year-old Bridger Peabody.
Not all heroes wear capes; some wear blankies. Giphy
Bridger is a huge fan of the show Paw Patrol, which came in handy when an emergency took place while he was being babysat by his great-grandmother Sharon Lewis, 77.
The two were home alone when the unthinkable happened, “Gigi,” which is what Bridger calls his grandma, suffered a terrifying and violent fall. Lewis uses a walker to get around and must’ve become unsteady on her feet while maneuvering the wheeled walker inside.
The pair were outside enjoying some playtime before everything went south. As they were making their way inside from playing in the backyard, Lewis fell—but it wasn’t just a normal trip and fall. The great-grandma didn’t land on her knees, bottom, or even her hands—which probably would caused enough damage. When Lewis fell, she forcefully hit her head on the cement steps and blood quickly rushed from her wound—but that wasn’t the end of her problem.
The two were alone, and there was no one else around to help.
“I tripped over something and fell and hit my head on the concrete step,” Lewis tells Inside Edition.
The elderly woman was unable to move and her cell phone was not with her. Since she was home alone with the toddler, she realized he was the only one there who could help her.
So, she instructed him to get her phone from her car. Bridger may be young, but he knew his grandmother was hurt and needed his help. There were a couple of stumbling blocks for Bridger to overcome, though, the first one being that the phone was in the car, not inside the house. The second was that the sun had set and the toddler is afraid of the dark. Venturing out into the darkness alone to get his great-grandma’s cellphone was a monumental task for the little guy.
This is where Paw Patrol comes in. The show is popular with toddlers and preschoolers, and depicts cartoon dogs of different breeds donning uniforms from various help and service professions (firefighter, police, construction, etc.) to rescue different fictional animals. It shows kids the importance of bravery, team work, and kindness—which Bridger clearly picked up on.
The little guy knew that it was dark outside, but he also knew he needed to help his great-grandmother—so he braved the dark channeling his inner Paw Patrol character.
The whole thing was captured on the Peabody’s security camera and it’s just as amazing and adorable as you would expect.
Bridger even gives himself a little pep talk as he navigates the nighttime darkness to retrieve the cell phone so Gigi can call 911. You can see Bridger holding his blankie in the night vision security camera as he walks to the car repeating, “Don’t be afraid.”
The boy opens the car door and excitedly exclaims, “YAY! I did it!” when he gets inside the car.
When the interior light turned on in the car, Bridger could clearly see the phone and was able to grab it and bring it back to his grandmother, allowing her to call 911.
The ambulance came to take Lewis to the hospital where she received 22 staples in her head. She’s now home safely recovering all thanks to the bravery of her three-year-old great grandson.
Social media users couldn’t get enough of the story of bravery, and it quickly went viral. Commenters chimed in with their admiration:
“Not all hero’s wear capes, some of them hold blankies.”
“Grandma’s hope in Bridger overcame his fear! May they always be bonded, and continue to make lasting memories together!”
“him telling himself dont be scared is one of the cutest and bravest things i have seen that was special.”
“Paw Patrol company needs to give that young warrior something special.”
“Yay!! I did it!!” My heart melted. What an adorable little boy, and so strong. He saved his Gigi’s life that day. Bless him!!!”
Gigi is doing well and, with the media frenzy dying down, Bridger is returning to life as a normal 3-year-old. But he and his Gigi will be bonded for life over what happened, that much is for sure. The young man might have a bright future in helping others ahead of him with the bravery he’s displayed so far in his short life.
This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.
