Copyright BuzzFeed
People Are Sharing The Funniest And Most Embarrassing Phases They Went Through As Kids, And I'm Snorting Uncontrollably "I still cringe at how quirky and unique I tried so hard to be." Let's face it, we're all a bunch of weirdos as kids! Part of growing up means going through some *interesting* phases while searching for a sense of identity. Reddit user u/tenamonth posed the question, "What 'embarrassing phase' did you go through as a teenager?" and the responses had me on the floor. I decided to ask the BuzzFeed Community a similar question, and boy was it good. Here are the most hysterical responses from the two threads: 1. "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." 2. "In elementary school, my best friend and I were convinced that we possessed the magical ability to dissociate from our own minds and hypnotize ourselves. Deep down, I knew that this was impossible, but I desperately wanted it to be real. At recess, we'd 'practice' this self-hypnosis thing outside in the field adjacent to the playground, and the other kids would look at us like, 'What the heck am I witnessing?' We 'hypnotized' ourselves to do the following: eat grass/plants, dance awkwardly, sing made-up gibberish songs, sing 'Whip My Hair Back and Forth,' and run at full speed into trees (but stopping just before we hit them). We called this 'ramming,' amongst other things." 3. "I wore a cat collar to school with a bell on it because I thought it was cool." 4. "I had a fedora that I wore to school, along with a fur waistcoat that I stole from my mom. There was also a phase where I decided I wouldn't let anyone see me blink. I'd just stare at people like 👁👄👁 because I thought it made me look 'different.' I wasn't like other girls. I didn't have to blink." 5. "I thought I was a werewolf in ninth grade, recruited dozens of students into a 'pack' and even managed to rope a counselor into it, which wound up getting her fired for hosting 'magic rituals' with us instead of counseling us. I can't live it down to this day." 6. "I used to want to sound like a cool, edgy, emo writer or something, so I would narrate, aloud, the things that were happening around me. 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 more because I'm cringing too hard." 7. "From first grade until my freshman year, I wore a hot dog shirt every day to school. I still have around 30–40 hot dog shirts. I don't wear them anymore. Still don't know why I did that." 8. "I spoke in a British accent. I'm from the southern US." 9. "I'd write cheesy, overwrought love letters to the girls I dated for a month or two. 'Sometimes, I just want to hold you until you fucking crumble.'" 10. "I was OBSESSED with Alvin and the Chipmunks. I even renamed myself Simon. Cringe." 11. "My dad once received a small pan of charcoal toothpaste for his birthday. When you brush your teeth with it, it turns your teeth black; then the water washes it all off. I went through a phase of keeping my teeth black all day, so I could flash a smile at people and enjoy their reactions. It got to the point where my dad checked my teeth before he'd let me leave the house. His girlfriend (now wife) once chased me around the house, trying to get me to a bathroom to wash it off before dinner guests arrived. She gave up and offered to buy me two books if I'd wash it off. I accepted her bribe faster than the speed of light. Nowadays, when I see a photo of my blackened teeth, I want to die." 12. "I made up a boyfriend named 'Brandon Fox' in the summer between fifth and sixth grade. I wrote a letter 'from' him and told my friends that he gave me the ring I was wearing. It was actually from my grandma, and it was Avon. Oh, and that same summer, after starting to grow out really short hair, I *finally* had hair long enough to put in a ponytail...but only if it was on the front of my head. I pulled my hair into a stubby ponytail above my forehead and went to the zoo with my BFF with my hair like that." 13. "I had business cards made (waaay before Vistaprint) that had my name, number, and the title 'Knight in Shining Armor.' I would hand these out, with a smile, to any person that I found attractive, in or out of school." 14. "I tried to convince people that I had a twin. I even had 'her' come to school one day." 15. "In junior high, my best friend and I wore basketball shorts over jeans. It lasted maybe two weeks. I still cringe when I think of it." 16. "I would bark like a dog for no 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 heard a little boy start to bark. It's like he was following in my footsteps." 17. "I went through an intense Frozen phase. I knew the words to the entire movie, and I watched it daily. I even collected stuffed Olafs, and I still have a playlist on my phone of 'Let It Go' covers. I had so many shirts, I could wear a different one for a month and a half." 18. "COWS! I wore cow leggings three to four times a week and would write my crush notes on cow stationery. The first time I met my sister-in-law, I was stenciling cows for my bedroom." 