With the year we’re having, it’s safe to say that a lot of us are expecting 2021 to be far better. However, even if some of us are losing faith in humanity, things aren’t as grim in 2020 as we think. People from all over the world are sharing the times that the results they got exceeded expectations and posting them on the ‘Expectation Vs. Reality’ subreddit.
Scroll down for a wholesome collection that has no place for cynicism and where reality is better (or at least as good) as what’s advertised. Remember to upvote your fave pics, Pandas. When you’re done scrolling through this list and upvoting your fave pics, check out We’s previous post about cake fails from the ‘Expectation Vs. Reality’ subreddit.
We reached out to Reddit user Zarishka, whose photos of the Doctor Who cupcakes she ordered went viral on the subreddit. According to the redditor, the cupcakes were baked by Alena who lives in Nur-Sultan, in Kazakhstan. “She bakes cupcakes, cakes and cake pops! And can decorate them in any theme the customer wants. Recently she’s been making really cool Halloween themed cupcakes and pops.” Scroll down for the rest of our delicious interview with Zarishka.
#1 Dr. Who Cupcakes. Sent An Independent Baker The First Pic Not Hoping For Much (It Was A Short Notice), Nearly Cried With Joy When Got My Order
#2 Otterly Impressive Birthday Cake From My Mom
#3 When Your 3-Year-Old Asks For A Rainbow Dinosaur Donut Party You Comply. I Drew The Design And Had It Made By A Local Baker
According to redditor Zarishka, the Doctor Who cupcakes that exceeded their expectations were really good. “Chocolate cupcakes with salt caramel filling and cheese cream on top. Sweet, salty, and creamy at the same time!” That sounds like heaven to us!
“The cupcakes were for my best friend’s bachelorette party. Well, just out of lockdown style bachelorette party, a picnic for three people counting the bride in a local park. She wanted the whole wedding to be in the Doctor Who style, however, because of the pandemic all the wedding plans fell through, and we didn’t even think we’d be able to do the bachelorette party,” Zarishka said.
#4 My Wife And I Were Worried Our Daughter Would Have A Hard Time Making Friends In Kindergarten Because Of The Wheelchair. Turns Out I Have A Different Problem On My Hands
#5 Commissioned Piece Of My Sweet, Late Persephone. The Artist Surpassed Any And All Expectations
#6 My Daughter Begged Me To Show Her A Planet Through Her Toy Telescope. Expected Failure, But Found Jupiter And All 4 Moons. Mindblown
“But then the situation seemed to become more stable in our city, and the lockdown was lifted, so we decided to have a small party for the three of us, and I immediately ordered the cupcakes with very short notice. The baker didn’t even know about the series, so I didn’t expect to get these amazing cupcakes at all. My friend was super happy with them! I love Doctor Who, however, I can’t say that I’m as big of a fan as she is,” the redditor told We.
She added that she doesn’t think that the photos do the cupcakes justice. “They also had edible glitter on them, star-shaped candy, and silvery candy of various sizes. Very pretty!”
#7 I Pointed My Camera Straight Up And Left The Shutter Running For An Hour To See What Would Happen. Didn’t Expect A Flowing River Of Stars
This was taken at Ice House reservoir in Pollock Pines, CA last night. I head out to dark skies on occasion to do astrophotography, but last night I forgot a tracker to compensate for the earth’s motion, so I took some experimental shots without it. Turned out much better than I expected. Star trail shots are challenging to compose, so I got pretty lucky with the way they seemed to flow through the trees.
#8 Ordered The Blanket From A Sketchy Seeming Website. They Nailed It
#9 First Time Doing A Photo Restoration Turned Out Better Than Expected (12 Hours Of Work)
The ‘Expectation Vs. Reality’ community on Reddit has 710k members and they’ve got pretty much everything to do with (yup, you guessed it) expectations: from roaring successes to facepalm-worthy fails.
One thing that’s pretty much consistent about people is just how bad most of us are at predicting how we will feel in different situations. Generally, we tend to expect too much and then get disappointed when reality slaps us in the face like an angry otter with a wet fish.
Even though we yearn for success and want to avoid failure, research has shown us that we greatly overestimate how much happier we’ll be when rich, famous, in the perfect relationships, and working our dream jobs.
#10 My Wife Asked What Kind Of Cake She Should Make. I Told Her That, Honestly, I’ve Always Wanted To Try Peach’s Thank-You Cake From The End Of Super Mario 64
#11 Opened The Box To Assemble A New Office Desk & Expected A Big Headache. Was Pleasantly Surprised
#12 Client’s Sketch For Pendant vs. Finished Pendant. Expectations Surpassed
Sure, we get a (massive) boost when we win the lottery, get married, or get that promotion we’ve been angling for these past few years. But. But! That joy doesn’t last long. Soon enough, we’re back at our ‘standard’ happiness levels, wondering what goals we should pursue next. We’re very adaptable and that’s both a blessing and a curse.
Instead of focusing on how ‘perfect’ life will be if only X, Y, and Z happened, you should appreciate the things around you. Don’t take things for granted. Start a gratitude journal. Let the people in your life know what they mean to you. Sappy? Sure.
But gratitude will make you much happier. And this happiness is within your reach. So hope for the best, prepare for the worst, don’t expect much, but bask in the glow when the results accidentally exceed your expectations.
