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Health

Man whose family won the lottery describes the strange part about becoming rich overnight

There is a downside to having your life change entirely instantly.

via Canva

A man holding a huge check.

One of the fun parts of buying a lottery ticket is walking out of the liquor store and fantasizing about what you'd do with the winnings. Where would I buy a home with an extra $20 million? To which charities would I donate some of the money? Which friends would I tell I won, and which family members would I keep in the dark?

Studies show that lottery winners experience greater life satisfaction after winning. However, not everyone is equipped to deal with a massive windfall. Around 33% of lottery winners file for bankruptcy 3 to 5 years after their windfall because they overspend their fortune.

Jayden Clarke, who lives in Los Angeles but was originally from Australia, admitted that he came from a family that won the lottery “over a decade ago” when he was 12 years old in a viral TikTok video. “Today, I’m going to do a storytime on how we won the lottery. I had obvious reasons to never speak about this because growing up, whenever anyone did know about it, they definitely had crazy perceptions of us immediately,” Clark begins his video.

@jaydenclark21

We won the lottery… a decade ago #storytime #lottery #lotto #storytimevideos #growingup #lotterywinner #family #realitytv #winning #poortorich #gambletok

The main point was to share that, of course, there are upsides to being in a family that has won millions of dollars; however, some unexpected discomfort creeps into one's life as well. “Even though we grew up still very structured in a way that if we wanted something, we had to have a reason to get it or work towards it in a way, I feel like the experience of winning the lottery makes you feel you have no option to be a normal person,” Clarke admits.

Clarke grew up in a lower-middle-class family struggling to keep their house. After winning the lottery, they moved into an affluent neighborhood with wealthy doctors and priests. However, they didn’t feel comfortable in their new digs and also felt uneasy in the neighborhood they left.

"Growing up, at least in Australia, it felt like when I did become aware of it, we would always make it very clear that we didn't deserve it because we didn't work hard,” Clarke said. “Even growing up we had the most beautiful house, like it was a blueprint for a reality show. Very often, we'd feel out of place between these two realities and just not fitting in anywhere."



He says that his family felt like the “Bogan” lottery family. For the unfamiliar, Bogan is a rude Aussie slang term to refer to boorish, lower-class people. Due to the family’s guilt about their sudden, possibly undeserved wealth, they were very generous with family and friends.

Unlike some lottery winners that blow all their money and then some, the Clarke family was smart with their winnings and is still “comfortable.” Clarke now lives in Los Angeles, where he feels he fits in much better than he did back in Australia. “Not until I came to LA did I feel like I belong and like it was normal,” he said. “Because there's so many crazy people here with crazy lives and realities and journeys. Back home, I often felt like like an outcast.”

Ultimately, Clarke is happy that his family won the lottery, and he’s slowly learned to come to grips with his incredible stroke of luck. “I'm still to this day grateful for how it happened to our family and how it changed our lives. My relationship with the whole like experience is very different now to growing up cause growing up, I did feel like I had to hide it.”

Schools

A dad's hilarious letter to school asks them to explain why they're living in 1968

"I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium."

Earlier in the week, Stephen Callaghan's daughter Ruby came home from school. When he asked her how her day was, her answer made him raise an eyebrow.

Ruby, who's in the sixth grade at her school in Australia, told her dad that the boys would soon be taken on a field trip to Bunnings (a hardware chain in the area) to learn about construction. The girls, on the other hand? While the boys were out learning, they would be sent to the library to have their hair and makeup done.

Ruby's reply made Callaghan do a double take. What year was it, again?

Callaghan decided to write a letter to the school sharing his disappointment — but his wasn't your typical "outraged parent" letter.


"Dear Principal," he began. "I must draw your attention to a serious incident which occurred yesterday at your school where my daughter is a Year 6 student."

"When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017," Callaghan continued. "But when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968."

The letter goes on to suggest that perhaps the school is harboring secret time-travel technology or perhaps has fallen victim to a rift in the "space-time continuum," keeping his daughter in an era where women were relegated to domestic life by default.

"I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not sharply divided along gender lines," he concluded.



Dear Principal
I must draw your attention to a serious incident which occurred yesterday at your school where my daughter Ruby is a Year 6 student.
When Ruby left for school yesterday it was 2017 but when she returned home in the afternoon she was from 1968.
I know this to be the case as Ruby informed me that the "girls" in Year 6 would be attending the school library to get their hair and make-up done on Monday afternoon while the "boys" are going to Bunnings.
Are you able to search the school buildings for a rip in the space-time continuum? Perhaps there is a faulty Flux Capacitor hidden away in the girls toilet block.
I look forward to this being rectified and my daughter and other girls at the school being returned to this millennium where school activities are not sharply divided along gender lines.
Yours respectfully
Stephen Callaghan

When Callaghan posted the letter to Twitter, it quickly went viral and inspired hundreds of supportive responses.

Though most people who saw his response to the school's egregiously outdated activities applauded him, not everyone was on board.

