34 Phases of People’s Lives That Went Beyond Cringe

‘Top hat phase’
34 Phases of People’s Lives That Went Beyond Cringe

If you haven’t had a cringe phase, you’re not living. You actually get cringe bonus points if your phase came to a screeching halt because something went awry — like the guy whose “explorer in the wilderness” bit stopped after he ate poisonous berries and wound up hospitalized for a week. That’s what life’s all about. It’s also important to note that some people are still in the middle of their cringe phases, like the guy who has worn a Superman shirt every day for the last 15 years. I do wonder if he has a more formal tee for weddings and funerals, but that's a question I probably don’t want an answer to. It’s not good either way, and I hope he makes it out the other side of whatever he’s going through. 

To that end, Redditors have grimaced and recalled the cringiest phases they’ve ever had, and a very special shoutout goes to the Hilary Duff guy. He took cringe to a new level. 

Rav99 . 6y Italian American here. My guido phase in high school. Edit: this was the early 90s. Think Goodfellas not Jersey Shore. Gold chains, Camaros, acting tough. My favorite 'fuck you' was Go getyer shine box! ... 7.8k
Bodie1550 . . 6y Old guy here - 67. When the Beatles came to America in 1964 I was was a big fan. My mom had an old shower cap and I found some black yarn. So with some scissors and elmers glue I made myself a beatles wig that I wore around the house and even to the local market. Wish I had some pictures.
. 6y I have worn a Superman shirt everyday for 15 years. My collection is well over 100. ... 608
RedPatAtsoc . 6y Bleached tips. Saw all the boy bands doing it and thought, yeah, I'll def look just as good. I didn't. ... 1.1k
JustMeAndMySnail 6y I used to HATE going to thrift shops with my mother when I was a teenager. I would wear a blonde wig and sunglasses and make her call me Maria (not my real name). Looking back, my mother was just trying to support 3 kids on my dad's salary, and thrift shops allowed her to buy me name-brand (albeit used) clothing that otherwise we wouldn't have been able to afford. What a dick I was. ...and for the record, I LOVE thrift shops now!! ... 1.8k
6y I had a wicca/pagan thing going for a while. My 'coven' and i thought we were gonna save the world from armageddon or some such. In reality tho we were just sitting drinking in the woods getting spooked and i was just trying to bang one of the cute goth chicks. Spoiler alert: i did. ... 2.8k
Ann_Slanders . 6y I was a raging chola. Brown lip liner with clear gloss, slicked down hair in the front and then crinkled the length, huge gold hoops that said princess in the center....shit that's enough. I don't want to remember anymore. ... 15.7k
rahyveshachr. 6 6y Random misused hair accessories. I would wear pigtails and put plastic spoons in my hair, or those chopsticks. Problem was, I put them right up against my scalp which was quite painful after a few hours. I had NO IDEA that chopsticks are used to tie hair into a bun. I just shoved em right behind the hair band of my ponytail.
Middle_Stall_Pooper . . 6y There was a brief period of time where my best friend and I dressed like we were in the Matrix. I remember going all dressed in black to Target, of all places thinking we looked SOOOOO cool.
ElToberino . 6y In junior high, I used to draw stuff on my arms with a pen that I thought looked badass, like skulls and fire and swords and shit. Said I was going to get full sleeves when I turned 18. Now I'm a 29 year old with zero tattoos ... 5.8k
ParaTodoMalMezcal . 6y I was pretty obsessed with Communism for like 6 months when I was 14, it must have been pretty annoying to be around. In an ironic twist, I went to a school with a very liberal community, and 10+ years later half the people who used to shit on me for being a communist are now full- on Marxists who hate me for being center-left. Fun stuff. ... 4k
danielstover . 6y In the mid-2000's I was a Ska kid. Dressed in a suit, wore a fedora, suspenders, checkerboard everything - Took all my fashion cues from older Ska Bands like the English Beat and The Specials. Skanked to songs that weren't even ska at HS dances - - There were a few others in my HS that liked Ska music, but didn't take it as far as me. ... 6.9k
ratchet_ass_ho . 6y In movie theaters, seeing big blockbusters, I used to shout Down with Corporate America! during the post- THX silence. I was an idiot. But hey, you gotta get the message out, right? ... 254
xoshawnabear. 6y Tearaway pants. People constantly coming up to you at school and ripping your pants open. It's all fun and games until you forget to wear shorts underneath. ... 470
ThatGuyWorking . 6y I had an I'm too edgy to hang out with the normal people phase. I shiver at the memory of it. ... 9.4k
COrnSyrup e 6y I used to think I was going to be the next great American writer. I wrote a novel length book, where the main character (obviously me) sleeping with every hot girl in the school. I let my best friend read it, and he passed it to one of the girls he was friends with. It got passed around. A lot. Possibly to teachers. I'm not sure how many people read before I got it back. Years later people were still quoting it. ... 19.9k
extinebelcher . 6y I legit wore stripper heels in high school. On the daily. Ya know, the clear heels- why did my parents ever let me leave the house!???? ... 281
