People Explain What They Did In Their Youth That Still Makes Them Cringe

Now, not all of these stories are something to regret forever. Sometimes they're charming tales of a child learning the ways of the world.

Something Small To Remember At 4am

"I once bumped into a guy and said "thank you" instead of "sorry"

for some reason this memory never leaves me"

willabeth

"That happened to me once. The guy replied "was it as good for you as it was good for me?" and I wanted to disappear."

ultrapaiva

Trying To Get Your "Stand By Me" Moment

"It was stupid and dangerous, but . . ."

"I would frequently walk across a railroad trestle bridge over a wide river to visit a high school friend on the other side. Doing this saved several miles of walking to the nearest pedestrian bridge."

"If a freight train had come, I would've had to jump to the river far below."

Back2Bach

Making A Fashion Statement...?

"Here's a really specific one: There was a quarter machine at a local department store that sold Beavis and Butthead pins. I spent a lot of money trying to get every one so I could pin them onto a hat. A hat which I wore everywhere, including school."

Kramanos

If You Wore A Little Cape, Then This Is Adorable As Well As Cringe

"I tried convincing my entire 1st grade class that I was a vampire and would hiss at people if they pushed me out of the shade."

DumbAsian0430

Learning is a key aspect of youth, where you constantly take in new information, process it, and gain knowledge from it. These people will most definitely learn something from these moments.

Dreaming Of A Jungle Man

"I was obsessed with Tarzan when I was 7 and wrote/drew a lot of innocent fanfic comics where me and him lived in the jungle and went on adventures. That was all well and good, but then I roped my family into helping me make a mini-movie with the camcorder where I was the only actor and consisted of me running around in a large dirty t-shirt in the backyard yodeling at the top of my lungs. The neighbors hated us."

I_have_Bees_in_me

Best Excuses For Late Assignments That Were Actually True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Block Little Lies

"When I was about 10, I wasn't allowed to play Minecraft. So, I googled facts about Minecraft so I could pretend and lie to the other kids that I played aswell."

LumberjackLil

It's Not As Easy As It Looks

"Eugh, memories of my 'I'm going to be a YouTuber' phase, which coincided with my random = funny phase. I distinctly remember a clip from a 'skit' I filmed with a friend where I said 'does it look like I give a mother freaking dinosaur?'"

Afurryorsomething

"Dude, I recorded a clip one time trying to be a YouTuber just talking about stuff at a young age. I went to upload it, and my wifi went out. THANK F-CKING GOD!"

Notthesharkfromjaws

Young Love Is Both Adorable And Awkward

"I was on my first proper date, at the cinema. I was so nervous, and just couldn't focus on the movie. All I wanted to do was hold his hand. In my head I counted down multiple times, 3, 2,1.. reach out and take his hand. But I couldn't do it. So what did this dork do? I texted him. From right beside him. "Wanna hold hands? " Then I sat there, eyes straight ahead at the screen, heart pounding, while he checked his phone. He didn't reply, but did take my hand."

"Omg I still cringe every time I think of it, and it was 16 years ago!!"

melreadreddit

Then there's these stories, where perhaps the people telling them might want to stick their head under a blanket for a while after telling them.

A Never-Ending Dinner

"I used to have crippling social anxiety. When I say crippling, I mean I struggled leaving the house and had absolutely zero social life for multiple years (aside from co-workers, while at work). My first day of college on campus, I arrived 4 hours early and sat in my car just trying to work up the courage to get out of my car."

"I carried this with me a few years into my professional career. One day, my boss invited me to a small Christmas party for the engineering group. I was 18 at the time and looked like I was 12. I accepted, because I didn't want to screw up my career, but I was petrified of going. Geez, what would I talk about? What if someone asks me a question? I sat down at a large table, being the first one to arrive. When people started trickling in, the waitress came over and started a drink order, looked at me and asked if I needed a children's menu. I said "No, but I do want some dang crayons." Everyone just stared, completely shocked, nobody found it funny at all. Great, blew it already. I didn't say another word until she brought out drinks. One of my coworkers from a different group looked over and asked me "How's life in your department?" I was taking a gulp of water, it went down the wrong hole, I coughed and blew water all over the table. Oh man, I'm really screwing this up. I waited until everyone had a few drinks, sneaked over to the waitress, paid for my bill, and left without telling anyone."

sump____erson

Wow...

"I was super into this girl and she didn't feel the same way. But I thought if I was nice enough to her, she'd change her mind. I used to buy her gifts and take her to dinner "as friends"."

"The cringiest was one time when we were texting and she mentioned she wanted to get laid but was too drunk to drive. So I picked her up, drove her to her boyfriend's house, waited in my car while they had sex, and then drove her home."

0kids4now

Attempting To Make Reparations For Past Transgressions

"I was an a--hole in high school. I bullied and was bullied. I am 34 now, when my wife asked "who I was" in high school I was the guy who hung around the cool kids, but got bullied by the cool kids. I didn't realize/wanted to admit I was super insecure. In an attempt to fit in I bullied the kids who were "less cool" than me."

"A few years ago I randomly reached out to a guy I used to bully pretty hard via LinkedIn. We are in the same industry doing similar work, just different cities. When I contacted him I apologized for being an a--hole growing up. His reply made me feel terrible for him. He said, "Oh geez, you and me are good. You were nowhere close to the meanest person to me in high school."

"I was pretty f-cking mean. This guy's life was hell and I had no idea. We've since grabbed coffee when he was in town. I wouldn't say we are best friends now, but there is definitely mutual respect there."

wtn06

We've all done awkward things. No one is alone in this. Don't imagine you're the only person who has an awkward story from their childhood. Sometimes that's the best you can do.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.