One commenter wrote, "Sometimes it is just ok for girls to do girl things."

But Callaghan was ready for that. "Never said it wasn't," he replied. "But you've missed the point. Why 'girl things' or 'boy things'... Why not just 'things anyone can do?'"

He later commented that he didn't think the school's plan was malicious, but noted the incident was a powerful example of "everyday sexism" at work.

Callaghan says the school hasn't responded to his letter. (Yes, he really sent it.) At least, not directly to him.

Some media outlets have reported that the school claims students are free to opt in and out of the different activities. But, as Callaghan says, gendering activities like this in the first place sends the completely wrong message.

In response to the outpouring of support, Callaghan again took to Twitter.

"At 12 years of age my daughter is starting to notice there are plenty of people prepared to tell her what she can and can't do based solely on the fact she is female," he wrote.

"She would like this to change. So would I."


This article originally appeared on 12.08.17.

Mental Health

27-year-old who died of cancer left behind final advice that left the internet in tears

"Don't feel pressured to do what other people might think is a fulfilling life. You might want a mediocre life and that is so OK."

Photo courtesy of Remembering Holly Butcher/Facebook used with permission.

Holly Butcher left behind her best life advice before she passed away at 27.

The world said goodbye to Holly Butcher, a 27-year-old woman from Grafton, Australia.

Butcher had been battling Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that predominantly affects young people. In a statement posted on Butcher's memorialized Facebook account, her brother, Dean, and partner, Luke, confirmed the heartbreaking news to friends.

"It is with great sadness that we announce Holly's passing in the early hours of this morning," they wrote on Jan. 4, 2018. "After enduring so much, it was finally time for her to say goodbye to us all. The end was short and peaceful; she looked serene when we kissed her forehead and said our final farewells. As you would expect, Holly prepared a short message for you all, which will be posted above."

Butcher's message, which Dean and Luke did, in fact, post publicly shortly thereafter, has brought the internet to tears.


We believe her powerful message — which has amassed an incredible 72,000 Likes and 56,000 shares across the world so far — deserves to be spread far and wide.

Butcher used her final post to reflect on what she's learned in her short but beautiful life, offering some advice to those of us who are willing to listen.

"It's a strange thing to [realize] and accept your mortality at 26 years young," she began. "I always imagined myself growing old, wrinkled and gray — most likely caused by the beautiful family (lots of kiddies) I planned on building with the love of my life. I want that so bad it hurts. That's the thing about life; It is fragile, precious and unpredictable and each day is a gift, not a given right."

Butcher's poignant post is definitely worth reading in full. But here are 16 especially powerful points:

1. "I just want people to stop worrying so much about the small, meaningless stresses in life and try to remember that we all have the same fate after it all, so do what you can to make your time feel worthy and great, minus the bullshit. ... Those times you are [whining] about ridiculous things (something I have noticed so much these past few months), just think about someone who is really facing a problem. Be grateful for your minor issue and get over it. It's OK to acknowledge that something is annoying but try not to carry on about it and negatively affect other people's days."

2. "Once you do that, get out there and take a freaking big breath of that fresh Aussie air deep in your lungs, look at how blue the sky is and how green the trees are; It is so beautiful. Think how lucky you are to be able to do just that — breathe. You might have got caught in bad traffic today, or had a bad sleep because your beautiful babies kept you awake, or your hairdresser cut your hair too short. ... I swear you will not be thinking of those things when it is your turn to go. It is all SO insignificant when you look at life as a whole. I'm watching my body waste away right before my eyes with nothing I can do about it and all I wish for now is that I could have just one more birthday or Christmas with my family, or just one more day with my partner and dog. Just one more."

cherishing today, thoughts on life, premature death, youth, family

Holly Butcher shares a big smile for the camera.

Photo courtesy of Remembering Holly Butcher/Facebook used with permission.

3. "I hear people complaining about how terrible work is or about how hard it is to exercise — be grateful you are physically able to. Work and exercise may seem like such trivial things…until your body doesn't allow you to do either of them… Appreciate your good health and functioning body — even if it isn't your ideal size. Look after it and embrace how amazing it is."

4. "Give, give, give. It is true that you gain more happiness doing things for others than doing them for yourself. I wish I did this more. Since I have been sick, I have met the most incredibly giving and kind people and been the receiver of the most thoughtful and loving words and support from my family, friends and strangers; more than I could ever give in return. I will never forget this and will be forever grateful to all of these people."

5. "This year, our family agreed to do no presents and despite the tree looking rather sad and empty (I nearly cracked Christmas Eve!), it was so nice because people didn't have the pressure of shopping and the effort went into writing a nice card for each other. Plus, imagine my family trying to buy me a present knowing they would probably end up with it themselves ... strange! ... but those cards mean more to me than any impulse purchase could. ... Anyway, moral of the story — presents are not needed for a meaningful Christmas."

