“Healthcare should NOT be tied to employment. I don’t want to be trapped in a job I hate just so I can get my prescriptions.”

As a Senior Staff Writer at BuzzFeed, I cover real-life stories that explore relationships, lifestyle (including travel and beauty), and the internet's most fascinating trends.

Note: Some responses were pulled from this Reddit thread by u/nightwing-throwaway.

"I remember when I got it, I was crying in pain, and the nurse was giving me an attitude about it and said it wasn't 'that bad.' I was going to walk home because it wasn't too far away, but I literally had to get an Uber because I was in too much pain to move. Glad more people are speaking up "about this."

"Instead, public education is geared towards making sure a student's mindset is ready to be another cog in the economic machine."

"I think it's making us expect people to be essentially CGI versions of people instead of actual people."

"I tipped 18% at a hotel restaurant the other day. I guess I should have read the receipt more carefully because after I left, I realized a 15% tip was already applied. It was charged to my room already, so the waiter was standing there waiting for me to give another tip when a tip was already applied."

"My mother was at the hospital delivering my sister when her boss called and wanted her to cover a shift — he knew my mom was in labor. Two days after my sister was born, my mom was back waiting tables."

"Now it’s, 'I texted you, you didn’t respond. Are we still friends, are you mad at me?' Like no, I simply just didn’t feel like responding. I’m a busy adult, and just because there’s a texting feature on my phone doesn’t mean I’m always willing to engage in conversation."

"The idea that a person's worth is tied to their job and economic activity rather than their character."

"Basically, if you are attractive, people will tend to think you are 'only' attractive and not so smart, and even that you got a job because you are pretty — but if you are considered less attractive, you may be categorized as someone whose intelligence and sensibility are not enough. Double standards between men and women are a real thing."

"It's like society collectively decided that mental health can be swept under the rug with last century's dust."

"The fact that you work 9-to-5 for almost all your life. It's like you have been born to work, pay taxes, and consume."

"'I couldn't possibly use my education, career and everything I've secured with those to treat the man who shows me kindness and makes me feel safe like a king..."

"Ridiculous. We need more empathy and less ego. More connection, less loneliness."

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.