13, 16, 18, Now - what were you like as a teenager?

[funkyjiveturkey]

surprised i haven't seen a thread like this in a long time. might as well throw my head in the ring. this is i guess for the early-mid 20's crowd, but that really doesnt mater just substitute any age increment for whatever number you wish. what were you like through your life? how have you changed over the years?

13 - Socially awkward, few friends, low self-esteem, and frequently angry at my school staff and classmates. had a tendancy to say a lot of really stupid/unfunny things randomly for attention. didn't do many things outside, and i started to grow out my hair in what became what you could call my "greasy period". also a very heavy user of gaia online.

16 - Highschool, grade 11. started smoking pot and hanging out with the smoke pit crew at my school, to this day a decent amount of us still talk and hang out. started to become more mellow about things, school, life in general. me and my friends would skip class, hang out in the park by the school, smoke and play hacky sack; very laid back. i started not to care what people thought of me, and i guess i was kind of going through a punk rock phase too (not REAL punk, i mean like green day). i was struggling to find a job until i unfortunately landed one at an Arby's location that is notorious in my town for violating multiple worker's rights. i also started excersizing in the gym which was unprecedented for me. massive girl troubles, never even had my first kiss at this point and trying to get a girl to even talk to me was a nightmare.

18 - Highschool, 5th year. i had graduated the previous year and was doing a victory lap literally to kill time until college. a very bad move in retrospect as i could've just worked the whole time, i would've been accepted to my course regardless. still havent even kissed a girl, luck with women was still shyte and i was getting rather depressed about it. still have a lot of good friends from the smoke pit, some were kicked out of the group for personal reasons. was working at the job i still am now in my local surplus store, been there a year at this point. still kind of an apathetic attitude about school and life.

Now - 20. went through a one year program in college for media foundations. taking a year off to work then going back for broadcast. still working the same job, but making more money - been there for over 2 years. i have a girlfriend of over a year now who was a close friend of mine for a long time through highschool; she's perfect and we never fight or even disagree on anything. i tend to look at the big picture, over the past while i've really observed the human condition; how we think, where we are going, and it fascinates me. little things like that have changed as well, just in how i observe things; be they people, events, or things. in terms of friends it's still the same old smoke pit crew.


what were you like then? now? how have you changed?

 

[Scarim Coral]

Let see if I can remember this correctly-
13- I was like eager, peppy and was quite optimistic. I believed the people I became friends with were my friends.

16- I think this was when I realise that all the friends I made were really just toying/ putting a false face at me which lead me toward depression.
You see I was one of the very few Chinese people in the school so people did treat me differently (didn't wanted to offend me or been given special treatment when I did not asked for it). Also no I didn't became emo but I did listen to Linkin Park alot as a way to vent out my sadness.

18- I pretty much became quiet and had an annoyed/ unhappy outlook thanks to my "friends" I was with. They pretty much make fun of me on my daily basis but there were the only people I can hang round with.

20- I was in my second year of university and I became happy once more. Going to university mean I can start a new leaf meeting new people who didn't know of my past. By all mean I didn't lie about my past, all I can say there were some embrassing moments in my life that should stay in the past which my former friends had witness. I was happy again because I had made new friendd who I can really as my true friends as they appriatate me just the way I am. I still kept in touch with my closest friends and hang out with my best mate when I can.
Also this also made me bitter toward my former friends in High School as I hold resentment for the way they treated me but hey I'm fine as long they don't show up in my life again.

Capcha -all growns up, heh that is one way of putting it.

 

[Cazza]

At age 13 I didn't have many friends but the few I had we're still close friends today. I didn't like school but I worked hard in class so after school I didn't have any homework. It worked out well. I wasn't really happy though. I played video games and played hockey in my free time.

At age 16 I started to become more popular. I was in a large group of friends but those friendships didn't last outside of school. Now I knew how easy school was and how much of a free ride is was and that I would hate the working adult life. I had the same deal about work hard in class and I had very little homework. I think it was around now I dropped sport. I thought of a few ideas of what to do after school.

At age 18 I went into tertiary education after a lot of rethinking of what to do. I started to make a few friends who dropped out and didn't work out. I moved into part time study as my study was boring. I really did nothing else in those years until I was around 20.

At age 20 I started to enjoy my study more. The boring parts were over and I went overseas in the semester break. I moved back into full time. I made new friends and my results improved a fair bit.

