We all go through different phases in our lives. Like, if you were a teen in the late '90s and early '00s, you might have had an Abercrombie & Fitch phase — where you wanted to nothing more but to wear head-to-toe A&F, and especially anything with a logo on it. But, looking back, you might feel that the whole phase was cringy and you only did it because everyone else was doing it.
And recently, user /SurfinRay12 was curious about just that when they asked: "What’s an embarrassing phase you went through?"
A lot of people jumped on the thread to share the phases they went through that they are now embarrassed about. Here are some of the top and best comments:
1. "I went through the edgy intellectual phase as a teenager because I read one book on philosophy and was therefore an enlightened genius."
2. "In high school, I would regularly wear a top hat to school because I thought it made me look cool and edgy, LOL."
3. "In high school I had a thin chinstrap beard and no mustache. Coaches/teammates called me Abe Lincoln."
4. "During an 'introductions game' on the first day of second grade (6–7 years old) I told the entire class that Amanda Bynes was my stepsister. I then kept up the charade for the school year. One kid even asked for an autograph and I gave him a piece of notebook paper with her name written down in my baby cursive handwriting."
5. "~I uSeD tO tYpE LiKe ThIs~ and not in the SpongeBob mocking sense either 🙄."
6. "I spoke in a fake British accent for a whole month at school."
7. "In middle school, I brought a dry-erase board to school and communicated by writing on it instead of talking for literally no reason at all."
8. "I was a 100% a pick-me girl in my late teens/early 20s. Any antic you've seen in a teen rom-com I probably did it. I'm no longer that person and haven't been for years, but damn, any time someone brings up pick mes I internally cringe at who I used to be."
9. "That time at 16 when I wanted to change my name to Shampajne."
10. "The blue eyeshadow phase, LOL."
11. "My crystal/new age spirituality girly phase."
12. "Imitating Beavis and Butt-Head pretty much nonstop for a whole summer."
13. "I read in a magazine once that purple lipstick looks amazing on dark skin. I went on to buy as many shades of purple lipstick that I could find. I wore it all the damn time. Looking back I looked like a clown."
14. "I was the weird horse girl in elementary school."
15. "In high school I thought I was too old for 'childish things'... which was literally anything anyone was into."
16. "I once told a girl in my class that Melissa Joan Hart was my stepsister and the girl gave me a letter to give to Melissa that said how much she loved her and her show 😆."
17. "I basically tried to become Scully from The X-Files in high school. Briefcase, trench coat, suits (already had the red hair!)."
18. "Was a big Good Charlotte fan...like big time. Glad that was short-lived."
19. "Back in the '90s, Starter jacket trend, I begged my parents to buy me one, but I knew nothing about the teams. Picked Miami Dolphins because I liked dolphins and the colors of the jacket. But then people would ask me about the team and I had to lie all the time or admit I just like dolphins 🙃."
20. "I wore a fake septum piercing to college classes for a year. Always loved to look a bit edgy but could never commit to the permanency of tattoos and piercings, LOL."
21. "During my early years in high school, I had a phase of doing the ninja run exactly like Naruto and the others. At that time, I really felt like I was at my fastest when I do it, but after hearing someone commenting about it I just stopped."
22. "Myself and some school 'friends' decided 1960s mod culture was the coolest thing in the world so we all got bowl cuts, wore tight polo shorts and jeans, and all got parkas. This was 1991–'96 era."
23. "The Flock of Seagulls hairstyle I had when I was 15."
24. "I read Warriors cat books religiously in sixth grade. I hissed at people when I was mad and insisted on going by Scourge."
25. And lastly: "I was in sixth grade when LiveStrong bracelets became popular. I got one, loved it. Wanted more (rainbow of different causes) Wore two at a time, then three, all the way up to 14! On one wrist, always put on in the same order every morning. I wore them like this until my senior year of high school."
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.