Qiaochu Yuan divided Twitter with his elaborate musings on his own life
(Picture: @QiaochuYuan/Twitter)A man has gone viral on Twitter after penning a 35-part thread unpicking why he “resents” his parents for spoiling him.
Qiaochu Yuan, who goes by the username Magnificent Adult Baby, said his epic monologue came about after he took a “medium dose” of LSD and landed on some “embarrassing” truths about his life.
In his posts, Yuan recounted how his mother gave him $100,000 (around £73,400) for his birthday last year, and how he “resented her for this” but also “repressed the resentment”.
He went on to reveal that he hadn’t had a job in three years – a fact that he put down to his parents constantly sending him cash.
“The truth is that your finances aren’t separate from your parents’ finances and they never have been,” he admitted to himself. “You resent your mum for sending you $100,000 because she forcefully reminded you of this fact.
"You feel like you were told by society that the way making a living works is that you do labour and are paid a fair wage for your labour [...] you feel guilty because you’ve never done this.”
He continued: "The reason you’re alive right now and not starving to death on the street even though you haven’t had a job in three years is because your parents send you money because they love you."
"but that's just not true. you actually do not need to earn the right to exist and you never have. the reason you're alive right now and not starving to death on the street even though you haven't had a job in 3 years is because your parents send you money because they love you"
— Magnificent Adult Baby (@QiaochuYuan) July 15, 2021
Yuan then described himself as “Harry f***ing Potter”, saying: “I’m literally being protected by my parents’ love in the form of money and I always have been. How incredibly embarrassing.”
“And then I was like, oh my god am I a spoiled rich kid?,” he went on, adding that this would be “even worse.”
and then i was like oh my god am i a spoiled rich kid??? am i a trust fund baby kind of??? that's even worse jesus
— Magnificent Adult Baby (@QiaochuYuan) July 15, 2021
His rant continued with an assessment of his childhood and education, including the $175,000 (£151,200) his parents paid in tuition fees during his time at MIT university.
“They were paying for all of my living expenses in both college and grad school,” he confessed. “I never talked about this with anyone, really.
“I had friends in college who would complain about money problems and I didn’t know what they meant and was too embarrassed to ask.”
i had friends in college who would complain about money problems and i didn't know what they meant and was too embarrassed to ask. when they said they couldn't afford X i didn't know if they meant "that's not in my budget" or "i don't have the dollars in my bank account"
— Magnificent Adult Baby (@QiaochuYuan) July 15, 2021
However, whilst he “recognised” that he was “speaking from a position of extreme privilege”, he insisted that “this wasn’t all upside.”
“My parents took care of me materially at the expense of taking care of me emotionally,” Yuan said.
He explained that he was “very spoiled” and that his mum and dad “never even made me do chores” which, “in retrospect wasn’t good for me” and “led to me being incredibly sheltered in a bunch of ways.”
and like i kinda get why they did that but it led to me being incredibly sheltered in a bunch of ways. they never even made me do chores. i was very spoiled and in retrospect it wasn't good for me
— Magnificent Adult Baby (@QiaochuYuan) July 15, 2021
Yuan’s soliloquy ended with him acknowledging that “when I explain my current life circumstances to myself in a matter-of-fact way it does not look good.”
He explained: “I literally have no job, no gf, no friends (in the sense of people I interact with in real life regularly), no community, no mission, no purpose, no team, no religion…”
i have 8k followers on twitter tho 😅 hi everyone
— Magnificent Adult Baby (@QiaochuYuan) July 15, 2021
But asking himself what he should do with his life he concluded: “Just keep writing,” adding: “You literally don’t have to have a plan for how the rest of your life goes.”
His thread was met with a mixture of horror and compassion, as some fellow Twitter users offered little sympathy (or empathy) with his turmoil, while others said they “understood”.
Here’s a glimpse at the general response:
I’m screamingggggg wow ..........???? I’m trying really hard to see this from his perspective but.. it’s not making any sense that he’s victimized himself for receiving money https://t.co/x2ngIpd1FO
— softie 👵🏾 (@nicebitchg) July 17, 2021
NOT HIM FEELING RICH PPL GUILT 😭😭😭 https://t.co/HYWOIdp0Pi
— maybe they just need hope (@thevivsion) July 18, 2021
Actual rich person tears.
— Dan (@AlienWithABox) July 17, 2021
This should've stayed in the drafts. https://t.co/YQbybn9R12
I wish this was the least of my problem.
— Kuro Midori (@5thRing) July 19, 2021
But my finances are, indeed, not separate from my parents', as I have inherited their debt. https://t.co/kmbiNgAKWp
Everyone's getting mad but I actually understand 🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴 https://t.co/TJv1Q31WJq
— Princess💕 (@oluwatoyomo) July 18, 2021
However, responding to the backlash, Yuan explained that he had received numerous private messages of support, some from people who claimed to be in a similar position:
in case people are still confused, last night i got something like a dozen DMs from people, maybe half of them strangers, being like "thank you for writing the money thread," several "i'm in this position too and it's so hard to talk about"
— Magnificent Adult Baby (@QiaochuYuan) July 16, 2021
that's who i write these threads for https://t.co/nhAGqjtGEY
“That’s who I write these threads for,” he said.
