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No matter how wildly different we might seem, there’s one thing for sure that unites us, a fundamental truth, the bedrock of reality—our abyss-deep levels of embarrassment when we remember our teenage years!

It’s the cringy situations, awkward encounters, and embarrassment phases from our youth that have the bad habit of keeping us awake at 3 a.m., making us cringe in the shower, and forcing us to facepalm during our Zoom meetings. There’s no running away from these memories, however, the internet’s the perfect outlet to siphon off at least a bit of that shame. Remember that time you acted like a total dork in front of your crush while searching for your identity, who you really were? Yeah, that’s likely gonna stick with you for decades (though how you feel about it can change).

That’s exactly what these redditors did after being prompted to share the embarrassing phases they went through as a teenager. Odds are, you might relate to at least a few of these, Pandas. Though, fair warning, you might end up blushing and hiding your face because some of the stories hit a tad too close to home for comfort.

Onward into the land of memories and teenage embarrassment! We’d love to hear about your own awkward phases from your youth, so share your memories in the comments. Just remember, some ‘phases’ last forever: I’m still the same literature and pen-and-paper nerd I was years and years ago.

Bored Panda reached out to environmental psychologist and well-being consultant Lee Chambers to get his take on embarrassment, what are some (un)healthy responses to it, and how we can calm down during moments of very intense embarrassment. "While embarrassment can be a challenging feeling that is fleeting or overwhelming, being able to find a response that assists rather than a reaction that is unhealthy is a skill to build," Lee said that responding to embarrassment in the right way is a skill we can all learn. Scroll down for the psychologist's full insights.

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#1

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I started a rap crew based on Winnie the Pooh. I was Pooh Daddy, my friend was the Notorious T.I.G. and another friend was Big O. We were writing a song called 'Honey Rhymes with Money'

The name of this group? Pooh Tang Clan.

Nach0Man_RandySavage , source Report

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Having a good sense of humor and being able to laugh during difficult moments are powerful tools in your arsenal. "If it's something that isn't particularly serious, laughter can be a great response that instantly makes you feel better," psychologist Lee told Bored Panda. However, if you're feeling particularly overwhelmed with embarrassment, a chuckle or two might not be enough.

"If the feelings are intense, try taking a few slow, deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth, calming your nervous system and physiological response. In a similar way to laughter, smiling can be effective in shifting your state to the positive. There are times when playing down or even ignoring the feelings can be helpful in the moment, taking the edge off, but it is important that you accept them and express them if it's something significant," Lee suggested that we try to embrace and live with our feelings instead of running away or hiding from them.

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Our memories tie us to our pasts, so being mindful of the present can help move us out of a mindset that's centered around embarrassing scenes from our teenage years. "Because the feelings of embarrassment are generated from a past event, anything that brings you into the present moment can bring relief. Try to avoid saying sorry, as it will keep taking you back to the moment. You can even keep your biggest embarrassing moments top of mind, having reflected and realized that in hindsight, they weren't as big an issue as you felt at the time," psychologist Lee shared with Bored Panda.
#2

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I used to want to sound like a cool, edgy, emo writer or something... so I would narrate things that were happening around me, out loud. I remember at a family event we were roasting s'mores and I was just like "Fire, slowly burning, destroying and turning everything black..." I can't remember any more because I'm cringing too hard.

Kighla , Mark Bonica Report

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Catie Marie
Catie Marie
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mom narrates to herself. "Going into the house now. Wow that door is hard to open, better look at that. I wonder whats in the fridge". YOU BOUGHT THE GROCERIES AND LIVE ALONE. YOU KNOW WHATS IN THE FRIDGE! Are you expecting the dogs to start answering you??!

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#3

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I decided it was a fantastic idea to shave my eyebrows a finger-width thick in 7th grade.

My parents only recently told me they called them “Hitler brows” behind my back.

Here’s a picture for proof/explanation. God help me.

leafydew Report

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Tamra Stiffler
Tamra Stiffler
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most of us have personal style regrets from 7th grade - you aren't alone!

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If we come to terms with some of our past mistakes, we can then even turn them into lessons that might help us in the future. What's more, by conquering (i.e. accepting) even a single embarrassing moment from our pasts, we can then become more resilient in tackling future embarrassment. All that stands in our way are our feelings that pop up when we think about particularly awkward moments from our youth.

