People make mistakes their whole lives; it's just a fact.
But it's always true that those mistakes happen more often, and usually on a larger scale when you're a teenager.
That's because, once you become a teenager, you feel grown up and invincible, when the truth is, you're still learning, still growing, and still human.
Even the most successful and put-together people can look back on their teen years and cringe at the mistakes they made.
When I was a teenager, I made horrible choices, from stealing my mother's credit card to letting my wild child best friend shear off my hair. At least I learned my lesson!
Curious about mistakes others made in their teen years, a Redditor asked:
"what was your biggest Teenage mistake?"
Some of the responses were wild!
Ouch!
"Doing an unsuccessful backflip on a trampoline"
– TamaraVargasFR
Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth
"Not taking better care of my teeth"
– LedTasso69
"Honestly if there are any teenagers in here who don’t understand this yet, please know that your teeth will fall apart if not taken care of properly. You will pay for it and it won’t be fun at all."
– SoothsayerRecompense
If Only You Knew
"Sold $200 worth of Bitcoins to a friend for tickets to a music festival back in 2011."
– Spaceman_Beard
"Now THAT is a worthy regret. I don’t know exactly how much that would be worth now but I’m thinking a minimum a decent 6-figure amount and maybe even as much as 7 figures. Maybe I’m even underestimating it."
– FightPhoe93
The Inevitable Car Stories
"I took my uncle's beautiful restored classic car for a drive when I didn't have a license and got it impounded."
– throwawaysmetoo
"How many fingers of yours did he break?"
– koloros
"I wrecked my cousins new car & didn’t have my license yet."
– Golfnpickle
The One That Got Away
"Not getting the hint that my friend, the beautiful Patricia, wanted to be WAY more than friends."
– dwane1972
"Her name was Kate and 15 years later , I can pin point the exact second I should have kissed her on the beach."
– aussie_nobody
"I did the same mistake, except it was with a Sarah. She was gorgeous and probably well out of my chubby nerd friend zone league, but we shared the same bench in school for five years and knew us quite well. She was at my place once. Spontaneously, it wasn't. It was a mess. She fell back on my bed and said it smelled so good. I thought it was dirty because it was long overdue to change the blankets. I think I ruined my chance right there and then."
"I always wanted to ask her about that time, maybe when we would meet on a class reunion, if the chance would have come up at least, but unfortunately she died last year under unclear circumstances."
– DividedState
Life Of Crime
"I robbed a gas station. ⛽️"
– pauluzu
"How did that go?"
– harlotScarlett
"Considering the gas prices nowadays it's propably like robbing multiple banks"
– LordoftheDimension
We Couldn't Have Been Warned Away
"Marrying my 18-year-old self to a 40-year-old who'd been grooming me for three years, just to spite my mother."
0/10, would not recommend."
– Late_Again68
"I have a friend who did exactly the same thing. But no one could have told her differently. I tried, her family... now she has 5 kids and is recently divorced. At least she got out."
– Decent-Obligation-43
School Is Serious
"Treating highschool as a obligation and not a opportunity. Not just social but economical gains and your own development are way greater effected by how you view your highschool years."
– likea_yeti
"maybe every day or at least every other day i think to my self “i wish i would have taken high school way more seriously, and not just gone through the motions.” This will be a HUGE point of emphasis on my raising my son."
– kingnt3
Be Like The Cool Kids
"Getting addicted to smoking very early"
– SuvenPan
"Same man, I started smoking around 13 and am still trying to quit nicotine now at 25. I can barely run a mile despite being in generally decent shape from a physique and strength perspective, and my resting heart rate is over 100. I know I’ve still got time to undo a lot of the damage, but does it suck to know how deep a hole I’ve dug myself because I wanted to fit it with some “cool” kids and then developed an addiction as a crutch to avoid dealing with my mental health."
