People Who Have Had A 'Glow Up' Explain How People Treat Them Differently

It's Mental. 

My glow up wasn't physical, it was mental. When I had my first child, my hormones helped my mental health level out and everyone couldn't help but mention how happy I seemed, even when I was getting two hours of sleep because of breastfeeding.

I didn't end up needing as many medications and was able to get more active in my community and with my friends and family.

So I'm a good bit heavier than I'm happier being (used to weigh 115 pounds, now when not pregnant its closer to 150), but I'm not tired and sullen anymore. Lovelyladykaty

12 to 6....

Went from a size 12 to a size 6 in college. People were much nicer particularly men, got a lot of dates, invited to a lot of stuff, people were always interested in my opinions, doors were opened for me (literally). The attention was nice but I married the man that treated me beautifully both ways. mokshmoon

Respect Me. 

People started noticing me and respecting more my opinions. I felt soooo destroyed by the difference that I stopped believing in true friendship and love. Everyone is superficial, either they realize it or not.

Edit: for context, I'm a man and that realization came some time ago, starting on my late teens and finally reaching a critical point in my mid 20's, it was something I sawed through the longest of times but tried to fight off. Believe me, making friends becomes harder as you get older for a reason. TudoCasual

People are really weird.

I have more or less looked the same for most of my adult life, fairly handsome, but never really had any luck with girls. That changed pretty much immediately when I got into my first serious long-term relationship with my now EX. Suddenly I was getting attention from all these girls whenever me and the EX went out. They were shameless in their approaches and could barely give a rats ass that my girlfriend was sitting next to me.

I'm less approachable then than when I was single. Yet now is the time I'm getting approached and getting all this positive attention?! I always found that really odd. I'm back to single now and it's back to the good ole' normal of being mostly ignored. People are really weird. Jauxerous

Talk to Me. 

My confidence invited people to come talk to me. I was chubby and depressed in high school, developed an eating disorder but was still depressed (so, still, nobody talked to me) and it wasn't until I really started taking care of myself that people wanted to be around me. christian2pt0

80 Down....

I lost about 80lbs over the last two years since graduating high school. I don't notice too much different treatment - I do look great in clothes now, which is a huge plus. I suppose people might match me more online than if I was fatter. My own self-image? Changed a massive ton! writingwithmovement

"daaaamn you glew up!" 

In the summer between high school and college, I got serious about my diet and exercise, and dropped about 8 lbs of fat. I also read a lot. It was a transformative time when I gained a lot of discipline and really worked on myself, and I'm proud of me for doing it. When my college friends saw old photos of me, they said, almost in unison "daaaamn you glew up!" While that may not seem very positive, I take it as almost a watermark of my life and my decisions and the influences they have over my physical body, experiences, and personality, and just who I am today. AllThotsAllowed

idolizing Siouxsie Sioux.....

Was kinda bullied throughout school. Not severely but It was made very clear to me that I was unpopular and weird and unattractive compared to the other girls. I had fairly unkempt hair that was long enough to sit on, quite a skinny boyish frame and one eye. Also desperately wanted to be a goth or at least alternative from like the age of 7, idolizing Siouxsie Sioux a lot.

When I got to sixth form (roughly 16-18 yrs old) there was a sudden change in how people acted towards me. The same people who called me a freak for my eccentric way of dressing/acting now wanted to be my friend. Boys who had asked me out as a prank were now clearly lying when they drunkenly confessed to me at parties "I had a huge crush on you all throughout high school."

Girls started inviting me out and acting like they'd been close friends with me this whole time. I didn't rly believe these people suddenly liked me tbh, I think they just found it novel to have a quirky one-eyed friend. I don't forget lol. slime_pixie

I cannot tell a lie. 

When I was little I had super thick glasses, stringy hair, a gap in my teeth the size of the Grand Canyon, and a mother who dressed me like I was 2 long into my youth. At around 13 is when my glow up happened; my Braces came off, puberty hit, and I got highlights, contacts, and fashion sense. I went from the nerdy girl that nobody knew, To being the girl every guy loved and every girl hated.