"We can even reflect back on our blunders from the past, and with the emotion dampened, take some of the lessons and observations forward for next time we feel like we've messed up. By doing this, you will feel more courage even when the fear of embarrassment strikes, and sharing these stories will elicit others to share, quickly realizing we are not alone, and that nobody is perfect," Lee said.

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#4

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers Age 12-13, HEAVILY into Conan the Barbarian. To the point of answering questions with "aye" and "nay". This came to an end when my mom heard me refer to a woman at church as a "wench."

Anishinaapunk Report

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glowworm2
glowworm2
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm crying at referring to a woman at church as a "wench". 🤣

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#5

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I thought I was a werewolf in 9th grade, recruited dozens of students into a ‘pack’ and even managed to rope a counselor into it which wound up with her getting fired for hosting ‘magick rituals’ with us instead of counseling us

I can’t live it down to this day

deansprite , North Charleston Report

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#6

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers when I was a teenager i was huge WWF fan and there was this wrestler named Edge, who would perch in high places inside the arena and just watch the matches for months before he made his actual debut. Because of this, I use to do the same thing because I thought it was bad ass. I use to find high places and just perch there like a gargoyle for hours. ( In trees, on roofs of peoples houses, on ledges, anywhere that i could climb ) and I would just sit there , crouched motionless and watch peoples reactions when they would see me.

J0nnyGreenGiant , edgerated Report

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KJ
KJ
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't look honey, the weird kid is people watching again.

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Redditor Tenamonth’s thread over on r/AskReddit got nearly 18k upvotes. The beauty of the question they asked is that it has a timeless feel to it: it’s likely to be as relevant in a few years as it is now. After all, our capacity to feel embarrassed about our actions won’t be going away any time soon—it’s what makes us human.

And, despite how weird it makes us feel, embarrassment has some great advantages in our social lives. So long as we don’t let it turn to shame. In short, embarrassment, as long as we’re honest about it, is perfectly positive and even healthy. Shame, on the other hand, is what we want to avoid.
#7

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers From 1st grade until my freshmen year I wore a hot dog shirt every day to school. I still have around 30-40 hot dog shirts I don’t wear anymore, still don’t know why I did.

Werberin , Redbubble Report

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#8

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers In middle school I went through a phase of slicking my long hair back into a tight bun at the nape of my neck. I used a ton of gel to make sure my hair didn’t move. I also only plucked one eyebrow and made it super arched.

I was super jealous of all the girls who were thin and girly. I look back on my middle school years and cringe. Blessed be puberty.

trolldoll26 , Nati Melnychuk Report

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Rick
Rick
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“I also only plucked one eyebrow and made it super arched” Now I can’t stop imagining a girl walking around middle school looking at everybody like The Rock

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#9

Referred to myself in the third person and a childish voice for like 3 months straight. Didn’t realize how annoying it was because my 2 best friends did it too! I guess we thought it made us look cute, like boys should take care of us and date us? It was all “heyykrispyy is sleepy”, “heyykrispyy loves dinosaurs RAWR XD”, “heyykrispyy doesn’t think she can drive on the freeway, too scary”

...eventually my dad grounded me longer and longer each time I referred to myself in the third person. God bless him.

HeyyKrispyy Report

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Vanessa Bohns from Cornell University explained to me during an earlier interview that being embarrassed and not hiding this fact helps us connect with other people much better. 

“Displaying signs of mild embarrassment can actually be socially constructive and make people feel more sympathetic towards you in the face of your faux pas,” Vanessa told Bored Panda how us feeling embarrassed can have the potential to forge stronger relationships.

“I don’t necessarily think you need to take pains to hide it,” Vanessa said that we shouldn’t run or hide from our embarrassment. In fact, it’s avoiding our genuine feelings or pretending that we’re not embarrassed when we are that can make our reputations crash in the eyes of others.

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#10

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers British accent. I'm from the southern US

HairyHorseKnuckles , Aleks Marinkovic Report

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Rick
Rick
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I’m British and went on holiday in Texas. I was in a restaurant and I heard the most obviously fake British accent from the table behind me. I thought it was a joke at first, and then got paranoid that they were making fun of my accent. But after a while it was apparent they were faking it for..I don’t know what reason. Perhaps to impress the person they were sitting with? They kept going on about London and living in London and life in London so after a while I tapped them and asked them where they lived in London. They looked panicked and said “the east side”. I asked them what their tube station was. I didn’t get an answer…I’m now wondering if I actually met this OP…

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#11

I used to carry 4 rolls of duck tape (all different colors) and would make a rose every day to give to a girl I liked... Never asked her out or anything, just the daily rose in math class.

