We all have those memories from our past that make us cringe—whether it’s a rebellious teenage phase, a questionable fashion choice, or a hairstyle we’d rather forget.
But instead of pushing them to the back of our minds, the subreddit ‘Blunder Years’ encourages people to share their most embarrassing childhood photos with pride, turning old regrets into moments we can all enjoy together.
At Bored Panda, we love celebrating these nostalgic missteps, so we’ve compiled the best ‘Blunder Years’ photos of all time from those we’ve featured before. Keep scrolling to see them all, and don’t miss our conversation with clinical psychologist Dr Charlotte Russell, who explains how awkward situations can shape our identities.
#1 Got Dumped A Week Before Prom, But My Mom Insisted I Go Take The Pictures She Paid For, So I Made A Sock Puppet To Bring As My Date. I Regret Nothing
Image credits: Reverend_Deek_Lovin
If you’re an adult now and grew up before the internet was packed with tips on how to dress, perfect your hair, and look your best, there’s a good chance you went through an awkward phase. I certainly did. When I was 14, I decided to cut my hair short, thinking I could pull off the look of one of my favorite female singers. Instead, I ended up with a haircut that earned me the nickname ‘Justin Bieber,’ because, as you might have guessed, it looked just like the iconic style so many teenage boys had between 2009 and 2014. The problem? I was a girl, and while many women can rock a pixie cut, it just wasn’t working for me.
#2 My Friend's Baby Pictures Look Like Mrs. Doubtfire
Image credits: elpintogrande
Sometimes I can’t help but grimace when I look back at that short hair phase, but I also try to approach it with kindness and self-acceptance. After all, if you can’t experiment wildly with your look during your teenage years—when can you? I think those cringy experiences are humbling and help build your character and sense of humor.
The followers of the ‘Blunder Years’ subreddit—one of Reddit’s biggest communities with almost a million members—would probably agree with me. They’re all about owning their past selves.
As the group puts it, the photos shared here need to be truly cringe-worthy. “Simply being nerdy just isn’t going to cut it. If you wore your ‘nerd glasses because you thought you were so hipster,’ that’s not enough of a blunder.” And the redditors deliver, offering everything from painfully bright 80s outfits to intense emo and goth phases, and all the questionable trends of the early 2000s. It really feels like going through an archive.
#3 It Was “Opposite Day” At School In 2005, Most People Wore Black And White Or Something.. I Decide To Dress As A Girl.. I Lived In A Small Town In Idaho. It Didn’t Go Over Well
Image credits: awashbu12
#4 My Parents Weren’t Surprised When I Came Out
Image credits: BoxBopChallenge
Of course, it’s not always easy to move on from the awkward moments we experienced growing up. To explore why these memories linger and how we can overcome them, Bored Panda spoke with Dr Charlotte Russell, a clinical psychologist and founder of The Travel Psychologist blog.
Often, our tendency to cringe at ourselves stems from our sensitivity to how others perceive us. “Humans are a social species, and our social relationships matter to us,” Russell says. “This can mean we fear or worry about things that other people might judge us for—whether it’s over a bad haircut or following a trend we later find regrettable.”
#5 I Looked Like A Middle Aged Man When I Was A Child
Image credits: Strid3r21
#6 My Parents Kindly Supported My Peak Edgelord Phase :)
Image credits: SpacePenguin69
#7 1996, Olan Mills Calls My Roommate Offering A Free Family Sitting. His Family Lived Two States Away, So We Went In To Mess With Them. I'm The Guy On The Right
Image credits: reddit.com
“It’s important for each of us to learn that we’re not perfect; we all make mistakes and do things that are embarrassing at some point,” Russell encourages. In particular, as we enter our teen years, we often try to understand ourselves better, which can lead to some unusual choices. “When we’re young, we’re especially focused on figuring out who we are, so we experiment with different things to see what fits,” she explains.