#13 I Took A Picture Through My Sunglasses At The Beach With My Phone. It Turned Out Better Than I Expected
#14 I Think It Turned Out Pretty Well
#15 Pic Given To Local Baker On The Left. Actual Hungry Unicorn Cake I Received On The Right. I Like My Cake Better
#16 My Friend’s Wife Wanted Us Groomsmen To Do A Pic Similar To The Bridesmaids Poster. I’d Say It Came Out Better Than I Expected
#17 The Way We Advertise Our Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas vs. The Way I Like To Make Them For Customers
#18 Made A Unicorn Cake For My Mom’s Birthday. Considering How Inexperienced I Am With Baking, I Thought It Turned Out Pretty Good
#19 Reality vs. Better Reality
#20 That’s Hot
#21 Shined My Girlfriend’s Favorite Pair Of Boots And They Turned Out Better Than Expected
#22 Christmas Gift From My Teens Has Proven More Useful Than Expected
#23 Looks Way Better Than The Box
#24 My Mom Made An Elsa Cake
#25 I Ran Out Of Filament During A Print, And As A Royals Fan I Decided To Make The Best Of A Bad Situation. Result Is Even Better Than Expected
#26 Ordered From Grocery Store. Cupcake ‘Cake’ For My Daughter’s Birthday. Pleasantly Surprised
#27 My Wife’s McDonald’s Cone In The Drive Through Last Night
#28 My Wife Loved The Cake Most Ardently
#29 My Wife Did A Damn Fine Job On These Cupcakes. Delicious Too
#30 Friend Faceswapped With A Wendy’s Cup. Results Better Than Expected
#31 Pic I Sent Cookie Maker, And What I Got. 100% Impressed And Would Order From Her Again. Bonus: Cookies Tasted Great
#32 Pretty Happy With How This Turned Out
#33 For My Son’s B-Day Pizza Party, We Told Him We Could Only Afford 1 Pizza. Expectations Exceeded
#34 Dyed Easter Eggs Today When I Messed Up On One. Turns Out It Kinda Looks Like The Universe
#35 Cat Bed
#36 Dad’s Cookies Turned Out Just Like The Picture. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies From America’s Test Kitchen
#37 My Daughter’s Birthday Cake From Last Year
#38 My Girlfriend’s And Mine First Attempt At Making A Cake From Scratch. Sketch vs. The The Final Product
#39 1st Time Making A Layered Cake. Expectation On Left, Reality On Right
#40 I Wasn’t Actually Expecting That
#41 It’s My Son’s Birthday Today, And He Wanted A Fire-Truck Cake. It Came Out Better Than Expected
#42 This Chipwich
#43 From Filter To Reality. Exceeded Expectations
#44 My Interpretation vs. My Artist’s Interpretation
#45 In Japan, One Should Expect To Get What One Expects
#46 I’m Seriously Impressed By This Frozen Pizza
#47 My First Attempt At Cake Decorating. Nailed It
#48 Pleasantly Surprised
#49 American Cherry Pie Frapuccino In Japan
#50 My Son Chose A Hulk Cake From Pinterest. My Attempt Is On The Right
#51 Flower
#52 Think My Wife Did Very Well On This One
#53 Today I Was Modeling For A New Costume At Work – Turned Out Better Than Expected
#54 Hired A Friend To Make My Son’s First Birthday Cake. Left – Expectation, Right – Reality. I Could Not Have Been More Thrilled
#55 Had No Idea What To Expect. Received Cool Talisman Necklace
#56 My Tattoo Artist’s Rendition Of My Doodle
#57 How My Mom Planned The Plates vs. How She Made Them
#58 Tried Making The Momofuku Milk Bar Cake
#59 Had Ridiculous Idea, Turned Out Much Better Than Expected
#60 Today Is My Wife’s Birthday. Yesterday She ‘Shopped A Then-And-Now Picture To Celebrate. Everything Went Better Than Expected
#61 Freak Shake
#62 Sample Photo I Gave To The Cake Decorator vs. My Son’s Cake
#63 Some Icecream
#64 This German Baumkuchen
#65 Two Tattoos I Got Based On Doodles I Did
#66 This Shake That Looks Exactly Like The Picture
#67 If Anything, There Are Even More Cherries On The Cake Than On The Packaging
#68 Pleasantly Surprised When Finishing Up The Easter Candy
#69 Not Too Shabby
#70 So, My Samsung S6 Decided To Break When I Put It In The Charger… Turned Out Gorgeous
#71 What I Showed Her vs. What She Gave Me. I Like Hers Better
#72 Finally! Ice-Cream That Looks Like The Picture
#73 Actually Met My Expectation
#74 Pleasantly Surprised, The Cream Is The Best Part
#75 When Actual Product Is Better Than Promo Image
#76 Jackpot
#77 I’m So Excited My Biscuits Are Bigger Than In The Picture (They Were Put In The Packaging Horizontally)
#78 Reality Way Better Than Expectation
#79 I Think Mine Looks Better Than The Box
#80 No False Advertising Here
#81 Ordered A Slipcover From Those Instagram Ads. Pleasantly Surprised
#82 I’m Honestly Impressed. $3 Pizza
#83 Good Job Aldi Pizza. Looks Better Than The Photo On The Box. It Was Amazing
#84 Almost Exactly Like The Picture Down To The Sprinkles
#85 Mr Kipling Cake Slice Exceeded My Expectations
#86 Positive Experience. Literally Overflowing With Ice Cream
#87 Very Impressed. Bought This In Sweden
#88 This Flat Bread From Aldi Was As Tasty As It Was Accurately Represented
#89 It Looks Better
#90 Breakfast Jackpot