Marknal Report

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#12

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I did the whole dye my hair black, black finger nail polish, black smudgy eye liner (I was a emo dude)

But I also loved gangster rap, so I work big chains with batman symbols on them.

It was a mess

sixesand7s , Stacie DaPonte Report

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“What you want to be careful not to do is to let embarrassment morph into the more destructive self-conscious emotion of shame, where you feel so badly about a minor mistake that you start to think there is something wrong with you and feel the need to completely disappear and hide away yourself,” the expert told Bored Panda that we have to do what we can to avoid deep-seated shame that is destructive.

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This is opposed to embarrassment which has more constructive potential. In short, it’s perfectly fine to feel embarrassed about something that you did when you were a teenager. We were all searching for our identities and it’s only natural to make a few awkward blunders that we’d never repeat.

However, we really ought to reexamine how we feel about our pasts if we’re constantly ashamed of our past actions. It can’t be healthy to blame ourselves for our teenage years over and over and over again. It’s time to let go… or at least have a good laugh about it.
#13

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers My beard started growing only on one side, and I refused to shave it

MrAngryBeards , Aidan Jones Report

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Steph
Steph
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have to add: most girls' breasts don't start growing simultaneously ;-) my girlfriends and I used to fill the empty space of one bra-cups side with cotton pads ;-)

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#14

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers Manic Pixie Delusional Idiot.

I thought by trying to turn myself into the opposite of every female stereotype - super into sex, not into commitment, loves sports and booze, not into "emotional BS," not into make-up or standard fashion, not into gifts, said PMS was a load of crap, etc. - guys would be dying to be with me. They would gush to all their friends about how I was SO COOL and NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS.

Turns out that being a big fake isn't that attractive at all.

academiclady , Meme Report

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Andy Acceber
Andy Acceber
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every girl who thinks she's not like other girls should question what sort of misogyny she internalized that got her thinking that it's bad to be "like other girls." Be you, kid. "Other girls" are more than the stereotypes too.

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#15

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I (believed I) was a rastafari.

Context; scandinavian, white, skinny kid. Had Dreads, talked alot about how cool weed was, listened only to bob marley and smoked earl grey out of bongs made from plastic bottles.

Protese , Michael Coghlan Report

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#16

When I was a very young teen I was into a science-fiction series where the characters would gain energy from sleeping on the ground from the earth mother or something. So, I proceeded to sleep on the floor of my bedroom for the next few months. The floor of my second story bedroom.

Kindredbond Report

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Jonathan
Jonathan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to work with someone who believed in that. My god he was insufferable.

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#17

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I spent 2 weeks in "THE BOX" phase.

Backstory: I was a firm believer in "Be a kid while you can" and "Make school memorable". Also I was just overall bad at reading situations for most of my years growing up. One day proms coming up and some guy hides in a giant cardboard box to surprise his girlfriend. I later found this box in the middle of the hallway and had one of my stupidest ideas ever.

I took this box back to class and began repairing it. Not just before and after but during class. Honestly I think the only reason I got away with it is because it was religion class and the teacher probably though I was "challenged". I cut a hole in the front of the box for my eyes and wrote "turtles are nice" on it. For 2 whole week I would walk from class to class with that box thinking I was solid f**king snake. At one point I brought the box home for the weekend. On the way my friends came and tried to take the box and I actually chased after them (should have just let them have it). After 2 weeks of my friends telling me to get rid of it I finally jumped on the box and crushed it.

Worst part was this was in grade 11.

I guarantee that the whole school thought I had some form of mental disability and I really don't blame them. I still lie awake at night just coming to terms with the fact that everyone from my high school remembers it.

Moral of the story: "DON'T. JUST DON'T."

F_Banjo , Brandable Box Report

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#18

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers Imagining myself as a marvel superhero and having fantasies about my secret identity being revealed during a fight in front of the whole school, so everyone would be shocked and amazed at how wrong they were about me

icerope1199 , Joseph Chan Report

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SykesDaMan
SykesDaMan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one seems pretty normal for a kid. Especially one who grew up reading superhero comics/watching superhero movies or tv shows.

