50 Times People Who Went Through The ‘Blunder Years’ Phase Posted These Absolutely Hilarious Pics (New Pics)
Although long gone are our careless teenage years, with the oldest millennials turning 40 this year (you gotta be kiddin’ me, right?!), the blunder years still come back to haunt us. Usually they come in the form of school pics stacked somewhere in our parents’ houses.
But the tendency about those pics is clear, they reemerge out of nowhere during the least expected moments, like a family reunion, or during dinner meant to introduce your love interest to your parents. Most importantly, our skin has toughened quite a bit, but the blunder pics still make us blush like it was yesterday.
So today we’re diving into the hilariously brilliant r/BlunderYears community where people share one thing we all have in common: the old pictures of ourselves that prove going through major ups and downs, twists, and loop-de-loops when it comes to our identities is only human! Sit back, relax and get ready to chuckle for this relatable selection below, and be sure to check out our previous posts with pics from blunder years here, here and here.
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My Poor Parents... Being Nice To Me Back In 1987 During My Billy Idol Skateboarding Phase
I Thought I Was The Coolest Cat There Ever Was. 1994
Late 70's. No Idea What I Was Thinking. Made The Suit Myself
We’ve all been teenagers at some point, although the memories of the blunder years are fading away with every grey hair strand we find. That carelessness and craving for independence is something most of us have experienced in many shapes or form, some by protesting against our parents and dressing as goths, others by finding shelter in a geek circle.
My Girlfriend's Childhood Family Picture. She Was Really Excited About Being A Rat In The Nutcracker
I Was Evidently The Reference Model For The Kid From Up! Circa 1985
Middle School Was... An Interesting Time
Previously, we spoke with Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence, about blunder years and how unique they really were when you look at them from our current perspective.
According to Lenore, the urge to be independent is something we've all carried since the dawn of time. “Think of what used to happen during the teen years throughout most of human history. Those young people weren’t going to high school. They weren’t making TikTok videos. They weren’t eating candy bars and playing Call of Duty. They were foraging for food, trying not to become some other species’ food, and they were having babies."
Matronly 40-Year Old Korean Librarian? Nope! Just Me, A 12-Year Old Boy
Me Back In 2005... Techno Interested Me
Groovy Baby!
Moreover, according to her, teenagers' desire to create a fresh, new, unique persona might also arise from the disconnect "between being ready for adulthood and being grounded because of your C- in algebra." What if the search for identity during the blunder years is really a wish to detach oneself from a culture that keeps treating teenagers as kids?
Hence, “they sometimes adopt a new look, one they probably hope makes them look much older and more sophisticated or sexy—that is, adult. Need a real-world example? See a timeline of Miley Cyrus," Lenore told us.
Mall Rat Days
4 Going On 40 With This 90s Glamour Shot
I Had Embraced My Nerdy Outcast Status And Went To School Like This, Sadly The Trench Coat Was Soon Banned After '99
Lenore continued about how our desire for independence comes after we become accepted by others: "At the same time, that longing comes from a desire to connect: 'Don’t write me off—get to know me!' As humans, we are acutely attuned to what others think of us—and particularly attuned to any put-downs or humiliation. So we may adopt some styles that we hope will keep the scorn at bay. People are wearing a certain shoe? So will I. Everyone’s growing their hair long? I’ll grow mine, too. We want to be accepted, so we look at what others are doing/wearing/saying and adopt some of these things. But once accepted, we also want to be seen for the real person we are, not just a 'type.'"
Got A Disposable Camera As A Child And Decided To Take A Selfie. I Was Very Pleased With It After Getting It Developed
1993 Senior Pic, I Wore Those Boots To Hs The Entire Year. Iowa Winter And All
I Was So Proud When I Made The Yearbook. When I Got Home And Showed My Mom She Said I Would Regret That Later In Life
My Husband (Right) And His Brother (Left). Prom 2006
That Year My School Photos Fell On The Day I Had To Get 2 Teeth Removed
I'm glad you convinced the photographer that no, you weren't in fact having a stroke.
