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30 Embarrassing Pics From People’s “Blunder Years” That They Would Like To Forget (New Pics)
Interview With Expert
Many of us try on many identities as we grow up. There are many phases one can have: a Tamagotchi phase, an emo/scene phase, a fedora phase – you name it. Some people even go through their looking-like-a-mob-boss phase.
Whatever it is, it often makes folks cringe and want to hide the evidence of that time in the deepest of voids. However, some people are brave enough to share their embarrassing moments with the rest of the world. The subreddit Blunder Years is the perfect place for that, as it has over a million netizens sharing the pics from their childhood and teen years where they thought they looked their very coolest, yet actually were anything but.
Bored Panda reached out to social science researcher Karla McLaren, M.Ed. She's an author and an emotions and empathy expert, who believes that even negative emotions like shame and embarrassment can help guide us into self-awareness.
McLaren told us more about how sharing cringe-worthy memories can help us overcome insecurities and shared the pitfalls of revisiting embarrassing blunders of the past. Read her expert insights below:
More info: Empathy Academy | Emotion Dynamics
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The First Photo Is When We Were All Around 13 Years Old. Last Is At My Friend's Wedding Last Year
Jackie Lulu 10 months ago
Guy in the front had the same glasses in 2011 and 2019, and his head grew around them.
Annabel Again 9 months ago
I actually really love when a guy who’s balding decide to just go for it and shave his head. Look how bad a*s he looks.
RELATED:
#2
A Home Perm. I Had Several. This Was One Of Them
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago (edited)
I had a friend who willingly did this yr 7 through to graduation 😝 we laugh about it now, because between 1999 to 2004 - it was NOT the in time for perms 😂
Jackie Lulu 10 months ago
My mom wanted a little girl with golden ringlets, and instead she got this clutz with mousy brown stick straight hair. Toni perms do not make golden ringlets
Toothless Feline 10 months ago
My hair does that naturally at that length. If it’s not long enough to reach my shoulders, its own weight can’t overcome its poofiness. If I ever get it cut shorter than that again, I’m not letting it get that long again.
Nice Beast Ludo 10 months ago
I had this style as well. And a whole smorgasbord of other bad to terribles ... My mother is a professional stylist and there is no excuse lol
Daddy’s Girl 10 months ago
I still have this hairdo, but not on purpose. It’s just the way my hair goes.
Hell'n Damnation 9 months ago
Why did our mothers think they were hairdressers? I still loathe the smmell of ammonia.
Janet Graham 9 months ago
I hated home permanents. They never turned out bad, I just hated curly hair.
#3
When I Was Nine, I Insisted On Being A Homeless Enron Employee For Halloween. The Stubble Is Mascara
Cara Vinson 10 months ago
I was a real homeless Enron Employee!! LOL. I went as Satan, and all the executives were names on snakes coming out of my shirt.
The resurgence of nostalgia doesn't seem to be going away soon. We love to remember our favorite movies, TV shows, characters, and toys, but nostalgia is often only about the good things. We tend not to want to remember things that confused us, brought us pain, or made us feel embarrassed.
Yet we're okay with some embarrassment. The Blunder Years subreddit walks the fine line between hurtful embarrassing memories and relatable embarrassment perfectly. Folks share photos from their past to, as the subreddit's bio puts it, "laugh and regret together."
#4
2008 I Was Sooo Proud Of My Hair 😹
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
I came before these emos, (classic goth) I always admired how they did the big hair ❤️ (and paved the way for social acceptance in regards to alternative dress styles), before their glorious emergence we were just literal weirdo freaks and possible ‘satinists’.
The_Nicest_Misanthrope 10 months ago
Same here, though I found myself resentful of the emo's for it. Oh sure, when I wear it, I get the c**p kicked outta me, but when kids wear it only 2 years later, they're cool AF. 😑
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#5
Mistaken For A Substitute Teacher At Least Once In Junior High
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
My parents got married when my mum was 18, in 1981. Even with the makeup she wore in the wedding photos, she looked 13 (or younger).
Load More Replies... Hagia Sophia of Athens 10 months ago
I had a kid who wore suits to class every day his entire senior year. Own it if you want to!