Spiral_Vortex 6y Had a pocket watch phase where I would carry a pocket watch on a chain at pretty much all times at about 17-18. I wasn't dressing up fancy, or going for some Victorian Gentleman look, I still dressed like a lazy highschooler with t-shirt and crap jeans, I just liked the cheap pocket watches that I'd bought from some local market ... 792
ArsenicBaseball . 6y I went through a phase in my senior year of HS where I only wore Hawaiian shirts and I would wear a big sun hat as well. I'm not even mad about that phase. That shit was tight. ... 140
Roivas7 . 6y The WuffleShuffle phase. I would put a pillow on my face and pretend to be a creature called a WuffleShuffle. I also kept saying WuffleShuffle like some sort of Pokemon. Then it evolved to other things: TruffleShuffles, JacketShuffles, MattressShuffles, SeatbeltShuffles... It was a pretty embarrassing phase. ... 2.5k
. 6y Top hat phase. Sigh ... 720
rbl_tifu . 6y I went through a Paris Hilton/Nicole Richie phase in 6th grade. I'd binge watch The Simple Life and take notes. I'd also read her book that came out around that time and take notes on that. I made collages of them and put them in my locker and went around saying, that's hot! ... 463
6y I did the whole emo phase in middle and high school. The thing was, I wasn't able to acquire the resources that my other emo friends had. I wasn't able to dye my hair and my hair type didn't work with those straightened/fringe styles. I barely had access to cosmetics so I couldn't often paint my nails or wear eyeliner, when I did I looked like an idiot. basically I like to refer to that time of my life as Kroger- brand emo. I looked emo, but not enough to be legit.
Aikyudo . 6 6y Went through an ICP phase that lasted maybe a month and a half. Went to facebook and announced that I was a Juggalette. I cringe to this day. ... 3.6k
DrWhatNoName . . 6y I went through a phase that I was a great explorer and a survival expert. Went wondering some time with a plan to build a treehouse and live there. during the night I ate some poisonous berries and ended up bedridden in a hospital for a week.
rock_fact . 6 6y I was really in to Deaf studies and American Sign Language. I started using ASL EVERYWHERE and talking to everyone, even people who didn't know it. I sometimes wished I was deaf, too, and almost dated a guy just because he knew ASL because his family members were deaf. It was really embarrassing and I'm glad I've moved past those days. Now I'm studying communication disorders, so I get to use it sparingly but I also get to help people with a lot of other things too! ... 308
Princesslceheart 6y When I first joined the army in 2006 , I went through this ridiculous phase where I would use overly motivated army phrases in casual conversation with my friends and family who were never in the military. I talked down to them and acted as if I was the biggest hero just for joining the military and being a medic. This was before I even went anywhere. All I had done at that point was graduate basic and medic training. By the time I came home from Iraq that attitude was completely gone and I felt nothing but shame
bennett93ish 6y Wearing gloves all the time for no reason. Going to see some friends in summer? Gloves School day? Gloves Swimming? Gloves After a while, I upgraded to fingerless gloves. I have no idea what I was thinking. 12-14 year old me was an idiot. ... 1.5k
its-fewer-not-less . . 6y I had a fedora, leather jacket, an earring, and a goatee. I hate pictures from a decade ago. ... 182
powerspyin1 . 6y I use to like watching the British Soap Opera EastEnders growing up but when I was 10, I thought it would be a good idea to be a EastEnders fanatic by knowing when each episode would air, knowing every character's backstory, learning about past storylines, knowing all the locations, watching past episodes from the 80's/ 90's/Early 00's and even learning about as many past characters as possible. Luckly, my love of pro wrestling came back shortly afterwards and that phase is now something I remember but wish not to. ... 57
MyNSFWside . 6y When I was in college, I spent a couple of months mesmerized by matches. I would light one and watch it burn down, and if someone came by, I'd say (in my best documentary voice) something like Since time began, man has been fascinated by fire. Glad I got through that phase without actually becoming a pyro. ... 11.5k
JustZoni g 6y When I was a teenager, I wore metal rulers. Like a fashion accessory. The bigger the better. This was made all the more ridiculous by the fact that 1) I'm quite short , 2) I liked to wear the longest rulers I could find. 18 was the standard for me, and it nearly hit the ground, and 3) I thought the coolest way to fasten them to my pants was with padlocks. Which I invariably lost the keys to or combinations, if they were combination. Most of my teen years were spent with Jnco jeans that all had
FioMonstercat . 6 6y A short phase, but I faked a British accent for my first month of middle school because I read some article online that said that girls found British accents the most attractive. ... 421
Because_Justice 6y When I was in elementary school, maybe 3rd or 4th grade, my older sister was really into Hillary Duff. So, of course, she played it constantly in every car ride we took. Apparently, the music grew on me, and I knew every word of some of the songs (or at least I thought I did...) So my friends and I would play this role playing game where we would create characters for ourselves with special powers and fought imaginary monsters around the playground. And, of course, I picked Hillary Duff as my character. With the power to sing

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