#8 Anytime My Wife Sees This She Burst Out Laughing... I Thought I Looked Cool
Image credits: Meowimpersian
#9 Glamour Shot Blunder (7 Years Old)
Image credits: denovosibi
#10 Me In 1998 And My Wife In 2000
Image credits: camiam85
“In adolescence, people typically go through phases that involve trying on various identities,” Russell adds. “Inevitably, this means that later on, we may look back and feel a bit awkward about choices and things we now see as questionable. But this is all part of being human and our personal story, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
#11 For My 2nd Grade Photo I Vouched For The Satan's-Child-Lawyer Look
Image credits: 17UglyBoobies
#12 Just A Girl On A Spring Communist Demonstration In Lviv, Ukraine, 1968
Image credits: xerurg
#13 Had A "Photoshoot" With My Mom And Thought That Being "The Weird Kid" Made Me Cool And Mysterious. Good Thing I Dont Live In The States Cause I Had Some Serious School Shooter Vibes ;)
Image credits: Dinkelburger123
Science approves of these awkward phases. Researchers believe that everything you went through as a child or teen—from acne and growth spurts to bad fashion choices—has made you stronger.
“There are actually hardiness and resilience genes that can be turned on and off with that,” says Joyce Mikal-Flynn, who teaches a course on neuroscience and post-traumatic growth at Sacramento State University. Adolescence, she explains, is the perfect time for those genes to kick into action. “It has to start early and often.”
#14 Ten Years And One Transition Later: Some Things Never Change
Image credits: reddit.com
#15 Late 70's. No Idea What I Was Thinking. Made The Suit Myself
Image credits: xxSpeedsterxx
#16 Tried To Smile, Channeled Jim Carrey Instead. Allllllllrighty Then
Image credits: 8bitcity
Studies suggest that resilience is shaped by various adaptive changes in the brain’s neural circuits. While scientists haven’t pinpointed a specific resilience gene, they have identified one linked to a lack of resilience—the NR3C1 gene, which affects how people respond to cortisol.
Individuals with a certain variant of this gene are 75 percent more likely to struggle with issues like substance abuse, aggression, and antisocial personality disorder if they don’t seek help after a traumatic event.
However, unlike severe childhood trauma, those awkward teenage phases provide a more manageable way for kids to build their resilience over time, according to Mikal-Flynn.
#17 I Was Evidently The Reference Model For The Kid From Up! ~ Circa 1985
Image credits: charliethegeek
#18 My Mother Said I Would Regret This Photo... No Regrets Mom! Circa 2002
Image credits: Made_lion
#19 When It’s Your First Day Of Kindergarten And Also Your First Day As Head Of The Pta
Image credits: DragonfireEsq
Interestingly, these adolescent phases could not come at a better time. It might seem counterintuitive, considering all the changes teenage bodies undergo, but these experiences are actually beneficial for brain growth.
Adults reason with a fully developed frontal lobe, which controls many abilities, including thinking, movement, and memory. It also plays a key role in social skills, helping us understand how to communicate, behave, and interact with others.
Since the frontal lobe finishes developing in our twenties, adolescent brains are still in the process. When teens recall socially traumatic experiences, they engage these regions of the brain, which helps bridge the gap between the impulsive mind of a child and the rational thinking of an adult. While trauma from bullying about appearance can have negative psychological effects, with the right support from parents and friends, these challenges can become less of a burden and more of a stepping stone toward maturity.
#20 I Thought I Was The Coolest Cat There Ever Was
Image credits: fromsky610
#21 My Sisters And I Wanted Those Glamour Photos From The 90s, But We Were Too Young So Mum Had Us Do A Homemade One Instead
Image credits: emmattack
#22 I Had Embraced My Nerdy Outcast Status And Went To School Like This, Sadly The Trench Coat Was Soon Banned After '99
Image credits: WhacksOnAnonOff
One way parents can support their teens, says Mikal-Flynn, is by acknowledging their struggles but also reminding them that it’s how they respond to tough situations that truly shapes who they are, not the difficulties themselves.
“Parents don’t want their children to be in pain and I understand that, but there’s another way to deal with that between letting them hurt all the time and not letting them feel it at all,” adds Mikal-Flynn. “There’s a middle ground.”
