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 Bored Panda’s previous post about cake fails from the ‘Expectation Vs. Reality’ subreddit.

Bored Panda 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

Image credits: zarishka

#2 Otterly Impressive Birthday Cake From My Mom

Image credits: mamabear034

#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

Image credits: thepantyprincessx

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 Commissioned Piece Of My Sweet, Late Persephone. The Artist Surpassed Any And All Expectations

Image credits: queso4lyfe

#5 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

Image credits: robinson217

#6 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.

Image credits: ajamesmccarthy

“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 Bored Panda.

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 My Daughter Begged Me To Show Her A Planet Through Her Toy Telescope. Expected Failure, But Found Jupiter And All 4 Moons. Mindblown

Image credits: yogiscott

#8 Ordered The Blanket From A Sketchy Seeming Website. They Nailed It

Image credits: ezfriedchiken

#9 That’s Hot

Image credits: Grand_Area

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 First Time Doing A Photo Restoration Turned Out Better Than Expected (12 Hours Of Work)

Image credits: aberempel

#11 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

Image credits: alandenton

#12 Looks Way Better Than The Box

Image credits: t3slaract

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 Client’s Sketch For Pendant vs. Finished Pendant. Expectations Surpassed

Image credits: brokenfap

#14 I Took A Picture Through My Sunglasses At The Beach With My Phone. It Turned Out Better Than I Expected

Image credits: Captain__CheeseBurg

#15 Opened The Box To Assemble A New Office Desk & Expected A Big Headache. Was Pleasantly Surprised

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#16 I Think It Turned Out Pretty Well

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#17 The Way We Advertise Our Jack-O-Lantern Pizzas vs. The Way I Like To Make Them For Customers

Image credits: ArcusArtifex

#18 Pic Given To Local Baker On The Left. Actual Hungry Unicorn Cake I Received On The Right. I Like My Cake Better

Image credits: VenomousUnicorn

#19 Reality vs. Better Reality

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#20 Made A Unicorn Cake For My Mom’s Birthday. Considering How Inexperienced I Am With Baking, I Thought It Turned Out Pretty Good

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#21 Christmas Gift From My Teens Has Proven More Useful Than Expected

Image credits: Beththemagicalpony

#22 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

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#23 Ordered From Grocery Store. Cupcake ‘Cake’ For My Daughter’s Birthday. Pleasantly Surprised

Image credits: mydogisanastronaut

#24 Shined My Girlfriend’s Favorite Pair Of Boots And They Turned Out Better Than Expected

Image credits: MurrDeHurr

#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

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#26 Dad’s Cookies Turned Out Just Like The Picture. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies From America’s Test Kitchen

Image credits: ag2575

#27 My Wife’s McDonald’s Cone In The Drive Through Last Night

Image credits: Eric_SS

#28 My Mom Made An Elsa Cake

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#29 Cat Bed

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#30 Pic I Sent Cookie Maker, And What I Got. 100% Impressed And Would Order From Her Again. Bonus: Cookies Tasted Great

Image credits: ICvsShipt

#31 Friend Faceswapped With A Wendy’s Cup. Results Better Than Expected

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#32 My Daughter’s Birthday Cake From Last Year

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#33 For My Son’s B-Day Pizza Party, We Told Him We Could Only Afford 1 Pizza. Expectations Exceeded

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#34 Pretty Happy With How This Turned Out

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#35 My Wife Loved The Cake Most Ardently

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#36 From Filter To Reality. Exceeded Expectations

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#37 Dyed Easter Eggs Today When I Messed Up On One. Turns Out It Kinda Looks Like The Universe

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#38 I Went To 5 Guys Last Night When They Were Closing, They Asked If I Wanted Extra Bacon Cause They Were Going To Throw It Out. I Didn’t Expect This

Image credits: BossMcBossington

#39 My Interpretation vs. My Artist’s Interpretation

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#40 I’m Seriously Impressed By This Frozen Pizza

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#41 My Wife Did A Damn Fine Job On These Cupcakes. Delicious Too

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#42 I Wasn’t Actually Expecting That

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#43 In Japan, One Should Expect To Get What One Expects

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#44 It’s My Son’s Birthday Today, And He Wanted A Fire-Truck Cake. It Came Out Better Than Expected

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#45 This Chipwich

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#46 1st Time Making A Layered Cake. Expectation On Left, Reality On Right

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#47 My First Attempt At Cake Decorating. Nailed It

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#48 My Girlfriend’s And Mine First Attempt At Making A Cake From Scratch. Sketch vs. The The Final Product

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#49 Pleasantly Surprised

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#50 American Cherry Pie Frapuccino In Japan

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Source: boredpanda.com