One of the things that kids these days are really missing out on is the awkward phase. It feels like kids now go from cute little toddlers right into teenagers with makeup tutorials on YouTube, and they’re missing out on the wonders that come from being somewhere in the middle and looking like a doof.
Here are 15 people who definitely didn’t skip that phase when they were growing up.
I can certainly see the family resemblance.

Honestly, I could see this kind of look coming back in a way, but maybe not for the entire family all at once. That’s just me, though.
Give us a smile!

I wonder at what age it is that kids learn how to smile for pictures in a way that isn’t terrifying, because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a kid under eleven pull it off.
“With my Red Ryder BB gun and my two dollar bill collection.”

Hey, six two dollar bills isn’t anything to laugh at! Why, I’d pay at least twelve dollars for that thing.
Maybe Mom was right and it was just a phase.

There is something a little bit James Bond villain about the chair made of skeletons with the all-black outfit, but I don’t think most teens are going for “James Bond villain” when they get dressed.
Extra, extra, read all about it!

Nothing like being a kid and being so excited to find out your picture is going to be in the paper, only to get the thing and realize the whole city is about to see you like… this.
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mess with these guys.

Honestly, if I was fifteen, I think that I would be obsessed with every outfit and makeup look going on in this picture, so in a way they reached their target audience.
I’d be proud of that Beanie Baby collection too.

I don’t know what’s better about this photo — the Beanie Babies, or the absolute pride and smugness that this kid felt about his Beanie Babies.
“We had a band.”

I don’t know what kind of music they were making, but if I saw this picture on an album cover, I would one hundred percent be buying that thing.
That doesn’t seem like a very practical grip.

What’s cooler than a red belt and one sword? A red belt and two swords, obviously. Although I would try not to put my fingers so close to the blades, personally.
“Trying to take a MySpace photo while no one’s home.”

I’m glad he specified that nobody was home, because I feel like if your parents catch you in a cape with a Pokeball, they might be in the right to make you delete your MySpace account entirely.
You laugh, but he’s protected.

This armor is so extensive it’s even covering his eyes. Sure, there’s a lot of exposed areas, but just try and get through this protective layer of Kinex.
I’ve heard that bangs flatter the face.

I cannot imagine what the growing out process is for this kind of haircut, but I have to admire the commitment to the bangs. Nobody’s committed to bangs this hard since Zooey Deschanel.
“I thought it would make me look tough.”

Now, I was no stranger to photoshopping myself poorly in my social media pictures, but I have to hand it to this guy. I never even thought about making myself into a centaur.
The facial expression sells this.
![Image credit: [Reddit | TheBroox]9https://www.reddit.com/r/blunderyears/comments/ro9zvk/my_mother_in_law_sent_my_sister_in_law_to_picture/)](https://static.diply.com/sc5dnylLGprqkugxBLCN.jpg)
To be honest, there are some mornings when this is kind of what my hair looks like naturally. But at least I don’t have to deal with picture day.
I’d be that excited now!
![Image credit: [Reddit | roseb214]9https://www.reddit.com/r/blunderyears/comments/rhba21/easily_the_best_day_of_my_life_christmas_1997/)](https://static.diply.com/fx25RNhHSvoUhvV8BDr9.jpg)
There’s nothing like getting exactly what you wanted for Christmas to release your inner nightmare goblin out of pure excitement.