At age 21(Now) I've finished my tertiary education and I'm trying hard to hold onto friendships I formed but 1 fell a part over 1 assignment we did together in a group project. They wanted me to do 2 other students work to pull them out. I didn't do it and they had to do it which they did and passed. So I didn't see the fuss. They didn't want to talk to me after that. I see now that's how I have lost a lot of my friends. I feel like I'm always the one doing the chasing to hang out etc and I get to a point where I believe they are not worth it and stop.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I actually don't feel like I've changed much, which is a shame.

13 - Hardly any friends, bit of a loner. Very disliked and unpopular. About this age I started using the Internet which I think made me more socially awkward. I wasn't very smart or good at school.

16 - More friends, less hated. Found a passion for performing arts, theatre and creative writing. Had a fairly large group of close friends, none of which I still speak to. Still awkward and hated by the popular girls but that didn't matter because I had my friends. I'd do stupid things for guys and never learnt my lesson.

18 - left sixth form, much happier because everyone was friendlier and more relaxed. Thought my friends were great but we never lasted. I was determined to get out of my city because it was making me miserable.
I moved cities to be with my boyfriend at the time, got a job and settled down. I've never cared for uni since I was told about it and never will.

21 now - much happier and friendlier. Easier to make friends with although I don't really have close friends. Still awkward and shy. Still doing stupid things for men and putting myself through agony for them. 2012 was probably the worst year of my life and it's made me so much stronger. I can stand up for myself and know not to let people treat me like dirt any more. Instead of hoping someone will change, I know to get out right away now. Still working and planning to move away again soon.

 

[hazabaza1]

13- Socially retarded, hardly any friends because most of them were going around and started smoking pot, sat around in my room doing jack-all feeling lonely.

16- Most social time of my life, meeting friends often, still staying in my room and playing games, having a good time.

18/now- Socially retarded, hardly any friends because we're all too lazy doing meeting up outside of work and education, sat around in my room doing jack-all feeling contented.

Circle of life I guess.

 

[Artina89]

At 13 I was known as "The geek" in my school. The one they would ask to help them with their homework and help study for exams which I resented. As a result I had few friends. "The geek" was a moniker I carried throughout the rest of my high school years which in the UK, is from the ages of 12 to 16.

At 16 I was more optimistic. I was studying for my final exams and had found out I had got into the 6th form I had wanted to get into to do the A-levels I wanted to do. I didn't keep in touch with many of the people I hung out with in high school when I moved into 6th form.

At age 18 I had a new circle of friends, some of who I still talk to from time to time. I was studying hard to get into the University of Nottingham to study chemistry, which I achieved.

At 20, I was at the University of Nottingham but I decided to change my degree to Biochemistry and biological chemistry, which I loved as it was the perfect mix of biochemistry and chemistry which meant I could broaden my scope when it came to the type of jobs I could apply for. By this time as well, I had a circle of friends who to this day I consider to be my closest friends.

Now I am 24 years old, graduated with honours from university, I work as a biochemist and loving every moment of it. I am still in touch with the friends I made at uni, and yesterday I met up with two of them in Nottingham and had a blast. Another friend of mine is visiting me next Saturday which I am looking forward to immensely and in October, I am taking a two week vacation to Montreal to stay with another one of my close friends from university. My life is good at the moment and I intend to savour every moment of it.

 

[Terratina.]

13 - Loner. Year 7 was pretty much the pits for me with all the shit that when on. Hadn't even discovered the Escapist or hadn't even signed up to any internet forums. Spent life going to school, studying and playing video games to escape all of that. Started to get into anime then. By about the end of the year, I got out of my 'weeboo phase'.

16 - Found some friends. Some really nice friends. Finally found my place in secondary school you might say. Then secondary school ended and got into college. Going to lesson then hanging around with mates from secondary school, though most of the time I just sat there and listened to the conversations. It was hard to get anyone to listen to what I was saying so I gave up.

18 - Me now. Became disillusioned with college, then got back into college. Spent less time with my usual crowd because I didn't want to spend time with people who didn't listen to me. Became more distant with my best friend - gotta fix that, I know. But, made some friends on here, not that it makes up for neglecting my best friend.

 

[SadakoMoose]

13: Confused and maladjusted. That's nothing new. Mainly, because I'd been doing homeschool since 4th grade, I was REALLY awkward around kids my age, and hadn't really had the chance to grow up. I was holding on to some things that I really should have kicked when I was much younger, like stuffed animals. This, with growing exposure to the internet began to change. Namely, early Newgrounds. We're talking straight up Piconjo, Clock Crew, Pico era Newgrounds. It hardened me quickly but also...