#6
Mullet, Skinny Leather Tie, Grade 9 Me Was A Vision. Of Something
We spoke with emotions and empathy expert Karla McLaren about how the impact of sharing embarrassing moments from our childhood and teen years with others impacts our mental health. "Memory is a strange thing," she says. "It's not an accurate record of the past, and each time we replay a memory, we change it."
However, McLaren claims that there are both positives and negatives in remembering our cringey memories. "Sharing past experiences can be very healthy if you're looking to find the humor or the growth you've experienced since then. But if you're revisiting it and increasing your sense of dread or pain, it can be counterproductive."
#7
I Still Have To Hear My Dad Trash My Mom For Letting Me Choose These Rainbow Glasses...but I Loved Them
Nice Beast Ludo 10 months ago
What is wrong with the rainbow glasses???? Adorable!!! So endearing
#8
14yo Me In 2004... Thats What I Wore While Tearing Down The Old Trailer.... New Trailer In The Back
Huddo's sister 10 months ago (edited)
I thought this was going to be about the hair and I was wondering what was wrong with it (my brother had a similar hairstyle in 2010 and I thought it was really cool), then I scrolled down :)
#9
This Was A Photoshoot I Did In 2010
PhaseWitFact 10 months ago
This is actually cool 😎 looks like it came off the set of a Robin Hood play
That's why McLaren warns people to be careful when reminiscing about their regrettable past. "Focusing on what you learned and how you've overcome difficult things can be very healing, but you do have to take care!" Remember: as long as you're revisiting things that only make you laugh or cringe with humor, it's all good.
#10
Got My Hair & Makeup Done At Libby Lu At The Mall For My Birthday. I Thought I Was So Cool
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
I can't believe there are places without them now. Where I live they just keep making them bigger and bigger. I avoid all but the smallest of them because the crowds stress me out and I don't need to buy things from the vast majority of stores (Kmart/Big W and the occasional bookstore are enough for me).
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#11
My Boyfriend And His Mom In 1992
Daniel Atkins 10 months ago
That face says none of my friends have posed like this. Why are we doing it this way?
#12
My Father Left Behind A Legacy Of Cool And I Am Letting Him Down
As teens and pre-teens, we have lots of insecurities: we think our noses are crooked, our hair is the wrong color, or our feet too big. Looking back at ourselves during that formative time might help us overcome some of them. "Sharing your clumsy, silly, or shame-inducing blunders has a kind of daylighting effect," McLaren notes.
#13
1989 I Was So Excited For The New Recycling Program To Start That I Wanted To Be Recycling For Halloween
Nice Beast Ludo 10 months ago
My best box costume was dressing up like a birthday present (instructions from American Girl Magazine)
#14
On My Way To See The Jonas Brothers
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
Hahhaha I love it ❤️ that age where you’re ’so grown up’ in you’re own head 😂
Hagia Sophia of Athens 10 months ago
Thanks for that! Alot of stuff makes a bit more sense in my 12-16 year old mind.
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#15
2012 - 10/11 Year Old Me With Jeffree Star In Toronto 😭😭😭
According to McLaren, one of the best ways to deal with shame is to be open about it. "This helps you because you're not keeping secrets from yourself," she explains. "But it also helps others to see you do it, so that maybe they can bring some light and fresh air to their own very human blunders. It can also help you and everyone else laugh, lighten up, and create closer bonds," the emotions and empathy expert says.
#16
1991, Off To My High School Graduation Ceremony
#17
'Glamour Photos' From 2003 (I Was 13)
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 10 months ago
That's much funnier than what I was going to say.
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Hagia Sophia of Athens 10 months ago
I desperately wanted Glamor Shots done but my mom considered them a waste of money. By the time I had my 1st job and saved enough money (I didn't get an allowance either), Glamor Shots were gone in our area.
#18
Twenty Years Ago I Was In A Screamo Band. Now, I’m 40
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago (edited)
I got invited to see some play from kids at art school - some of the teenagers invited me to a garage at their house (I was 23ish then). It was so cute 😝
René Sauer 10 months ago
screamo? That´s an actual music genre? I am afraid to look it up on youtube, because judging by the name I will probably not like it.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
It's a subsection of metal (or just a generic term for it, I'm not sure which).
Load More Replies...When embarrassing moments like the ones in this list are put on the internet for everyone to see, it's important how we frame that embarrassment. "If people are humorous and lighthearted (and not treating the embarrassed person as a target), it can lighten up the whole experience for everyone," McLaren says.