I cannot lie though I let that go right to my head and became pregnant at 15. It was a huge wake up call I pulled my act together graduated high school and college high honors and found an amazing man who loved me and my son to spend the rest of our lives with. tla07412

Gross.

I lost a lot of weight after high school and learned to do my makeup. It's like going from being invisible to seen.

Guys are a lot nicer too. It made me disgusted. chappychap1234

The Freshman.

Freshman year of college I lost about 30 pounds and immediately noticed people treating me better, being much more polite and accommodating, more likely to start a conversation. Was nice at first but then made me a little cynical. pdxblazer

27. 

I used to be real rough around the edges. Fat, patchy beard, unkept hair, clean but disheveled look. I dressed the bare minimum amount of professional for work.

Sometime before my 27th birthday, I remember seeing an ad for a barbershop with a half off coupon for a professional haircut and shave. I went and they made me look so much better. I looked so good that I immediately went and bought some nicer clothes. just a couple slacks and button downs, but I looked good.

From then on, while I'm not a suit guy, I made sure I always looked neat and presentable. My boss treated me better, I actually got asked out a couple times, I felt better about myself and cared what I ate and drank, I was more sociable and enjoyable.

That haircut changed my life. AdminTom

Overtime. 

Over time I've gained and lost a lot of weight. The attention, unwanted or not, hasn't really been that different. If anything, but that might be me, or cultural, I slightly feel that people "liked me better" when I was bigger. I clearly remember before I lost 20 kilos I went vacationing somewhere and the attention was through the roof. As for general polite/nice... haven't felt a difference in my daily interactions. J-Erso

Above the Eyes. 

When I was pregnant or nursing, I had boobs. I've always been really small chested otherwise. Definitely got a LOT more attention from men. As to how I reacted, I was annoyed by the attention. I liked it better when guys who knew me asked me out instead of strangers that were lured in by boobs. almostahermit

One Day at a Time.

I've been told sobriety looks good on me. So kinda like a glow up. aftcg

Exit Please. 

My boyfriend was overweight, awkward, and painfully shy in high school.

In college he got super fit, and through a lot of cool opportunities became charismatic and outgoing. He even became a paid streamer for a few years.

When we had first started dating, I remember this girl who knew him from high school came to one of his house parties, and started like hard core hitting on him.

"Omg you look SO good, you look SO different, you really changed WOW."

She was like trying to give him hugs and he wasn't really having it. He told me two nights later, when I wasn't there, she showed up out of the blue at his house and basically said something along the lines of "it's good you were fat in high school because that probably makes you humble, but now you must be grateful you can get a girl like me."

He politely asked her to leave, and we laughed about it. To this day, every once in a while he'll run into someone from high school and they'll act kind of surprised by his appearance, but that was for sure the weirdest and most blatant example. squidkyd

Just a Little...

Not a huge glow up but I lost a little bit of weight, changed my hairstyle and puberty happened. I'm treated mostly the same but girls are just a little bit nicer and I think someone might have a crush on me for the first time since first grade. ByeItsWaffles98

13. 

I was always flat-chested. My breasts grew to D cups over the course of a summer. My nipples turned really dark and poked out so much that I couldn't hide them. My boobs were really round and stayed up so my body looked like a P from the side. Some of the girls at school laughed but I think they were just jealous that a guy had better boobs than they did. NickelFish

I find it funny! 

I get this every day. I work in the trades and tend to be dirty after work. On the street I can tell people are waiting for me to bum off of them or they keep their distance. I get home, shower, put a collared shirt on, and a nice pair of jeans. The fear is gone when I go back out. People don't cross the street when they see me. I find it funny! lick_as_a_pinecone

Hey Dad.

Turned from a dad bod to being pretty cut/ripped this summer. Girls treated me the same whilst guys hyped up my physique. That's when I realized most girls don't care about your dad bod. EfficientEscape