Welcome To My Weird Childhood
This looks like the beginning of a horror movie. 'Little did Betty know that her look alike doll.....'
I Legit Don’t Even Cringe On This One, 2006, I Want To Learn To Channel That Spirit
I Wanted To Be A Child Actor So Mom Took Me To Sears For Some Dope Headshots
My Parents Built Me A Cross So I Could Play Christ In 1998
Unintentionally Brought Back The Heavy-Hairspray Hairstyles Of The 80’s While Trying To Cope With My Receding Hairline During My Senior Year In High School
We Were Allowed To Bring An Object To Hold For Class Picture Day. Some Kids Used A Football, Tennis Racket, Musical Instrument... I Chose A Hamster. It Wasn’t Even My Hamster
10 Year Old Me Idolised Avril Lavigne
My Mom Just Wanted A Nice Picture In Paris
Damn...were they planning in stealing the Effiel Tower in those pants?
Circa 2010. No It Was No Halloween. I Was Going To The Airport. Yes The Iron Man Triangle Lit Up
Senior Photo...
Spent An Hour Doing My Hair Every Day. Circa 2006
Friend Shared This On Facebook; I'm Sharing All Of Her 90s Glory With Reddit (With Her Permission)
I Remember Thinking I Was The Absolute Coolest Chick Walking Around La On Fam Vacation. Circa 2002
7 Years Old In 1997, Growing Out What Was A Bowl Cut That My Mom Loved, Rocking My Pink Power Ranger Shirt To Make Sure People Knew I Was In Fact A Girl
I’m Not The Cute Cat Or The Little Chef... I’m The Sandwich!
13 Year Old Me In 2011, Right Smackbang In The Middle Of The “I’m Soooo Random :3” Phase
As A Kid I Was Really Obsessed With The Amish
Me, 1995, In Venice, Backpacking Across Europe In Search Of My True Identity. At Least I Wasn't Too Obvious About The Whole Situation
Circa 3rd Grade, 1980: My Dad Cut My Hair And I Wore A Shirt With My Own Face On It
Me (In The Middle) At 17... Dudes Wanted Nothing To Do With Me Until 21. In Retrospect, This Makes Sense, As My Biggest Fashion Inspiration Was Tank Girl...
I'm Not Sure What's Worse. The Hair Or The Suspenders. It's Probably The Hair
I Got A Lot Of Love For My Pigtails, So Here's Some More! Cheers!
I Will Raise Your 2nd Grade Picture With This. In High School
Nothing says "badass" like a flaming tiger background and cheap katana acquired from the mall kiosk....
My Mom Cut & Styled My Hair For Picture Day. I Never Let Her Touch My Hair Ever Since
My Mom Paid Money To Have This Very Professional Photo Taken At An Anime Convention In 2006. The Page Protector It Was Put In Really Helped Preserve The Quality
Me (Left) And My Friend, Just A Couple Of 13 Year Olds Being Cool Guys, Not Looking At Explosions. Please Do Notice The Horrible Editting I Did Back Then
That's such a cool photo! I love it and I don't think it belongs on this list at all
Me, A Straight Female, Trying To Impress My Crush By Being One Of The Guys. I’m On The Right
I See Your Tuba And I Raise You One Saxophone
One Thing I Still Believe: Always Dress Up, Whether You're Going Out Or Just Doing Chores!
Me Showing Off My Vampire Books In My Mr. Bean Shirt
Me, Around 12 Years Ago. Emo Phase Hit Me Hard
They look like that sim from the Sims 4 vampires pack. I think his name was Caleb.
Year 2 In 2003, That’s My Teacher On The Left. Nothing Says Cool In Primary School Quite Like Having An Identical Haircut To Your 60 Year Old Teacher...