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#19

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers Thinking that my angst would be seen by potential mates as "mysterious and cool," when in reality I was just "insufferable" and "self-absorbed."

Langoustina , Ashley Webb Report

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#20

I was one of those qUiRkY, one of the boys, i hate pink kinda girls.

I even had a catchphrase. It hurts me to type it out, but it was "wAzZUp, FoOL?"

Excuse me while i die in shame.

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#21

HUGE Spice Girls fan. When I say huge I mean re-watching the same VHS tape of some Concert they did in the mid-east daily for a year. Dressed up in a suit to see Baby Spice at MuchMusic (Toronto) and gave her flowers - Blew up a pic of me handing them to her and put it on my wall. Complete obsession. This was ages 16-19 and I'm a dude.

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Iggy
Iggy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You were 16! It's not weird at all. It might have been had you been 46! :-D

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#22

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I had business cards made (waaay before vistaprint) that had my name, number and title of Knight in Shining Armor. I would hand these out, with a smile, to any person that I found attractive, in or out of school.

I thought I was really suave but it is only embarrassing now as a groupd of newer friends and I were discussing this and them pretty much laughing at me for doing this.

insideouthoodie , Patrick Lordan Report

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#23

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers The "misunderstood writer" phase. I wrote daily blogs on Myspace that were basically just cryptic, stream-of-conscious drivel. My friends ate that s**t up, and I was so, so, so full of myself.

In my early 20's, when I started dating a girl that didn't know me from those years, I went and deleted all the posts because I knew she'd eventually find my Myspace page. Part of me wanted to preserve it to look back at, but I was afraid that she "wouldn't get it." Nuked it all. THANK GOD I DID. I'm glad I scrubbed that s**t when I did. Nowadays I bet it'd be way more difficult to truly delete it all.

At the time I considered my writing to be "avant garde," but now in my 30's I've realized that artists often label things as "avant garde," when they really mean to say "it's bad."

kindarcan , Ross Hawkes Report

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Rick
Rick
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dear Lord, can you IMAGINE If some internet evil genius somehow managed to hack their way back into MySpace/LiveJournal and the likes and threatened to make every single post and picture made on there publicly available online? I think 90s kids would collectively lose their s**t.

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#24

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers - I hated my naturally curly hair and straightened my hair out (badly) every day...all my pictures look f**king ridiculous...like a blow dried Guido from the 80s

- I spent a few months in the 9th grade dressing up in a matching tracksuit because I thought it was so f**king cool. I looked like a Russian teenager drug dealer

- I was a hardcore communist for like...3 years in college. Like...I seriously believed Stalin didn't kill anyone and it was a massive capitalist propaganda effort to make it seem like he was a murderous dictator. I'm really glad this phase was almost completely digital and it mainly took the format of long involved debates about communism in now defunct message boards

PhillipLlerenas , hnt6581 Report

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Vorknkx
Vorknkx
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, I remember similar "communists" from my college years. I remember I told them that if they had lived during Stalin's times, they would have been treated by him as suspicious persons (if not as outright enemies of the state) due to being college students. Intellectuals as a whlole were always treated as suspicious in those times...

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#25

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers Cheesy, overwrought love letters to girls I dated for a month or two. "Sometimes I just want to hold you until you f**king crumble."

Toastwaver , Peter Hellberg Report

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#26

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I had hair over one eye because i thought i looked like Jessica Rabbit.

Spoiler: i definitely did NOT look like Jessica Rabbit.

After that, i shaved the underside of my hair a la the little girl on The Crow.

deckpumps_n_deldos , source Report

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#27

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers In junior high, my best friend at the time and I wore basketball shorts over jeans. It lasted maybe two weeks. Still cringe when I think of it.

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#28

Sunglasses ALL the time indoors and out. There's some cringy pics of me around the house for a birthday party, Thanksgiving dinner, etc, with dark sunglasses on for no apparent reason

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Rage of Aquarius
Rage of Aquarius
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

SAME! It was terrible. My dad made so much fun of me. Even followed me around singing Corey Hart.

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#29

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers There was that time frame where quiet little me wanted to stand out. I wore different types of Osiris shoes, one a navy blue and the other white and red. Wore jeans with gaping holes in them, some I had to wear shorts underneath to cover certain areas. Used to do the weirdest stuff to my hair. I must have looked homeless walking around school.