"But if the embarrassment is being used to mock, shame, or bring another person low, then it's just exposing, unkind, and often abusive. It really depends on the context and the intention."
#19
I Went To School Like This Everyday For Months. I Had Zero Friends
Michael None 10 months ago
The whiteface is the most interesting thing about th.......holy s**t is that a Hitler mustache?
Janet Graham 9 months ago
Parents have a hard time deciding to let you be you or protecting you from yourself.
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago (edited)
We could of been friends, I wore al foil in my hair and as fake piercings at one school where I also had no friends because of shìt like this 😂
#20
Thankfully I Grew Into My Fave
Zarnia Sabourin 10 months ago
Made me think of the "do the roar" kid from shrek 😅 I'm sure most of us have at least one picture like that, 😊
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#21
What 12-Year-Old Me Considered Peak Fashion
Bored Trash Panda 9 months ago
YES. Glad I'm not the only one who thought that
Load More Replies... Huddo's sister 10 months ago (edited)
Gotta love a fedora! I remember my first boyfriend wore them often and at my 18th birthday he wore one. My sister became a little obsessed with him, because he let her wear his fedora during the party lol. She still (15 years later) mentions that she was sad I broke up with him, because he wore a fedora! Unsurprisingly, she wore a fedora and a suit to her year 11 formal. My brother on the other hand, went through a Hawiian shirt (and Elvis) phase when he was about 9, which he is apparently embarassed of now.
This generation, it seems, is doing just fine with embarrassment and shame. The recent "Rejection therapy" trend is all about people going out of their comfort zone and getting used to their anxieties around it. People are going around and asking to speak into a plane's intercom or to take a nap at the mattress store and thus becoming insensitive to the word "No."
#22
Dressing Like This To Play The Sims 2 By Myself
Feathered Dinosaur 10 months ago
Played all the way from the Sims up to the Sims 4. Sims 3 will always be my favorite
#23
This Is How I Dressed Every Day Of Middle School And Some Of High School, Because I Loved Mob Movies And Frasier. I Am Loath To Use This Sub, Because I Still Think I Ate. 🤣
hardrad2009 10 months ago
Photo of the winner of some corporation northwestern branch management contest
#24
I Was 14, The Rapper 50 Cent Was My Idol, My Mom Took The Picture
Kyle Shade 10 months ago (edited)
Damn homie, in high school you was the man homie. I had a Misfits Devilock at that age.
Mental health experts say that it's similar to exposure therapy. You go into a controlled environment and face your fears head-on. Psychotherapist Rachel Goldberg told Bustle that it "[reduces] the intensity of the fear response and [promotes] confidence." Who knows, maybe sharing that embarrassing childhood pic may help you overcome an insecurity too?
#25
2011 Homecoming
Sara Frazer 10 months ago
Why did so many people of that era have that same black/pink/zebra dress
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago (edited)
I feel like jersey shore and Disney channel had a lot to answer for 😂 that whole era was crazy
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Huddo's sister 10 months ago
Wha is regrettable about this? (I'm not a fan of animal print but this seems fine)
#26
Showed Up To Homeschool Group In A Homemade Narwhal Costume
#27
Halloween 1997, I Insisted On Going As A Generic Can Of Whipped Cream And Mom Delivered:
Nice Beast Ludo 10 months ago
I insisted on going as a poodle at this age and neighbor delivered... Everyone thought I was a bunny.
In the end, everybody gets embarrassed about something. According to Kristin Neff, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin's Department of Educational Psychology, when we're self-aware and don't take our embarrassing moments so seriously, we start to understand that everybody fails at some point. "Everyone struggles. This is what it means to be human," she said.
#28
My Wife Kickin' It With Her Dad In The Early 90s
#29
Feeding The Tamagotchis While Playing Habbo Hotel
Carilyn Beverly 10 months ago
I have 2 Tamagotchis: my original from 1996 (I was 13 years old) and one I recently bought at age 41 LOL
#30
There’s No Need For How Much I Spent On Skinny Jeans And White Studded Belts Between 2009 And 2012
What about you, Pandas? What kind of blunders do you think you could bring to the table? We've covered the Blunder Years subreddit many times in the past, but it seems like there can never be enough awkward stories, huh? So, if you want to see more embarrassing pics from people's childhoods, head over here, here, and here for more!