2004. This Still Keeps Me Up At Night...
In High School, I Lost My Driver's License And Was Really Into Alfa Romeos. So, I Thought This Senior Picture Would Be Both Funny And Cool
Back In 2013 I Liked Doctor Who Instead Of Having A Personality
My Mom Had To Go To Walmart After She Picked Me Up From A Convention
Yup, Full Mullet And A Tux For The School Prom, Honestly Thought I Was Rocking It Too
Did Someone Say Dance Class? 15 Years Ago I Participated In An Ice Age Themed Competition
My Mom Insisted I Show Off My Braces. I Think She Was Hoping For Better Results
Why The Hell Did I Think Any Of This Was Okay? The Shirt, The Hair... Oh God
My Godmother Just Sent Me This. Circa 1985 Dampier, Australia
My Sister Was Really Interested In Fashion In The Mid-2000s. Our Mom And Grandma Maybe Encouraged Her Too Much
2007, Taking Back Sunday T-Shirt, Dickies Backpack, Skinny Jeans, Converse, Gas Station...?
Circa 1999... I Know That Hair Clip Still Thinks About Me
Senior Prom. We Thought We Were So Cool
Not Terrible, But I Spent 4th Grade Cosplaying As Jimmy Neutron With That Helmet Of Hair. I’m A Girl Btw
I Thought I Nailed That Edit Lmao. Translated Caption : "I'm Really Black And White In The Deepness Of My Heart, I've Never Really Seen Colors, Except Black, White And Gray"
This Is The Better Quality Shot Of My Christian Rock Band In 2007. Surprisingly We Were Not Very Successful
You guys look like a Buzzfeed article detailing bad fashion trends of the 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's.
Class Of ‘07 Represent
Puka Shell Necklace And Spiked Hair For My School Photo! I Think This Was 2002
I Thought I Was So Cool And Sophisticated (Ft. Family Portrait In My Mom’s Bedroom)
“Not everyone was a fan of Harry’s new look, the hairspray turned out slightly too flammable for potions and the sleeves and collar were terrible for Quidditch, aerodynamically speaking.”
Posing In A Tree With My Cousin’s Bike, Trying To Look “Casual”
My Facebook Profile Picture In 2014. The Caption Was “Yasuo Incarnate”...i Played A Lot Of League Of Legends
In 3rd Grade I Really Wanted To Be Sonic The Hedgehog For Holloween. This Was The Result
I Wish I Still Had The Confidence Of 2010 Me. I Think The Jacket Was From Avril Lavigne's Collection And I Wore It Everywhere.... All The Time
Man, I think we all want to have that confidence we had when we were kids lol
This Indian-Ass "Photoshoot" I Had. My Mother Sent It To Me To Humble Me And Remind Me Of My Origins
White Girl Dreads, Speed Dealer Sunglasses, Slogan Tee And Zip Capri Pants. The Year 2000 Was Glorious
My Shirt Says "I'm A Dinosaur, So Like Rawr And Stuff." And The Hello Kitty Ears. So Random
Back When 8 Year Old Me Discovered The Morphing Function On My Ds Camera, So I Morphed Myself With Our Bathroom Tiles. Graphic Design Is My Passion
Here’s Me At 12, Going To See Good Charlotte And Eve 6 With My Dad. I Thought I Looked Very Badass
Again, for the time, you did. This is nowhere near out there or awkward.
Instead Of Braces, My Grandpa Gave Me His Bb Gun And My Grandma Gave Me Her Receding Hairline
Me On My Very First Date. Pretty Sure She Went Because My Mom Rented A Limo
That’s a depressing assumption to make…now I want to know, did she ditch him the minute the limo drove off again?
First Day Back To School 2008. I Was An Ugly Child But I Felt "Trendy" For Once In This Outfit
I don't think you were an ugly child at all. I zoomed in on you to double check! I hope you feel better about yourself now x
The Year Was 2008, And I Had Just Discovered How To Find A Scene Hair Tutorial On Youtube
My Middle School Quote Was So Bad The School Actually Added The Last Sentence Without Telling Me
It's funny how many countries allow their students to write anything on their yearbook. Here, you have to have a very meaningful quote. Mine was 'Hardwork is best' or something along that line.