– impossiblyirrelevant
Money, Money, Money
"Spending a large inheritance I got when I was 18 in 2009. Could of owned a property outright by now"
– bKingas
"I blew through one at 21 and was kicking myself for years."
– nelsonalgrencametome
"This is why I will make any large inheritance to young family members a trust. You can't spend it all at once and it won't get fully released until 30 when hopefully you've got yourself together."
– passed_turing_test
Those teenage years can be hard. The important thing is, you recognize your mistakes and learn from them.
Do you have similar experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
Teens Reveal Which Trends And Slang They've Had To Explain To The Adults In Their Lives
We stan a slang queen. Don't know what that means? Yeah, me either.
The kids in our lives have one sacred job--to impart upon us adults the newest trends and make sure we are down with the newest lingo.
Unfortunately that is a far more difficult job than it would appear to be and our poor kids have their work cut out for them.
u/bofasonsofa asked:
Teens of Reddit, what are some trends / slang that you've had to explain to us old folk recently?
Here were some of those answers.
It Ain't The Sandwich Type
GiphyI've had to explain "let's get this bread" to my parents.
which means?...
Bread is an old slang term for money.
Hehe, Nice D00d
69 and 420 and people responding "nice".
One time I was cashiering and the total of the order was $420.69. I tried getting my assistant and the other cashier's assistant to take a quick pic of it, but my assistant was busy with packaging and the other couldn't get his phone out fast enough. The elderly couple just wanted to head out, so we sadly finished the transaction. At least we have the memories of it happening.
It's Not That Hard, Mom
My mom doesn't understand any kind of meme, she constantly asks me to explain the memes she sees on Facebook, even when they don't involve some form kind of "Internet knowledge", she just doesn't understand any part of them, like at all. She's only 39.
It's Not A Typo
I work at a breakfast restaurant where I have to wear a shirt that says 'Hangry? We can help.' I swear I haven't had a day where I had to explain it's a play on words.
Pffft, people don't appreciate a good portmanteau when they see one
Far Out
My dad thinks that "weird" has an exclusively negative connotation. I told him that its modern usage is mostly ambiguous.
I would say weird is in general more negative than positive. But you are right, weird can be used in a more positive way, it isn't always an insult.
Shlameel, Shlamazzle
Back in about 2005 we had to explain to our math teacher what forshizzle meant, and that it wasn't Yiddish. It was a weird time. Now students have to explain their slang to me. How the turn tables.
Hit That Whoah
Hitting the woah. No grandma, we're not actually attacking a "poor man" named "Wo". Came up because a friend said "u/jinho_jung, if you hit the woah again I'll have to call the cops".
Yeet Yote Hee Hoo
Yeet = to throw with power
Yote = having thrown with power
Kobe = to throw with accuracy
Kobe'd = having thrown with accuracy
The Kobe one predates the yeet one by like, a decade.
Let That Music Play Henny
I helped my mum sign up for Spotify and get her account going early in the year. My dad got my mum a tablet and new phone for Christmas, and they came with 2 google home things. Because I set the google homes up with my phone, it linked my Spotify account, so when ever someone at home (I live 500kms away for uni) asked google to play music, it would interrupt what I was listening to. Took me a minute to realise, as my music was suddenly interrupted by David Bowies greatest hits (which isn't a bad thing).
I then also worked out I could control the volume, so I terrified my poor mother by blasting songs she had never heard of. I called her straight after, and she said she thought that google had become sentient and disobedient. My mum isn't computer illiterate or anything, and even my dad is pretty good at learning about new gadgets and technology he gets (except typing, I can't imagine how long it would take him to write an email), but there is a period where the uncertainty of something new (even just an app sometimes) means I become a certified IT specialist that gives away services to my family. Love em though, wouldn't have it any other way.
The 90s Are Truly Over
GiphyMy 17-year-old niece explained to me, 29, that "streaking" is when you send several Snapchats to someone, several consecutive days in a row.
For us it was more about removing all clothing and running through a public place AKA the Quad or Gymnasium.