#31
Seventh Grade - I Cut My Own Hair And Borrowed Dad’s Cow Tie
#32
Took Me A Year To Grow A Full Jewfro In The 6th Grade...in 2006
#33
Yall Have Blunders, But Do You Have Anime Convention Going J-Fashion Loving Weeb Blunders?
#34
I Was A Scene Girl And I'm Not Ashamed
#35
Me And My Sister Around 2007. She Was The Scene Queen Of Myspace And I Just Wanted To Be Included In My Big Sisters Pictures
#36
10 Year Old Me In My Hannah Montana Wig 😭
#38
My Mom Sent Me These Photos From My Elementary School 50’s Dance/Event. I Knew I Looked Fly, But Not This Fly. Circa ~2005
#39
2008, This Was My Everyday Winter Coat & Casual Hair
#40
My Future Mother-In-Law Made 11 Year Old Me Pose With Some Zucchini She Grew Because She Was Proud Of It (1997). The “Zucchini Photo” Is Now Infamous In Our House
Carilyn Beverly 10 months ago
"I carried a watermelon"...... (low voice/almost whisper) "I carried a watermelon???" LOL
#42
Convinced I Was Cool And Gangster
#43
When I Was 30 I Had A Pontiac Fiero Kit Car That I Used To Tell People Was A Real 25th Anniversary Lamborghini Countach. I Also Used To Pose For Photoshoots With It
Robert Beveridge 10 months ago
Fieros were friggin awesome, for the four months you could keep one running!
#44
The Photo That Haunted Me For Decades
#45
2008/2024…i Put Holes In My Ears For The “Scene”
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
Omg I forgot about this one 😂 some people had some seriously big holes. Most people I knew with them had surgery to fix it, so you’d never know
Robert Beveridge 10 months ago
So THAT'S where they all went! I thought the cool kids just stopped hanging out with us small-eared nerds.
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The Doom Song 10 months ago
I put holes in my ears coz I was drunk and thought it was a fantastic idea. Not my smartest decision but mine are only 10mm so small enough I wouldn't need surgery
#46
Me And My Best Friend When We Were 17. I Had The Fattest Crush On Her For Years And Only Eventually Ended Up Dating Her For A Week
#47
Guess Which One I Am LOL, 18 Year Old Me
#48
2005/6. Believed I Was Part Of Kings Of Leon And Cut My Own Fringe With A Stanley Knife. Wow
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 10 months ago
Nah. Noel Fielding looks like Joan Jett. Trust me.
Load More Replies... #49
8th Grade Graduation, 2 Months After A Teacher Tried To Get Me Expelled For Having Blue Hair
LittleWombat 10 months ago
If there's a time in life to try things out like finding your look, those are the years for them! Why get the ol' panties in a twist over kid stuff?! 🤣🤣🤣
#50
In 1996, I Was 12 And Got To Have Glamour Shots Done. 💁🏼♀️
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 10 months ago
I know! Glamour shots seem to add 30 years! And not in a good way, in a "I've seen some s**t and been divorced three times" kind of way.
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#51
19-Year-Old Driver's License Picture Went Hard
Michael Largey 10 months ago
Looks like he hooked up the wrong cable while charging his car's battery.
#52
I Am Not Scene Do Not Ever Call Me That
Shannimal 10 months ago
I'm so glad I "missed" this whole emo thing. This was just after I graduated HS.
PeepPeep the duck 10 months ago
It was before for me 😂 I loved them. Was so hard to get generic store brought goth accessories beforehand
Load More Replies... #53
From 15-19 I Didn’t Leave The House Without A Guitar, Yes, I Was That Guy At A Party. (Photo From 2010)
#54
I Thought I Was Peak Cool At This Moment In 2006
François Bouzigues 10 months ago (edited)
It was a really short time frame. I remember vividly being a young adult in my 20s wondering why do them kids go to HS in their slippers ? No hate though. Some girlies could pull it off. For guys... Edit for remembering i am older than i usually think
#55
Taping My Friend To The Wall And Seeing How Many Of Us We Can Fit In Conjoining Doors Of Hotel Room
#56
I Had This Awful "Beard Without A Mustache" Look For Years Longer Than I Should've (Which Is Zero)
#57
I Really Thought I Was A Myspace Queen
#59
My Friend Made This For Me When I Was In High School At Some Point. I Truly Thought It Was The Most Xd Wrar Thing Of All Time. Also Why Did I Dress Like That
#60
It's 2005. Guess How Many Viruses I Could Fit On This Bad Boy?