19. "When I was a teenager, I was a huge WWE fan. There was this wrestler named Edge, who would perch in high places inside the arena and watch the matches for months before he made his actual debut. Because I thought it was badass, I used to do the same thing. I'd find high places and just perch there like a gargoyle for hours. I did this in trees, on people's roofs, on ledges, anywhere that I could climb. I would just sit there, crouched and motionless, watching people's reactions when they'd see me." 20. "My friends and I had a really strong Twilight phase. We were die-hard fans. We only spoke in Twilight quotes, styled our hair like the main characters, and watched the movies several times a week. Every one of us was a member of the Cullen family. We even changed our names and were upset when someone else called us by our real names. Since we were all girls, all the male characters were imaginary. I remember one time we sat on a bench, and someone else wanted to sit, and my friend was like, 'No, you can't sit here. Edward's already sitting here,' but of course no one would actually be there." 21. "I would imagine myself as a Marvel superhero and have fantasies about my secret identity being revealed during a fight in front of the whole school, where everyone would be shocked and amazed at how wrong they were about me." 22. "For a long time in the '90s, my hair was a rock-hard helmet of gel, with a ruler-straight part down the middle and the front pushed up. I would not leave the house unless it was *just right.* I also did the tiny Stüssy t-shirt paired with giant JNCO jeans. Or, I'd wear a horrible, scratchy, polyester bowling-style shirt, also paired with JNCOs. Looking back, I wonder if I was going for some kind of triangle silhouette?" 23. "I had a 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." 24. "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." 25. "I was obsessed with Helena Bonham Carter and tried to copy her infamous fashion style. I wore the most ridiculous outfits, and I'm pretty sure I didn't brush my hair properly for a couple of years. I still cringe at how quirky and unique I tried so hard to be." 26. "There was a time frame where quiet, little me wanted to stand out. I wore different types of Osiris shoes, one navy blue and the other white and red. I also wore jeans with gaping holes in them. For some of the jeans, I had to wear shorts underneath to cover certain areas." 27. "I went through a goth phase. We still have a family picture that we took when I was in eighth grade; everyone else looks nice and classy, and then there's me, with my green hair, raccoon eyeliner, and fishnets. I’m just glad my mom didn't let me wear my cape. Yes, I had a fucking cape." 28. "In first grade, I'd dump milk on my lunch or mix things up together to try and impress the fifth graders. It was really fucking weird." 29. "When I was a kid, my wish was to be a spy, so when I was walking to school, I walked fast and watched everywhere to pretend someone was trying to assassinate me. Sometimes I even stole my dad's PC bag and took it with me everywhere to pretend I had important things to do on it, but it was a secret, like hacking into the school. And I wore black gloves every time, even in summer or with a dress, because I thought it looked professional." 30. "I loved The Three Musketeers from the early '90s. It lived in the VCR for two whole weeks, just playing, rewinding, and watching again. The costume design for the women had me obsessed with the cloaks, so I convinced my mom to get me a velour cloak. I wore it everywhere for about three months, and then summer made me give it up, thankfully." 31. "I had a good-sized collection of Converse sneakers. I think I had almost 20 different pairs by the time I was 17. At some point, I decided that Converse were all the same, so I didn't actually have to match them. So for about a year, I never wore a matching pair. I was also one of many kids who didn't match their socks. So my feet were a mess for my entire junior year of high school." 32. "In fourth and fifth grade, we thought we were spies because we loved the show Alias. We would sneak around the neighborhood with a disposable camera and take photos like we were on a case. We would even go into people's driveways and take pictures of their cars. We were harmless, but in hindsight, we were very serious about our spy jobs. We even went through a girl's backpack and found some coloring book pages, and somehow this was evidence that she was evil and an enemy. She was new to the school, and for some reason, we created a narrative about her for our spy work. As an adult, I cringe as I hate to think it could have been bullying. We were just really into our fantasy, I suppose." 33. "I went through a phase in middle school where I'd wear eyeliner an inch below my eyes. Basically, I'd start right below my eye and just paint it on for at least a full inch. Someone told me nicely it wasn't a good look, and I was like, 'I'm not doing this for you! It's for me!!' I was so edgy." 34. "I'd bring a pair of heels to middle school and change into them midday. I thought my ass was an old soul." 35. And: "My friends and I were convinced we had magical powers in third and fourth grade. We were all one of the four 'elements' (earth, wind, fire, water) and would 'cast spells' together during recess, which consisted of me imagining wind moving and one of my friends angrily glaring at his water bottle. We eventually had to stop because the kid who was fire brought a lighter to school for like a week before a teacher noticed." Did you go through an embarrassing phase as a kid? What was it? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form!
