We all have those phases we go through early in life that seem so cool at the time, but lose their lust after a short amount of time. Then when we look back on those phases later in life…the cringe is real.
Below, people share their absolute cringiest phases they went through, as told on AskReddit. Check them out! A link to even more can be found on the last page!
When I was younger I would ride my bike with a snorkelling mask because it was the closest thing I had to a motorcycle helmet and I wanted to look cool.
C3-RIO
For about 2 years in college every day I wore jeans and a t-shirt from the Warner Brothers store (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc.).
The amazing thing about this is that I somehow had a girlfriend throughout this period.
abunchofsquirrels
My “I’m not like other girls/girls are too much drama” phase. I feel like a lot of girls are taught that other girls are their competition and to feel instantly threatened around other women. But as I’ve grown up, I’ve realized it’s so much better when you see other women as potential friends rather than someone you have to complete against. It’s a lot more fun to compliment other girls and watch them light up instead of insulting them in your head because you’re insecure.
ironcanopy
A new agey magic phase.
I read palms and tarot for money, and also did love spells for money.
I was making up 90% of it but was also quite successful, so I felt both ashamed and egged on by it making me popular.
JavierLoustaunau
Going through an “I’m so smart” phase in my teenage years.
Watching George Carlin stand up and watching episodes of Penn & Teller: Bullshit made me think I was the smartest kid around, starting arguments with my friends, who had less free time than I did, about pointless nonsense so I could flex my pointless knowledge, and looking down on religious people, and people that were “too stupid”.
It’s embarrassing looking back on it, because I didn’t know anything (and I still really don’t) and I was just behaving like a conceited jerk.
Titanium_Machine
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Emo phase in middle/high school. Dyed hair black and straightened it every day. Watched REPO: The Genetic Opera with my girlfriend whose MySpace’s last name was “Vampire”, hung out at the mall with nothing to do, stayed up until 6am and slept all day.
I didn’t even like it! To this day I don’t know what pulled me into that phase. I really liked to read, draw, skate, fish and surf! I was an idiot.
Wmdonovan23
The “I’m a thug” phase with my best friend in high school. The thing about that, is if you think you’re a thug you’ll actually become a thug. And by “becoming a thug” I mean your best friend will get shot, your girlfriend will break up with you, and you’ll get a felony on your record. Stay in school. Just, stay in school.
bigindianjoe
Pretty much my entire party girl phase that lasted entirely too long. Pretending I didn’t care what others thought of me when in actuality, it was the opposite. I was clearly seeking approval and attention from boys and I was probably the only who didn’t see right through myself.
atworknotworking89
I pierced by eyebrow in grade 8 with a safety pin. (This wasn’t the phase)
I didn’t want my parents to know so I started wearing a tensor bandage from my eyebrows to my hairline like some weird hair band/bandana. My parents thought it was some weird phase – kind of like I was taking the nelly Band-Aid to the extreme. This went on for 4 months until mom saw me come out of the shower with an infected eyebrow piercing. I’ve yet to be able to look at a tensor bandage without cringing at my teenage self.
SlanginPie
The “I listen to Green Day so I’ll wear black clothes, black eyeliner and dye my hair black” phase….
I wasn’t a punk, or a goth… I was just unpopular.
AllAboutTheFairytale
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I went through a I’m white phase.
I am mixed, half black and half white. I spent a good portion of my teenage years repressing any idea that I was black. I would dress like my white friends in the PNW and distanced myself from aspects of black culture. Barbershops, media, etc. I felt as through I wasn’t “black enough” to be apart of the black community / identity, so I tried to blend in. I would eventually get it from both sides. I would “not really be black, you speak white”. But then in dating, I would be treated different because the girl or her parents would focus on my skin tone.
That last from about 10 years old until I was about 17. Once I got to college, I went through some stuff and just decided to be myself.
To any other mixed race people out there, you’ll know what I am talking about.
Be yourself folks.
jamestht
I went through the cool, long-haired, skateboarder phase. Never successfully managed to do a single ollie.
regalternative
The hateful ‘I hate girls in makeup and pretty girls’ stage. Add a little horse and anime girl to the mix. It was a perfect awkward mess of a situation there. I learned to like myself in college and I have been improving myself every single say. Nothing is more nasty in the world than a bitter bitch.