RedditsInBed2 , Melissa O'Donohue Report

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#30

I was OBSESSED with Alvin and the Chipmunks. Including renaming myself Simon. cringe

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Emmie Jensen
Emmie Jensen
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My best friend went through the same phase in second grade.Named himself Alvin and talked in a high voice. I wasn't a supportive friend at all XD I couldn't stand it lol Thank goodness it only lasted a week.

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#31

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I was a "stoner/skater" that:

-Didn't smoke pot
-Didn't skate

I did however wear really baggy JNCO's and not wash my hair very often.

jtown5000 , joshloncarevich Report

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#32

My friends and I all had livejournals and we would regularly passive aggressively communicate with each other through them.

Livejournal Entry

UGH. I can't believe how crazy Sam has been lately. I know her boyfriend broke up with her, but that was MONTHS AGO. She's no fun to hang around anymore.

Sam's Livejournal Entry, the following day

I AM SICK. AND TIRED. OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE A BROKEN HEART.

DROPTHENUKES Report

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Raven DeathShade
Raven DeathShade
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To be completely fair, most teens are extremely cringeworthy. Yes, myself included.

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#33

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers i too was a scene kid. MCR, PaTD, Linkin Park. I wore obscene graphic tees, GIR hoodies, those animal hats with the long flaps on the sides that functioned as gloves/paws. had an eyebrow piercing, wore feathers in my hair. fingerless gloves. fishnet. those thick rubber bracelets with band names and other phrases like "OMG" and "WTF" on them. scene bangs. smoked cigs and put them out on myself "just so i could feel something". RAWR xD.

i was also a brony

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Vorknkx
Vorknkx
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nothing weird about liking Linkin Park. They were a huge part of my high school years, kept me sane and going.

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#34

I thought that buck teeth were cool as hell, so I would hold my mouth in a way that made me look like I had them. I looked like an idiot.

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#35

I wore a cat collar to school. With a bell on it....because I thought it was cool.

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Jayne Kyra
Jayne Kyra
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

... I did this, too. It was pink and I got it on a school trip when I was I think 12/13.

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#36

I put big a** padlocks on the back of my boots and I thought it was so cool cause it kinda sounded like spurs when I walked...then everyone started to call me lock boots so I ended that

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ZAPanda
ZAPanda
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kids at my school used to do that with soda can pulltabs.

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#37

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I’m kinda late to the party but the boy band fan phase. One Direction was super popular at the time and I was obsessed. I had every product imaginable including shirts from the kids section of Walmart and hot topic. I would post pictures and posts about them every single day and defend them if anyone talked badly about them. I was 16! I still cringe when I see my old posts in memories on Facebook

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Ryan Deschanel
Ryan Deschanel
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hot topic" should be renamed "that weird teenage phase you will eventually regret", but I think it would be too long.

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#38

I played Dungeons and Dragons and had a mullet. The girls were queuing up, mate.

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#39

6 metals chains around my neck and brightly colored Hawaiian shirts. What the every living f**k was I thinking?

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#40

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I went through a pretty long 'notlikeothergirls' phase combined with an 'iamverysmart' and edgelord atheist phase. It wasn't pretty.

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#41

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers When I first got Facebook, I had a phase where all of my status updates had to have a song lyric in it.

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Scagsy
Scagsy
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Without you, on the boulevard of broken dreams, the show must go on.

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#42

I had older cousins that I looked up to, they were into ICP so they dressed like juggalos without the face paint. I didn't know what ICP was, I just knew I wanted to be like my cousins. So from like 13 to 15 I accidently dressed like a juggalo. Lots of bad pictures from those days.

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#43

Wearing clothes like the matrix.

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#44

Rebelled against teen pop by getting heavily into classical music and opera. To be fair, it was the late 80s/early 90s so there was some terrible pop music around, but in retrospect I should just have pulled the stick out of my arse and enjoyed the good stuff.

And I can't actually play an instrument, so I didn't even get to enjoy the social side of being in the school orchestra or whatever.

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MikeWheelerFan
MikeWheelerFan
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually stuff in the 80’s and 90’s was good compared to the absolute s**t on the radio today. Rap literally kills my ears it’s so bad.

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#45

tried to convince people that i had a twin. even had “her” come to school one day.

