33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School

It’s an interesting paradox that we often spend the majority of our younger years yearning for the freedom that comes with adulthood, but when we finally reach it, we start reminiscing about the lack of responsibilities and the good times we had in school.

It even happens that some people get too caught up in this web of memories and find it hard to move on to a brighter future. Seeing this way too much, one redditor turned to the AskReddit community with the question, “What screams 'this person peaked in high school' to you?”

From bragging about SAT scores ten years later to getting into fistfights at bars, scroll down to find the most awkward telltale signs that indicate a person has reached their maximum potential in their final years of education.

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School I had a teacher in high school who was always reminiscing about her days in high school and warning us that high school is the best time of our lives.

I'm a teacher now and I tell my students the opposite. You won't need to see these people ever again, who you are now is not who you will be in the future, etc. Things can get better!

Fun-Tradition-327 , Taylor Flowe Report

Final score:

137points

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School I coulda went pro if I didn't blow out my knee in the playoffs senior year!

We know Mike, you never shut up about it

theawkwardambassador , Riley McCullough Report

Final score:

78points

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School They’ll scream at their kids at their sports games as if its a world championship lol

Pglynn123 , Jeffrey F Lin Report

Final score:

75points

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One common indicator that a person "peaked in high school" is if they rely on their past accomplishments to define their current value. Sure, it's great to be proud of one's achievements, but it's equally important to continue growing and setting new goals. If you feel like you haven't succeeded at something for a while and only tend to reminisce about the good old days, it might be a sign that you need to take on a new challenge.

Another indication is if the person is struggling to adjust to adult responsibilities. High school conveniently provides students with a structured environment and clear expectations and duties, which makes it trickier for some to transition into adulthood, where you have to take matters into your own hands. After leaving such an environment, individuals might feel overwhelmed or unsure of how to navigate the challenges of adulthood.

This can further lead to people struggling to find their own identity and purpose. Since high school provides a clear path for many of them, it can be hard to discover passions on their own without it.

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Telling teenagers that “These are the best years of your life, it’s all downhill from here.”

Dotard1 , Steven Abraham Report

Final score:

73points

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School I had a conversation in a bar with a drinking buddy years ago. The guy kept going on about "the one that got away." How perfect she was and their chemistry together, how natural it was, how he hasn't felt that way about any girl since, yadda yadda. He was feeling pretty sorry for himself and uninterested in meeting anyone else because they could never compare. When I asked how long ago it was that she moved away, he said "8th grade." LMFAO

weeklybuzzard , Janosch Diggelmann Report

Final score:

67points

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School They call themselves alpha males

DarkestMoose538 , Hunters Race Report

Final score:

64points

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However, it's not all downhill from there, as it's never too late to continue growing and find new successes in different areas of life. In fact, one study has found that people who performed well during their high school years tend to display better cognitive functions even 60 years later.

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Going back to the high school for any and every event

1234Dillon , Erika Giraud Report

Final score:

62points

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School My dad regularly watches video tapes of his high school basketball games. So probably that.

sodapoptootsieroll , Kenny Eliason Report

Final score:

60points

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School My ex-husband is a prime example. He was a football, track, baseball, choir, and drama star. He was super popular and people fell at his feet.

Now he's 50, balding, overweight, and a cocky know it all. He still has the "football star" big d**k energy but now its just sad. He's old, frumpy, and he brags about high school and is an a*****e to everyone.

He likes to bully and control me and our kids. He told me during Covid lockdown that he was immune to all sickness and doctors should study him because he's a perfect specimen.

Interupting_Cows , Nicola Barts Report

Final score:

59points

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The reason our brains are so attached to our high school years might be because "instruction provided by more experienced and knowledgeable teachers might be more intellectually stimulating and provide additional neural or cognitive benefits," says Dominika Šeblová, a research scientist at Columbia University.

#10

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Getting in fist-fights as an adult. Especially at a bar when you're drunk.

Dadpurple , SHVETS production Report

Final score:

58points

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#11

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Mean girl energy over the age of 22-23.

It gives either you peaked in high school or you were bullied in high school and continued the cycle because you want to know what it feels like.

Dangerous-Ocelot948 , Element5 Digital Report

Final score:

53points

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#12

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School All their stories, all their accomplishments, all their succeses they mention were during high school.

kgbjay , Feliphe Schiarolli Report

Final score:

48points

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#13

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School My dad's oldest friend spent his entire adult life talking about his high-school days -- dad says he was a very good-looking and popular guy at the time. We'll call him Tom.

Tom made good early life and was a very successful salesman until he had a heart attack at age 33 which pretty much ended his professional career.

From there, Tom worked a variety of odd jobs because he just couldn't get his act together. He became overweight and lost most of his hair and looked nothing like his younger self. Eventually, Tom found himself living out of his van and having to constantly borrow money from his mother and friends to survive.

When they had their 25th graduating class reunion, my dad said Tom was the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Tom, who was a regular fixture at our home in the 1980s, spent the next two months talking to my parents about how much fun he had at that reunion and how much enjoyed seeing everyone again and how he wished it could have lasted forever.

Sadly, Tom passed away a few years later at 47 from another heart attack. He was a nice enough guy, and I am really glad he enjoyed that reunion.

Fresh-Hedgehog1895 , Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 Report

Final score:

43points

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#14

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Still bragging about your SAT score 10+ years later.