#23 After Explaining What R/Blunderyears Is All About, A Friend Of Mine Gave Me Permission To Post This Gem. Circa Early-90s
Image credits: Sgt_Pepsi
#24 This Surpasses Even The Fivehead
Image credits: proffllama
#25 In Honor Of My Husband’s 37th Birthday, I Present To You His Senior Prom Photo From 2000
Image credits: Loocylooo
If you’re an adult and find that embarrassing moments from your childhood still haunt you, Russell suggests that sharing them with others can help you get over them. You don’t have to do it publicly or on Reddit. “Start by sharing these kinds of experiences with people you trust,” she advises. “Chances are, they’ll remember something similar, and you can bond over these experiences with humor.”
These moments can also reveal the quality of your friendships. “If you share something with someone and they laugh at you rather than with you, it might be a sign to re-evaluate that friendship,” Russell notes.
#26 Setting Trends At About 10 Years Old, Rural England!
Image credits: seafog
#27 Give Me The Sassy Grandma Look
Image credits: dumbolddoor
#28 When Someone Asks How Your Life Is Going…
Image credits: laureli48
So embrace those ‘blunder years’ with confidence, and don’t let the memories of them keep you up at night. After all, as Russell sums up, all the changes, the trial and error, and the self-discovery are part of “finding out who we are—it’s totally normal and healthy.”
#29 When You Look Over 40 But You're Actually 12
Image credits: ThatSquareChick
#30 2006 And I Was 17. The Cure Was My Life
Image credits: Hollybums
#31 One Of My Best Friends And I In Early 2012. We Were 8, And Had Our Own Band
Image credits: PiggyGamesALot
#32 In 5th Grade I Was Worried I Would Blink And Mess Up My Year Book Photo
Image credits: wholebunchofbees
#33 My Poor Parents...being Nice To Me Back In 1987 During My Billy Idol Skateboarding Phase
Image credits: MrArms69
#34 2006 Senior Picture
Image credits: Super_Rosie
#35 I Give You One 15 Yo Goth With Her Eyebrows Shaved Off. My Step Dad Nicknamed Me “Sunshine” ?
Image credits: m4RLA5INGER
#36 Me In The 80s. Sadly, The Coolest I Ever Looked
Image credits: JohnnyPolite
#37 ‘How Did You Know I Was Gay?’ Said The Posing Seven Year Old Boy In Make Up, A Perm, And Black Sequinned Jellicle Cats Dance Costume
Image credits: DefinitelyNotADeer
#38 Sometime Between 05 And 07, I Remember I Got To Choose The Background And Which Weapon I Posed With
Image credits: shortlegs99
#39 Family Photo. What A Mood
Image credits: puffsaddy
#40 That Time I Went To My High School Prom And Looked Like A 45 Year Old Woman
Image credits: Clairdassian
#41 6th Grade Going On 60
Image credits: RICHB0YWINST0N
#42 1993 Senior Pic, I Wore Those Boots To Hs The Entire Year. Iowa Winter And All
Image credits: kleric42
#43 My Mum Commissioned Someone To Make These Outfits For A Family Wedding. We’re Boys Btw
Image credits: Newlands99
#44 I Swear It's Not Square Anymore
Image credits: drshavako
#45 The Blunder Brothers, Circa 1994. I'm In Purple
Image credits: dame_condor
#46 Me And Friends Before A Disturbed Concert In 2006. We're So Cool Posing In Front Of Mom And The Van. ?
Image credits: Shewolfkitty
#47 Going Through A Bunch Of Old Photos From High School, The Expression Of The Girl In The Back Definitely Says A Lot
Image credits: bs1252
#48 My Husband (Right) And His Brother (Left). Prom 2006
Image credits: MCclapyourhands1
#49 In 2004 I Won A Contest To Dj At My Very Small Hometown’s Easy-Listening Radio Station. I Proceeded To Play An Hour Of Evanescence Deep Cuts And Ruined Everyone’s Morning Commute
Image credits: losvestidosrojos
#50 Me, Circa 1991. My Mom Let Me Get The Laser Background. I Am So Proud Of This Pic!
Image credits: CallThatGoing