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rspanther
rspanther
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I told people at work that I had an evil twin called Bob, and when I was in a bad mood I would say that I was Bob.

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#46

A bit of a nice guy phase. Thought I could get girls out of my league by being nice and basically an accommodating door mat. My dad actually set me straight. Told me basically lots of people are nice with lots of other good qualities and worked to take care of themselves physically, which of course helps. That I should work on being a better version of myself and the rest sorta works itself out. He was right

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Roxy Eastland
Roxy Eastland
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The problem with running around 'being nice to girls' is that a lot of it isn't at all wanted by the girls and makes them feel uncomfortable, so it will end feeling like being nice with no acknowledgement. Treating girls like fully complete human beings is a different matter.

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#47

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I bought Happy Bunny merch from Hot Topic unironically. Along with those TRIPP raver pants with the chains and Manic Panic AMPLIFIED hair dye in blue. I owned band tees without ever listening to the bands because they looked xXxhardcorexXx. I wrote angsty DBZ and Trigun yaoi fanfiction. Multiple. That were over 100k words.

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Neonx
Neonx
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...those pants look kinda cool...maybe just me...

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#48

Stalinism. I am serious. Even got a teacher yelling at me once!

However, my excuse is it's because I'm Russian (though I live in a EU country) and it's very typical for people to believe that "Stalin did nothing wrong" and the only reason why Westerners are criticizing him and "making up atrocities" (which are not made up, of course) is because Stalin industrialised Russia and established a public education system, while Westerners would love to see Russians "uneducated, illiterate peasants and without any industry".

My views were so anti-historical and anti-reality in retrospect.

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Vorknkx
Vorknkx
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ugh, yes, we have young people in my country feeling "nostalgic" about the communist regime that fell in 1989/1990. Note: all of these nostalgic youngsters were born way after the communist era and they have never actually lived in it (as I have).

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#49

When I was 15, well before Avril Lavigne happened, skater boys were the most attractive guys in my social environment. My friend, my sister and I would spend evenings hanging around the skate park, checking out the guys and fighting over which one of us would get to date the cutest guy. After about a month of this we conceded that the answer was “none of us.”

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#50

I talked and acted like I was from the 18th century, and even adapted my handwriting to include those old-style ligatures (between S and T, for example). I bought a frilly shirt second hand and wore it with a waistcoat and a vaguely old-fashioned military jacket. This peaked when I was 14 or so and no, it didn't make me the popular girl. Luckily I wore a school uniform (UK) so people only witnessed these terrible outfits on our rare non-uniform days.

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Otter
Otter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So you wanted to be an 18th century guy? You were before your time! Nowadays people actually earn a living by pretending they live in other eras, and putting it on social media.

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#51

The iconoclastic non-conformist that wanted nothing more than to be liked and accepted by my iconoclastic non-conformist friends who were all being iconoclastic non-conformists in the same way.

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#52

I used to think it was super cool and sexy to have my thong straps come right up over my hips.

Must have looked like such a little tramp

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#53

That edgy Hot Topic phase. It's literally the most low-risk form of teenage rebellion, but as a black kid, that s**t can really f**k with your parents, and just fuels that teenage-self-righteous "This is who I AM, MOM" feeling.

While I'm nearly 30 and have obviously moved past the teenage s**t, the hot topic phase definitely influenced much of my current aesthetic choices. So I guess it never quite left.

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Otter
Otter
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good way to think of it. Okay, I was a huge Trekkie as a teenager, which is embarrassing to think about... but the fact is, I could have found much worse things ways to escape my problems. I didn't realize it, but I was actually filling mind with a respect for science and logic, and hope for the future, along with all the bad acting and ridiculous dialogue. Sometimes even the cringey stuff wasn't all bad.

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#54

Barking like a dog- for no good reason. I remember we were shopping at Walmart one time and I started barking. Of course I made sure the aisle was empty so no one could witness I was the barker. From an aisle over I can hear a little boy start to bark. It’s like he’s following in my footsteps.

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Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i howled at the moon and made dragon sounds..that was my worst phase.

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#55

Being into rave culture. I had a tongue piercing and wore hilariously huge UFO pants with tassles on them. sigh

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#56

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I was an emo. Not ANY kind of emo a "XD-raw-nuzzles-you" type of emo.

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Nadine
Nadine
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Man, I am old. I don't know what any of this things mean.