#61
2008 Wasn’t Real
#62
When Clinton Was Impeached, My Dad Made 4-Year-Old Me Pose With The Newspaper
Mary Green 10 months ago
Republicans lost their minds over Clinton and then elected a convicted felon and documented serial liar because hypocrisy means nothing to people with no moral compass.
Johnnynatfan 10 months ago
Couldn't have said it better myself. The level of hypocrisy from them is astonishing. They no longer have the right to lecture us about morals and law and order. F**K THEM!
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 10 months ago
Did dad take a similar photo when Clinton was acquitted by the Senate?
Senjo Krane 10 months ago
History. He probably thought it would still be big news when the kid grew up.
Load More Replies... #63
In Everything But Physical Form, I Was A Wolf. Arf!
#64
17 Year Old Me Thought Getting My Hands And Knuckles Tattooed Was Peek Coolness
#65
Circa 2001. I Thought I Was Too Cool For Family Photos
#66
Young Me Going To My First Concert And Wanting To Be The Ultimate Alt Girlie
#67
2012, Aged 16 And Thought We Were The Most Indiest Of Girls With College’s Borrowed Fisheye Lens
#68
Kept Reposting This On My Story When I Was 14 Thinking It Was The Key To Comedy
#70
We Liked Twilight Before It Was Cool 🧛♂️
#71
My Mom Convinced Me To Dye My Hair Blonde And Take A Picture With My Teacher In High School 2007
#72
I Went Like This To School At 15yo, And Genuinely Didn't Understand Why I Was Bullied
#73
I Was 17 And Completely Convinced That I Was The Panic Pixie Dream Girl
#74
2016 - Obsessed With Submarines And Not Very Well Liked At School
#75
16, In A Bar, Sitting On Top Of It... With A Cigarette. Terrible LOL 🫣
Tim Douglass 10 months ago
You have to go to the Reddit post to see the proper picture. This one is about #6 in the series.
Load More Replies... #76
You're Welcome
#77
Midwest Emo Had A Hold On Me
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What do you think ?
Nikki Gross 10 months ago (edited)
One of the very few pictures of all 7 of us girls together (7 girls/6 boys) was taken in 1991. We look like we were solely responsible for the hole in the Ozone Layer. 5 out of 7 smoked and we all had to be careful every time we lit a cigarette in the bathroom, while we were all packed in there like sardines, trying to do our hair and makeup. I'm honestly surprised that between the Aquanet, curling irons, lighters for our cigarettes and eye liner, that at some point one of us didn't catch on fire. 😂
Jay Scales 10 months ago
It's worrying that some of these historical photos are from 2008..... I must be SO old :D
Lace Neil 10 months ago
Lol same. My historical photos are from the 80s. I'm wearing either a shellsuit or multicoloured leggings with a Global Hypercolour t-shirt.
Load More Replies... Janet Graham 9 months ago
Oh, we all go through cringeworthy stages. It can be fun, or it can be brutal. It is all about supportive family and good friends.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
The title is a bit of a misnomer I think, most of these don't seem regrettable.
Nikki Gross 10 months ago (edited)
One of the very few pictures of all 7 of us girls together (7 girls/6 boys) was taken in 1991. We look like we were solely responsible for the hole in the Ozone Layer. 5 out of 7 smoked and we all had to be careful every time we lit a cigarette in the bathroom, while we were all packed in there like sardines, trying to do our hair and makeup. I'm honestly surprised that between the Aquanet, curling irons, lighters for our cigarettes and eye liner, that at some point one of us didn't catch on fire. 😂
Jay Scales 10 months ago
It's worrying that some of these historical photos are from 2008..... I must be SO old :D
Lace Neil 10 months ago
Lol same. My historical photos are from the 80s. I'm wearing either a shellsuit or multicoloured leggings with a Global Hypercolour t-shirt.
Load More Replies... Janet Graham 9 months ago
Oh, we all go through cringeworthy stages. It can be fun, or it can be brutal. It is all about supportive family and good friends.
Huddo's sister 10 months ago
The title is a bit of a misnomer I think, most of these don't seem regrettable.
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