When I look back on photos of myself and my friends from middle school and high school, all I can really say is…wow, you guys were pretty stupid!
But I guess we all do that, right?
Life is about growing, changing, and constantly striving to get better…or at least a little less cringeworthy…
Let’s see what folks on AskReddit had to say about “cool” things they did as kids that now make them hang their heads in shame.
1. Let’s duel.
“I’d walk around the neighborhood with a toy lightsaber and challenge any kid I saw to a duel.
Same thing when I got a duel disk.”
2. Very dramatic.
“I tried to give my mom one of those “All my life” kind of speeches. It didn’t go like the movies.
For the record, I got as far as “All my life you always try to tell me what to do and where to go!” Before my mom a) literally laughed out loud and b) reminded me that this was NOT a movie and I still had to clean my room.”
3. Tatted up.
“When I was a a kid and chatrooms were all the rage, I used to say I was covered in tattoos.
Like head to toe, covered and not in meaningful things, it was more like scrolling through Facebook and seeing meaningless burns like “yeah, I got a big tattoo on my back that says ‘If you don’t like me, f*ck you!'” and dumb sh*t like that.
I was 13…the only ppl who believed me were other 13 year olds and obviously the adults were like “what the actual f*ck”?”
4. This is really bad.
“When I was like 8 we went with my friends family to public saunas, some people were naked there.
I got hard but instead of taking a towel to hide it I was walking around naked flexing my d*ck with every step.
It must have been so cringy seeing an 8 year old flopping his d*ck around thinking it was ok.”
5. Don’t do that anymore.
“The neighborhood boys were tormenting me, they barricaded me in the house next door to mine. So to get even, I pulled down my pants at them.
They all screamed and ran away.
Then: I scared them! It worked
Me now: Baby girl…..No!!!!”
6. Tormenting teachers.
“Being a jerk to teachers.
I literally cringe when I think about my buddies and I making a new teacher quit.
She had probably always wanted to be one, and a bunch of punk suburban kids ruined it for her.”
7. Bad teenage mustache.
“Not shaving or trimming my caterpillar of a mustache until freshman year because obviously the ladies love a middle schooler with facial hair.”
8. Smokin’ grass.
“Smoking literal grass rolled up in newspaper with friends when I was 12.
Turned into cigarettes within a week or two. One of the friends was buying weed off a guy on the school bus before the end of the quarter. He was the more straight-and-narrow out of the group too.
I learned more about cigarettes, alcohol, and dr*gs from the Boy Scouts than I did about camping.”
9. A bad attitude.
“I was never ‘happy’ in photos from about my early teens onward.
Always a scowl.
Now I think I look like an *sshole in those photos.”
10. Give it a shot!
“Sat out on the driveway on my big wheel wearing only my tightie-whities and a towel for a cape.
Thought I was bad*ss.
Might try it again this weekend if the wife doesn’t catch me.”
11. Goth kid?
“Fishnet stockings.
Not just black. I also had a few neon colors that I’d mix and match. And not just with skirts! I also wore them with jean shorts.
But not just for legs! When they’d rip too badly to use as stockings, I’d cut them into strips and wear them on my arms.”
12. I’ll protect you.
“Telling people i just met that my name, (Alejandro) means protector of mankind.
Feel like an idiot whenever i think about it.”
13. Slick it back.
“Putting a ton of gel in my hair and pushing it either back or to the side.
I thought it made me look cool, but thinking back it probably looked like a cow had just licked me…”
14. Teenage stuff.
“Plaster magazine pictures of emo band dudes all over my wall.
Wait outside in line for 9 hours before a concert to guarantee a “bar” spot (right up front). Then waiting outside after the show for another 4+ hours just to get a picture and autograph on the CD insert. Or on my VANS.
I guess it’s not cringey, just silly teenage stuff, but boy oh boy did I think I was cool.”
15. This is funny.
“When I was in 3rd grade, rolly backpacks were the coolest.
My mom, unwilling to buy me a new backpack, said I could use one of our travel sized suitcases that rolled- oh hell yea!”
What did you do as a kid that you thought was cool that you now think is totally cringeworthy?
Talk to us in the comments.
Please and thank you!