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#57

Fake barb wire sticker tattoo phase, trying to be rock goth....all evidence of that phase is burned.

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#58

If you were a teenager in the mid-to-late 90s like me, you'll know exactly what I'm about to reference.

JNCOs.

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#59

I shaved off my eyebrows during my second year of high school

Didn't even draw them again

Just full on Manson

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Raven DeathShade
Raven DeathShade
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We're all stars now, in the dope show...(side note: I literally can't function when a Manson song is being played. His vocals and instrumentals trigger my anxiety)

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#60

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I grew up in a small town. In New York. Graduating class of 100. I was always a bit of a "redneck" but my senior year of high school, I kicked it into overdrive. Blue jeans, sleeveless tee shirt, work boots, cowboy hat every day. Also got a barbed wire tattoo. Tried chew, couldn't stand it. Couldn't grow a bear or mustache, but I know I would have, had I been able to. Luckily, I haven't found any photographic evidence of this phase.

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Iggy
Iggy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Growing a bear requires a lot of fertiliser and porridge.

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#61

Being a "Brony", in middle School I was sucked into it from my friends, and after humility and life lessons I dropped that s**t and never looked back.

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#62

I used to walk around school throwing a bouncy ball against the walls everywhere I went.

Edit: no this isn’t really “cringey” but more so something that would look strange for someone not in high school to do everywhere he went.

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Calypso poet
Calypso poet
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love those things! We would go to this arcade that had a bar and some of the games had the tickets. Most of the prizes were junk so I would get bouncy balls! They had a huge hallway we would throw them down. Then I would have them in my purse all the time and bounce them everywhere. I was almost 30😬 I guarantee I will still find some when I clean out some boxes and junk drawers.

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#63

I believed I could see like.. peoples familiars.

When i was a freshman in high school. I was so wildly in my own imagination that I had an entire group of friends converted to this. there was a giant enemy animal thing that was always trying to kill us. I remember texting my friends and saying that the evil one is watching me in the classroom.

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LumaStar
LumaStar
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

man I feel ya when I was in 4th grade, my friends and I convinced ourselves that there was an alien invasion...as someone who now takes medication for paranoia I sometimes wonder if this was somewhat of a warning sign.

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#64

"It’s Not A Phase, Mom!": 30 People Are Sharing The Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Teenagers I had my emo phase.

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#65

Was far too good at Dance Dance Revolution, and would go places just to play it. I also wore those giant pants with too many straps so I jingled like a change purse.

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Sleazy Weaver
Sleazy Weaver
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

DDR is really fun & it's good exercise! Nothing to be ashamed of as long as you don't hog the machine or brag like crazy.

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#66

Insane teenwolf style sideburns

iamverysmart-ish speech/opinions

Obsessed with anime before it was popular or even socially acceptable at all. Was always drawing in public and my art and stories were awful.

Crippling depression/self-harm, I needed help but did not seek it for years.

Turned out ok, married, have kid, corporate job, sideburns of a dignified respectable length, drawing got better, realized that my "smarts" were just s**tloads of useless trivia, realized my "smart" opinions were naive, still love my 90s anime.

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#67

I feel like this applies more to millennials than anyone else, but I went through that edgelord phase. You know, where you’d have Evanescence on blast and hate everything?

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#68

Oh lordy, the whole "F**k the government" phase. With such memorable quotes such as "I don't need to pay attention to politics because no matter who wins, an a**shole is going to be running the country" and "I read online that vaccines can you to lose IQ". Even had a collection of pins I wore on my beanie that said stuff like "Democracy: We Deliver" while showing a plane dropping bombs. To this day my friends still bring it up once in a blue moon because they know how much it makes me cringe.

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Scagsy
Scagsy
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually agree with most of that. I wouldn't trust a politician to run my vegetable patch never mind a country.

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#69

Massive weeblord. Now I'm a clandestine weeblord.

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#70

There were only like three kids in the whole school who were into martial arts, and I took it too far into the whole mystical Asia thing. I wasn't a weeaboo or anything (or a Koreaboo, it was taekwondo), I just dreamed of learning the mysteries of chi so I could do crazy kung fu s**t.

My only defense is that this was well before the internet and lots of people smarter than me believed in that stuff too.

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#71

As a result of my depression I was very much like one of those iamverysmart people, even bordering niceguys level as well. Thankfully I got my s**t together

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