6. "Use your money on experiences ... or at least don't miss out on experiences because you spent all your money on material shit. Put in the effort to do that day trip to the beach you keep putting off. Dip your feet in the water and dig your toes in the sand. Wet your face with salt water."

7. "Try just enjoying and being in moments rather than capturing them through the screen of your phone. Life isn't meant to be lived through a screen nor is it about getting the perfect photo."

music is therapy, love, courtesy, life and death, positive messages

"Try just enjoying and being in moments rather than capturing them..." Holly Butcher.

Photo courtesy of Remembering Holly Butcher/Facebook used with permission.

8. "Listen to music ... really listen. Music is therapy."

9. "Cuddle your dog. Far out, I will miss that."

10. "Talk to your friends. Put down your phone. Are they doing OK?"

11. "Travel if it's your desire, don't if it's not."

12. "Work to live, don't live to work."

13. "Seriously, do what makes your heart feel happy."

14. "Don't feel pressured to do what other people might think is a fulfilling life. You might want a mediocre life and that is so OK."

15. "Tell your loved ones you love them every time you get the chance and love them with everything you have."

16. "Oh and one last thing. If you can, do a good deed for humanity (and myself) and start regularly donating blood. It will make you feel good with the added bonus of saving lives. Blood donation (more bags than I could keep up with counting) helped keep me alive for an extra year — a year I will be forever grateful that I got to spend here on Earth with my family, friends and dog. A year I had some of the greatest times of my life."

Butcher may be gone, but her impact will live on in the hearts and minds of people around the world.

"Never [met] her, but I am very touched and in tears," one Facebook user commented. "Such a bright light for a seemingly dark world at times," another chimed in. "Beautiful."

"What a wise soul she is," someone concluded. "I'm off to donate my blood."

Rest in peace, Holly. You made this world a better place. ❤️

If you are in the U.S. and inspired by Butcher's message, consider finding a blood donation center near you. You could save a life.



This article originally appeared on 01.08.18


Representative photo by Gustavo Fring/Pexels

What do you do when your kindy-age neighbor challenges you to a bake-off?

It's been six years since "Bluey" debuted in Australia, and since then, the show has grown into a global phenomenon. Though it's aimed at kids, the series has created a passionate following among people of all ages who adore the heart and humor the Blue Heeler dogs from down under have to offer.

And it's been just over seven years since an adorably cheeky little girl, Harper, made her way into the world, and she has also grown into a viral Aussie phenomenon.

Harper lives next door to Brandon and Jordan Nolan, the twin music duo Take Two, in Sydney. Her interactions with their family seem like they come straight out of an episode of "Bluey," right down to the uncanny similarity between Harper's voice and the young "Bluey" cast members (whose identities remain anonymous).


Many of the interactions take place through the fence between their yards and Harper is never shown fully (a wise choice). The neighbors will share things over or under the fence, with Harper pranking the guys more than once with something that looks like food but contains dirt.

In a particularly hilarious video, Harper shares the "legit" cheesecake and ice cream she made as part of their bake-off competition. Seriously, 5-year-old Harper sounds just like Bluey's little sister, Bingo, with the quick wit to match.

Watch:

@alwaystaketwo

Replying to @Zoe_heem My 5yr old neighbour challenged us to a bake off.. here is her cake!! Is it safe to eat but?? 🤷🏼‍♀️🍰 (Part 3) 👩‍🍳♥️ #foryou #fyp

Harper also met Brandon's baby boy, Grayson, when she was 5, and that video is also an instant classic.

@alwaystaketwo

Replying to @46username Part 2 of my 5yr old neighbour meeting my son for the first time 😆♥️👶🏻 she loves him but still hates us.. 🤷🏼‍♀️ #foryou #fyp

When she was 6, Brandon went for a walk with her and talked to her about him moving 10 minutes away. Her reaction is perfect.

@alwaystaketwo

Today I had to tell my 6yr old neighbour I’m no longer going go be her neighbour anymore.. *NOT CLICK BAIT* 😭💔🏠 ##foryou##fyp(Like for Part 2)

Now that she's 7, her voice sounds a bit more like Bluey than Bingo, and still just as surreal to hear in real life asking questions like, "Have you been achieving much in life?"

@alwaystaketwo

My 7yr old neighbour’s dad is a doctor👨‍⚕️😡👊🏻 and he couldn’t fix my shoulder after I paid him.. here’s my argument with her #foryou #fyp

It's hard not to hear the resemblance to the "Bluey" characters, as evidenced by the comments.

"Is that bluey and bingo on the other side of the fence!? 😅"

"Literally thought 'how could bluey and bingo are their neighbors?'"

"There needs to be an episode of Bluey where they get new neighbors and the girls befriend them like this."

"Bluey and Bingo living next door is wild."

"Please tell me that we all think the same thing because we are parents? It took me one second to say Bluey!"

"Omg I’m not the only one that thought omg BINGO!!!"

You can follow @alwaystaketwo on TikTok for more fun with Harper and her neighbors.