WhiskeyThinker , Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu Report

Final score:

42points

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#15

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School In my 60's and just moved to a different town. Got into a group of bicycle riders. All these guys can talk about is their high school antics. Who dated who. Who skipped the most classes. How great they were at sports. Yada-yada-yada. I left hs and did six years in the navy. Then went to college on the GI bill. Had way more fun and excitement than hs. I stopped riding with those guys.

Mickeydawg04 , Alvin Balemesa Report

Final score:

40points

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#16

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School They scored four touchdowns in one game playing fullback for Polk High, setting a school record.

ermghoti , Muyuan Ma Report

Final score:

39points

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#17

They post their entire life on social media. Everytime little Jenny opens their eyes, or little Johnny brings home a new art piece from school. Every single date night, OOTD, and selfie all put on social media.

skinnyl0vexx Report

Final score:

35points

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#18

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School When they keep trying to organize high school reunions more than a decade after graduation, even though no one ever responds to them

ostsillyator , Jonas Leupe Report

Final score:

34points

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#19

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Being in an MLM

Aggravating-Fee-1615 , LinkedIn Sales Solutions Report

Final score:

32points

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#20

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School You know someone peaked in high school when they're more concerned with maintaining their status as the 'cool kid' than actually pursuing meaningful goals and aspirations in their adult life.

Elegant-Head-813 , Jan Ranft Report

Final score:

30points

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#21

Making fun of someone’s appearance

Visual_Status_4137 Report

Final score:

30points

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#22

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Still wearing Class ring or letterman jacket.

MaryinPgh , shyam mishra Report

Final score:

29points

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#23

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School I spent some time with a company in the Texas Hill country I was a mid-thirties exec type. I was amazed how many middle aged women told me they were a cheer leader in high school.

Wemest , Rojan Maharjan Report

Final score:

28points

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#24

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School An obsession with how many people you've slept with. If that's your only goal, you got nothing else going for you.

spider7895 , Becca Schultz Report

Final score:

26points

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#25

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Someone who keeps talking about it.

I don't mind sharing events of the past but it's been 14 years now since High School for me.

I've worked a lot of places and done a lot in life since then.

Hope to do even more and make more memories as I go.

No_Night_7823 , Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 Report

Final score:

25points

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#26

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Married high school gf , cheats on her at the neighborhood bar and gets into fights.
Bully mentality and closed to the rest of the world.

FreeCanday , Luis Tosta Report

Final score:

22points

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#27

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School It's evident in those who never evolved past their high school persona—still stuck in the same mindset, habits, and attitudes they had as teenagers, refusing to grow and mature.

Ok_Maintenance_7924 , Jeswin Thomas Report

Final score:

22points

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#28

Joining an MLM.

naming their kid something like Nevaeh or Kinzleigh.

Living vicariously through their kid and making them join stuff they did when they were younger

They’re a pick me

cyaveronica Report

Final score:

19points

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#29

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School People who still display their trophies, medals , homecoming tiaras etc while working a dead end job in their late 30s.

A few of the "popular girls" I went to high school with (graduated in 2000) literally never went on to do anything meaningful with their lives after high school...except to get married and post endless photos of their "perfect families." No real college experiences, no travel, no job accomplishments. The captain of the pommer team who ended up taking a certain departmental award solely because her dad was the head of it literally does nothing but post all the perfect photos of her family....married for 20 years...no one has the heart to ask her if she knows that her husband cheats on her....with men.

Glass_Status_5837 , Ariel Report

Final score:

16points

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#30

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Difficulty adapting to new environments, challenges, or responsibilities beyond the structure and routine of high school life.

cutelittlelina , Eric Ward Report

Final score:

14points

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#31

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School You can tell when someone peaked in high school by how they approach life now—constantly chasing after faded dreams or living in a state of perpetual nostalgia, unable to move forward.

Hot-Butterscotch-913 , Ryoji Iwata Report

Final score:

14points

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#32

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School Only friends with people they went to school with. If you had something to offer post-school, you’d have managed at least one new friend.

sadferrarifan , Surface Report

Final score:

13points

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#33

33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School “You think you’re better than me?”

TogarSucks , Mimi Thian Report

Final score:

10points

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What do you think ?

SirWriteALot 7 months ago

I went to a bunch of different schools in different countries but nowhere was there this kind of obsession with it. Football star. Cheerleaders. Valedictorian. Homecoming, whatever ... everywhere EXCEPT the US are schools just places where kids go, learn, then move on and live their lives.

9points

Penguin Panda Pop 7 months ago

Mostly true except for folks who went to the (confusingly named) Public Schools in Britain. People who went to Eton or similar love to tell you they went to Eton (or similar).

4points

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Tempest 7 months ago

Liking and appreciating your school years doesn’t mean you only peaked at that time. It’s not the same as being fixated and refusing to let go of your “school persona”. The school system in my country is a continuous process from nursery/grade 1 up to grade 12, without a division of primary, secondary, and high school. The school is one large complex with all these students. Students in each grade have been together since they started school up until they graduate (except for those who left or joined halfway). We don’t always have the same friends throughout these years, but we get to know and be comfortable with each other so well because we grow up in the same setting for so long. Whereas, once we go off to college/work we meet people of different backgrounds and don’t have the ample time as before to be with them so these friendships don’t always work out. Might be the system but for most people in my country their school friends are set for life and share the best memories with.

Rae Rory 7 months ago

Became a cop and married a nurse. Or became a nurse and married a cop. (This is not to disparage nurses, but in my experience, nurses who marry cops were/are invariably mean girls)

1point

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33 Cringy Things That Scream Someone Peaked In High School

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