16: Everything had to be serious. Nothing soft or wimpy, everything was dark and gritty. I went through my own personal 90's. That, and my early independent exposure to sexuality came from the Newgrounds portal. Miss Dynamite, Meet and F***, Sexy Quizzes, Mausland Games, "Dress Up" games. This did not lead to a healthy mindset regarding sexuality, but I do credit it to opening my mind up to the idea of sex. Everything else is wildly emotional. Swinging back and forth from really saccharine anime (ie, Gaia Online) to the stupidly depressing. (Who DOESN'T listen to Linkin Park at the age?)
Being online for most of my adolescence, misery and perversion found company.

18: The first time I began looking at where I could really go in life, beyond the cliches of doctor or some other high paying professional career that I had no real interest in. I abandon my "dream" or becoming a psychologist (just for the money) and instead begin to look at Pro wrestling or some creative field. I begin reaching beyond the self limiting and self defeating views of my younger years and toward the idea that I can actually DO things and make things.
That, and I still had a lot to learn about sex, but that's another story.

Now: Less unfamiliar with sex in the real world, but largely still looking at the future.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

13 - I think I was probably in my first year of secondary school. (Not sure exactly what it's called in English.) Anyway, I had a couple of good friends, but didn't get along with people in general. I was quiet, didn't talk much with many people, but got a few friends and a girl who got a crush on me first, but I got a crush on her later too.

16 - I think we changed schools again. We did it like every three years at this time. It wasn't that much of a change though, except now I could study something I had chosen myself. I didn't have many friends, since it was a new class, but eventually me and another guy changed to a class where we knew more people. The guy I changed class together with later became my best friend, and is still one of the best friends I've had, and still have, even if we don't meet as often now. I think it was pretty boring actually, not much to do, lived in a small village.

18 - There was some good stuff, and I moved away from home to live on my own, but there was also quite a lot of bad things that happened. We were going to graduate the same year. I think I isolated myself too much, from events and people. I think I was more sociable when I was younger.

23 (Now) - I think it's kind of been going downwards for me since I turned 18. Sure, I got into every university I applied to and eventually chose one, but I've become a recluse the last two years. I had a lot of shit happen, and generally butted heads too many times with people, so I ended up going alone. I was considering suicide some months ago, but managed to ask for help before actually hurting myself. Now, I'm seeing a counselor and just started taking pills. I didn't actually start spending much time on the internet and forums, until after I had turned 20. I was more with people IRL. I'm still in university, and some part of me hopes it'll all work out, another thinks I'm just delaying the end for no purpose.

 

[Goofguy]

Oh boy, here we go:

13 - I had a few close friends and zero cares in the world. School was easy for me and my family had just moved in to a great house so I was enjoying life as a "normal" kid after many years of moving around. I remember also being slightly freaked out about the upcoming Y2K and the potential collapse of society. Lo and behold, it came and went like a fart in the wind.

16 - At this point, I had only one close friend. I didn't go to a big high school so there weren't any cliques I fit in with and most just got on my nerves. School was still easy for me and the only other things I cared about there were soccer and rugby. It was at this age that I also enrolled in the military, which I would start shortly after my 17th birthday.

18 - One year in the military at this point and starting my studies at the military college. I absolutely loved this time of my life as it was challenging and I met the friends who will be staying with me for the rest of the life. I didn't know it at the time but the following 4 years would hugely define the type of adult I'd become and they'd be the best times of my life.

26 (now) - Still in the military, coming up on 10 years in. Life is pretty good. After several moves and some domestic and expeditionary missions, I'm content to be in a more static position near home. It's giving me time to look ahead in life and try to figure just exactly where I want it to take me.

Another friend of mine is visiting me next Saturday which I am looking forward to immensely and in October, I am taking a two week vacation to Montreal to stay with another one of my close friends from university. My life is good at the moment and I intend to savour every moment of it.

Enjoy your time in my hometown. It's a great city and October is a great time of the year to visit. If it's your first time in Montreal, make sure you try all the foods we're best known for. And there is no shortage of great pubs to wet your whistle. Cheers.

 

[chinangel]

ugh...let's give this a shot.

13...damnitt that was like 15 years ago. Ugh...I was socially awkward and confused and overly clingy to my brother. I would actually hold his hand a lot of the time. I was withdrawn, anti-social and overly creative: i spent most of my days in my own little bubble, unaware of what gender identity was and without any friends: i had no idea how different I was.

16: I had discovered transgenderism and alternate gender expression. I had some friends...sort of. I was more my brother's clingy little follower and he just took me everywhere. I was into geeky stuff but most of the time I hid in a book or behind a gameboy.

