Many of us try on many identities as we grow up. There are many phases one can have: a Tamagotchi phase, an emo/scene phase, a fedora phase – you name it. Some people even go through their looking-like-a-mob-boss phase.
Whatever it is, it often makes folks cringe and want to hide the evidence of that time in the deepest of voids. However, some people are brave enough to share their embarrassing moments with the rest of the world. The subreddit Blunder Years is the perfect place for that, as it has over a million netizens sharing the pics from their childhood and teen years where they thought they looked their very coolest, yet actually were anything but.
Bored Panda reached out to social science researcher Karla McLaren, M.Ed. She’s an author and an emotions and empathy expert, who believes that even negative emotions like shame and embarrassment can help guide us into self-awareness.
McLaren told us more about how sharing cringe-worthy memories can help us overcome insecurities and shared the pitfalls of revisiting embarrassing blunders of the past. Read her expert insights below:
More info: Empathy Academy | Emotion Dynamics
#1 The First Photo Is When We Were All Around 13 Years Old. Last Is At My Friend’s Wedding Last Year
Image source: Bacon_Brown97
#2 A Home Perm. I Had Several. This Was One Of Them
Image source: Illustrious-Ad-641
#3 When I Was Nine, I Insisted On Being A Homeless Enron Employee For Halloween. The Stubble Is Mascara
Image source: ratadat
#4 2008 I Was Sooo Proud Of My Hair 😹
Image source: cruelladeville707
#5 Mistaken For A Substitute Teacher At Least Once In Junior High
Image source: Is_For_Lovers
#6 Mullet, Skinny Leather Tie, Grade 9 Me Was A Vision. Of Something
Image source: Illustrious-Ad-641
#7 I Still Have To Hear My Dad Trash My Mom For Letting Me Choose These Rainbow Glasses…but I Loved Them
Image source: RavenQueen33
#8 14yo Me In 2004… Thats What I Wore While Tearing Down The Old Trailer…. New Trailer In The Back
Image source: jzemeocala
#9 This Was A Photoshoot I Did In 2010
Image source: Ketsukoni
#10 Got My Hair & Makeup Done At Libby Lu At The Mall For My Birthday. I Thought I Was So Cool
Image source: fuckicanonlyhave20ch
#11 My Boyfriend And His Mom In 1992
Image source: Commercial_Fig_6366
#12 My Father Left Behind A Legacy Of Cool And I Am Letting Him Down
Image source: luluprevails
#13 1989 I Was So Excited For The New Recycling Program To Start That I Wanted To Be Recycling For Halloween
Image source: Dulcinea80
#14 On My Way To See The Jonas Brothers
Image source: nahdyeah
#15 2012 – 10/11 Year Old Me With Jeffree Star In Toronto 😭😭😭
Image source: Exact_Prize_8275
#16 1991, Off To My High School Graduation Ceremony
Image source: LumenYeah
#17 ‘Glamour Photos’ From 2003 (I Was 13)
Image source: ZedD3add
#18 Twenty Years Ago I Was In A Screamo Band. Now, I’m 40
Image source: ChelsieGrinn
#19 I Went To School Like This Everyday For Months. I Had Zero Friends
Image source: witcharithmetic
#20 Thankfully I Grew Into My Fave
Image source: cosmic_bb_v
#21 What 12-Year-Old Me Considered Peak Fashion
Image source: DoubleOrangutans
#22 Dressing Like This To Play The Sims 2 By Myself
Image source: moepoofles
#23 This Is How I Dressed Every Day Of Middle School And Some Of High School, Because I Loved Mob Movies And Frasier. I Am Loath To Use This Sub, Because I Still Think I Ate. 🤣
Image source: CameronTheCinephile
#24 I Was 14, The Rapper 50 Cent Was My Idol, My Mom Took The Picture
Image source: jvstdai
#25 2011 Homecoming
Image source: flynnliv
#26 Showed Up To Homeschool Group In A Homemade Narwhal Costume
Image source: Mys-Fit
#27 Halloween 1997, I Insisted On Going As A Generic Can Of Whipped Cream And Mom Delivered:
Image source: Throwaway_carrier
#28 My Wife Kickin’ It With Her Dad In The Early 90s
Image source: esotetris
#29 Feeding The Tamagotchis While Playing Habbo Hotel
Image source: fondoozzle
#30 There’s No Need For How Much I Spent On Skinny Jeans And White Studded Belts Between 2009 And 2012
Image source: didyouseeben
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