Oh man, I know a thing or two about the “blunder years.” In the early 2000s, I was deep in my awkward phase, desperately trying to look like Mark McGrath with frosted tips, a puka shell necklace, and way too much hair gel.
It was a rough time for all of us, and the folks on r/BlunderYears are here to prove it. They’ve shared their most cringeworthy, hilarious photos from those awkward years when we all made some choices.
So, if you’ve ever rocked a regrettable haircut or a questionable fashion trend, these nostalgic pictures will feel like a warm, cringey hug.
1. I was going through my goth phase while being the only Pakistani kid in my rural North Carolina high school in 2003.
r/BlunderYears
2. 1991, off to my high school graduation ceremony.
r/BlunderYears
3. 14yo Me in 2004… Thats what I wore while tearing down the old trailer….new trailer in the back.
r/BlunderYears
4. My wife kickin’ it with her dad in the early 90s
r/BlunderYears
5. The first photo is when we were all around 13 years old. Last is at my friend’s wedding last year.
r/BlunderYears
6. 10 year old me in my Hannah Montana wig.
r/BlunderYears
7. Thankfully I grew into my face.
r/BlunderYears
8. 2008, this was my everyday winter coat & casual hair.
r/BlunderYears
9. My twin bro and I went through the blunder years together.
r/BlunderYears
10. I went out in public like this. On December 2nd.
r/BlunderYears
11. I drank out of a hamster water bottle for my entire first year of college.
r/BlunderYears
12. 1989 I was so excited for the new recycling program to start that I wanted to be recycling for Halloween.
r/BlunderYears
13. 2008 I was so proud of my hair.
r/BlunderYears
14. Myspace band pic 2007. We couldn’t agree if we wanted to sound more like Cobra starship or suicide silence. So we combined it.
r/BlunderYears
15. Seeing how many of us we can fit in conjoining doors of hotel room.
r/BlunderYears
16. What 12-year-old me considered peak fashion.
r/BlunderYears
17. 2011 homecoming.
r/BlunderYears
18. 8th grade
r/BlunderYears
19. My mom convinced me to dye my hair blonde and take a picture with my teacher in high school 2007.
r/BlunderYears
20. Yall have blunders, but do you have anime convention going J-fashion loving weeb blunders?
r/BlunderYears
21. 17 year old me thought getting my hands and knuckles tattooed was peek coolness.
r/BlunderYears
22. I went like this to school at 15yo, and genuinely didn’t understand why I was bullied.
r/BlunderYears
23. 8th grade graduation, 2 months after a teacher tried to get me expelled for having blue hair.
r/BlunderYears
24. Got my hair & makeup done at Libby Lu at the mall for my birthday. I thought I was so cool.
r/BlunderYears
25. 2005/6. Believed I was part of Kings of Leon and cut my own fringe with a Stanley knife. Wow.
r/BlunderYears
26. My mother absolutely roasted me by sending this pic in a massive group text.
r/BlunderYears
27. 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.
r/BlunderYears
28. A home perm. I had several. This was one of them.
r/BlunderYears
29. I am NOT scene do not EVER call me that.
r/BlunderYears
30. Mistaken for a substitute teacher at least once in junior high.
r/BlunderYears
31. The year was 2011. This kid taught me what heartbreak was. lol.
r/BlunderYears
32. Halloween 1997, I insisted on going as a generic can of whipped cream and mom delivered.
r/BlunderYears
33. This was a photoshoot I did in 2010.
r/BlunderYears
34. It’s 2005. Guess how many viruses I could fit on this bad boy?
r/BlunderYears
35. I arranged this photoshoot with a friend circa 2006. I didn’t even have Tumblr.
Mike Primavera is a Chicago-based comedy writer even though he doesn't HAVE to work. He lives comfortably off of his family's pasta fortune. Follow him on all social media at @primawesome