15 People Share Their Early Cringe Photos They’d Rather Keep in the Scrap Book

Our teenage years are a time of exploration and experimentation, where we define who we will be when we grow up. Of course, people change later in life, but never as often as when you’re trying to find your identity during high school. And that search can be incredibly cringe.

People on the r/blunderyears Reddit page share photos of what makes them, looking back, feel a lot of cringe. It’s not only healthy to be able to point at ourselves and laugh, it’s also a reminder that teens these days will do all kinds of cringy things as well, and we should let them.

Black Attire

It may have been a bad idea to attend a beach wedding wearing all black, full face makeup, and what can only be described as ‘Karen hair.’

Annoyed Face

Part of internet culture in the early 2000 was looking uninterested in whatever was going on around you. Which is strange, since this is a selfie, you clearly wanted your picture taken.

Adventure Time

Doing silly things every now and again is all well and good, but some kids of the era were unable to take a normal picture while standing still. Standing out is all they wanted to do.

Gaming

Just because you’re living that goth life doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good Super Nintendo session back in the 90s. Although with only two controllers, someone was always waiting for their turn.

Tutu Style

Some teens didn’t want to let that inner child go, and they showed that in their fashion. It’s good to keep that inner kid in mind, but don’t let it show that much.

Enlisted

This kid was getting ready for her first day of 5th grade. We doubt that ordeal was comparable to going to military school, but what do we know?

Band Shirts

If you feel like you’ve grown out of a music genre, you’re probably right. But if you, like these two ladies, listen to a song you loved back in the day, the nostalgia rush alone will make you fall in love with the genre all over again. At least for a while.

Mario

Even today, kids keep taking pictures with whatever silly mascot they find in supermarkets and fast food restaurants. Doing so remains silly, and also highly relatable.

Fashion

Considering the hair, pants, and general attitude, you’d be forgiven to think that this was taken in the 80s. Alas, this is a photo taken around 2011, making it a more recent cringe.

Pokemon Cosplay

We know for a fact this was an attempt at a Pokemon Cosplay, but we’re having a hard time pinpointing which critter this is. At first glance, it might be Pikachu, but the neck-fluff-thing seems to be pointing more towards the Eevee direction. Maybe Jolteon?

Shutter Shades

What was the point of shutter shades? They don’t block sunlight, it’s hard to see through them, and you look like you’re begging for water at a rave concert. Guess kids thought they were cool.

Zelda

There is such a thing as getting too much into a fandom, to the point that you’ll wear whatever works as a reference of it. Even if this outfit was only for the picture, it was still shared online.

Hairdo

To maintain this hairstyle, you’d need an enormous amount of hairspray, reaching a point that wearing a hood would’ve had the same effect. And with the hood, you can remove it to see your surroundings.

Emo to the Max

Slight fade in, graveyard stock photo, melancholic look. You just know there was an edgy poem (likely copy pasted from somewhere else) attached to this picture on its original Facebook post.

Ready to Slay

Now this is a gem from the 80s. Tight pants, oddly-fitting boots, black jacket that wishes was leather and a hairstyle that is ready to welcome the 90s. The orange supermarket bag just ties the look together.