PurpleButts
In High School, animated dress shirts with dragons and such. Not sure what I was thinking. Also not showering for a week.
gabarooch86
From middle school until like junior year of high school, I wore all overly sized clothes, the same overly sized hoodie and bee had my hair not in a pony tail. I was uncomfortable with my body, had bad self-esteem, was way too shy for my own good, and just did not want any attention at all.
I’m way happier now. I have cute clothes that I like and I’m even trying dresses and skirts now and I still haven’t tried to tackle makeup (because I’m a slob who touches her face way too much to waste expensive makeup on it lol), but I’m much happier with myself than I was just five years ago.
FluffDuckling
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I went through a “look at how interesting and quirky I am because I know a few Japanese words” and “anime is so much deeper and more intelligent than your reality shows, and you’re all just too dumb to understand its cultural richness” phase. (Yes, those two were part of the same phase for me.)
That said, I still like anime, Japanese music, and Japanese culture, but I don’t do that anymore.
PutYaGunsOn
For a few months I thought it would be cool to be a cold, calculating psychopath and often acted kind of emotionless and looked like I was gonna ice someone soon.
Hannibal Lecter and anime…the worst.
Cyphrum
That “old music is so much better than any current mainstream music” phase. I would’ve probably been one of those kids that comment on youtube with “I’m only 12 and I love this type music.”
lyingdoctor
I got a barb wire arm band tattoo in the late 90s. Currently in the process of getting it removed. Thought I was cool as a cucumber walking around that summer living at the beach – now I feel the need to hide it every time I’m wearing a t-shirt.
Don’t “permanently” alter your body for a fad. Just don’t do it.
ComputeItDoesNot
The “I’m not transgender, and to prove it I’ll be a young conservative, because I’m a real guy’s guy, and I definitely don’t cry at night because I want boobs and to wear pretty things” phase.
I regret it immensely. I’m much more at peace with who I am now. I even go by the name Claire now.
UnsureAndWondering
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In grade 6, I thought Hawaiian shirts were the bee’s knees. I would wear them with a pooka shell necklace all the time.
Fiber_Optikz
I was a rabid Sonic fan in 1998 (Not exactly the height of its popularity).
My fellow nerd friends even kicked me out of their Star Trek LARP group because I kept trying to put Sonic characters in the storyline.
Think about that.
CJSTV
That phase in the 90s where I expressed my love of Home Improvement by saying “I don’t think so, Tim” all the time was a little embarrassing. But do I really regret it? I don’t think so, Tim!
onform
My “nice” guy phase.
I was a whiney loser. I learned a lot from it though.
alematt
I played bass in a ska band, grew mutton chop sideburns, and wore a fedora. Not my proudest moment.
Blackfoot_Bass
Country girl phase in high school.
I dressed how you’d think. I hung out with the country boys and did country things. I was trying to impress a guy.
It didn’t work. I’m over that now.
brokendowndryer
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I used to shop exclusively at Aeropostale. The clothes were cheap as shit and decent quality but seeing AERO87/AEROPOSTALE plastered across my chest on basically every photo from 5 years ago makes me cringe.
JordyNelson87
I went through a phase of eating mayonnaise-only sandwiches. Needless to say, I try not to talk about that anymore.
awallock8
There was a time when I just went into my room and cried every day after school. I’m over it now, but I wonder what the hell was wrong.
Wafflecakeandbacon
The ‘girl hating phase’ – really hope this one gets stamped out entirely.
Basically me just hating on girls who dressed in a way I wished I had the confidence to, got with guys. While I pretended that being an antisocial loser and spending my time reading somehow made me better and gave me the right to judge them.
Aoife95
I was an angsty mall ninja… I also used to walk with one of my arms in my coats like Auron from Final Fantasy 10. Pretty much my entire middle school – early high school self.
thechet
After graduating high school, I planned to take a year off to save up enough money for a car. Instead, I spent a whole year blowing all of my pay checks and having too much fun.
nickrad7