My Friend And I Messing Around On Webcam, Edited Using Ms Paint, Circa 2007
This Travesty From My Senior Photos From 2010
Man, reminds me of my emo phase at 15. Tried so hard to look like all the cool emo people in bands and on internet, but we didn't have any shops to sell these type of clothes and couldn't order online. Tried to find all the black clothes, big smudge eyeliner, wearing freaking shoelaces around my wrists because I didn't have good bracelets. But it made me happy lmao
How To Be A Success At Life. Step One:: Let other people do what makes them happy, mind your own business, and do what you need to do to make yourself happy. - Good on you, Ruby!
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I really enjoyed this. We all went through it. Some lesser, some greater. Some inside, some outside.
I love it! Express yourself!!!! Much respect to parents that allow their children to be their own person!
This was one of the best articles I've ever read. I remember I went through a phase where I would only put my hair into pigtails, and then I got glasses that were really small with metal frames. This made me look like a complete dork and I still don't want people to see it.
I just love how everyone's parents were supportive enough to let everyone be who they wanted to.
There's a reason (or four) that I keep my teenage photos hidden in a drawer....
Now I really want a "it wasn't just a phase" version of this. Before & after pics where the style has only improved, but not exactly changed. (eg. a goth teen is still a goth 10+ years later but without the cringe etc.)
I could easily contribute to this. Combine them all together and you get most of my phases from childhood through high school lol
Never had a cool or weird hair do. I tried, but by the end of the day, my hair had lost the do and was back to doing what it did.
In South-Africa children wear school uniforms tied back hair for girls and short hair cuts for boys. Thank goodness!
A ton of these pictures have previously been posted by other people on other websites. Makes me a bit disappointed in the fake posters.
if you mean websites other than Bored Panda, then all of the pictures are "stolen". they were not submitted by BP users. the BP staff just found them, organized them into a list, and linked each one to the original site
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Man, reminds me of my emo phase at 15. Tried so hard to look like all the cool emo people in bands and on internet, but we didn't have any shops to sell these type of clothes and couldn't order online. Tried to find all the black clothes, big smudge eyeliner, wearing freaking shoelaces around my wrists because I didn't have good bracelets. But it made me happy lmao
How To Be A Success At Life. Step One:: Let other people do what makes them happy, mind your own business, and do what you need to do to make yourself happy. - Good on you, Ruby!
Load More Replies... I really enjoyed this. We all went through it. Some lesser, some greater. Some inside, some outside.
I love it! Express yourself!!!! Much respect to parents that allow their children to be their own person!
This was one of the best articles I've ever read. I remember I went through a phase where I would only put my hair into pigtails, and then I got glasses that were really small with metal frames. This made me look like a complete dork and I still don't want people to see it.
I just love how everyone's parents were supportive enough to let everyone be who they wanted to.
There's a reason (or four) that I keep my teenage photos hidden in a drawer....
Now I really want a "it wasn't just a phase" version of this. Before & after pics where the style has only improved, but not exactly changed. (eg. a goth teen is still a goth 10+ years later but without the cringe etc.)
I could easily contribute to this. Combine them all together and you get most of my phases from childhood through high school lol
Never had a cool or weird hair do. I tried, but by the end of the day, my hair had lost the do and was back to doing what it did.
In South-Africa children wear school uniforms tied back hair for girls and short hair cuts for boys. Thank goodness!
A ton of these pictures have previously been posted by other people on other websites. Makes me a bit disappointed in the fake posters.
if you mean websites other than Bored Panda, then all of the pictures are "stolen". they were not submitted by BP users. the BP staff just found them, organized them into a list, and linked each one to the original site
Load More Replies... 