18: Second verse, same as the first. I didn't change much: just the same kinda depressing,angsty and withdrawn confused kid I always was.

28: Taking hormones and more outgoing. I'm sarcastic and snippy but with anxiety problems and some real mental problems. I am friendly enough if not still clingy,but hey: living on my own and trying to find my own way.

 

[Artina89]

Another friend of mine is visiting me next Saturday which I am looking forward to immensely and in October, I am taking a two week vacation to Montreal to stay with another one of my close friends from university. My life is good at the moment and I intend to savour every moment of it.

Enjoy your time in my hometown. It's a great city and October is a great time of the year to visit. If it's your first time in Montreal, make sure you try all the foods we're best known for. And there is no shortage of great pubs to wet your whistle. Cheers.

Thank you very much, I intend to make the most of my time when I am there. I'm in luck that I will be with people that know their way around the city so they will be taking me around the sights.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

13- Lonely, socially awkward, quiet. Used to spend most of my time sitting around reading, playing games (Roller Coaster Tycoon or Red Alert 2, I've never had many games. I think when I was 14 I spent up to 12 hours a day playing Oblivion sometimes). I know I was probably wasn't very happy, but I think my full moody teenagerness, self harming and all that crap probably started when I was 14.

16- Largely quite happy. My social life started to exist when I was fifteen; when I was sixteen I had a girlfriend and spent most Friday nights getting drunk on a golf course. Things were pretty ok, but school work was still a hassle and although I was mostly alright, I do remember hiding cuts from my girlfriend at the time. My memory is pretty terrible, but I think things were fairly bearable until halfway through being 17 when my girlfriend left me and all those horrible feelings from when I was 13 came back.

18- Things were starting to get better again, having recently being dumped and in a bit of a rut my friends did, eventually rally around and help me out. Although I had tried it once before (although never made a habit of it as the aforementioned girlfriend was very anti-drug) I was reintroduced to MDMA and although I'm in no way saying people should take it, it really helped me reflect on things, appreciate what I had and move forward. Once again, my social life began to grow and I was finally getting on top of my school work (in time for my A-level exams), I even got a new girlfriend. The time in between the end of my exams and going to university was without doubt the happiest time of my life. Going to university was a really awful adjustment, I took a while to make new friends, my girlfriend left me, I started feeling shit again and I was almost 200 miles away from my family and friends. Went from the happiest time of my life to the absolute shittest time of my life within just over a month.

19 (now)- Started feeling a bit better whilst at university, I made closer friends and started to really enjoy it, without having anything to remind me of what I'd lost. Went to see a counselor which helped a bit. Since I've been back from university I haven't been so good, I've struggled to find a summer job, I haven't really had that much of a social life, when I have been out with my friends I've been forced to spend time with my ex, who I have very confusing feelings towards. Everything seems a bit pointless, I feel like all of my self-doubt has been confirmed by everything I've ever done. I'm hanging in there to see if the second year of university is an improvement, but at the moment I don't really see the point in getting out of bed at the moment.


Err... That's more depressing than I intended. It sounds much worse written out like that.

 

[scorptatious]

Hmm...

13: At this point, I was fully aware of the fact that I had autism, so I sorta had this feeling that everyone was out to get me, so I was sort of anti-social and aggressive towards people. Whether it be students or teachers.

16: This was probably the point where I actually started noticing girls. Before, I did like girls, but not in the way that I felt about them at that point and now. This sort of made things a bit worse for me, as now I found something else to make me feel bad about myself: the fact that I never had my first kiss or a real girlfriend before. So, things weren't all that different, I was still untrusting and hostile towards people. I also sort of developed depression and a bit of self loathing.

18: At this point, I discovered a man named Christian Weston Chandler via the internet. I found that he and I had a lot in common, he and I both had autism, and he and I both sorta acted inappropriately towards people. After watching and reading almost countless amounts of videos and articles of him and his crazy antics. I realized that, if I didn't get my shit together, I would end up just like him.

So, I decided to try and be a bit more sociable and friendly towards people. For a while, things seemed to be working out fine. I became friends with this girl I was attracted to, and I even confessed to her. Unfortunately, it never went anywhere as my own insecurity kept me from working up the courage to ask her out.

21: I'm a bit more calm and passive compared to how I was back when I was a teenager. I'm trying out different things like photography and psychology to see if I can't find my niche. And I'm now slightly more confident in myself, so now I'm looking for a job, and I even took up teaching swimming lessons to the son of my mom's friend. I'm trying to become more independent, and while I still feel I have a long way to go, I'm better off now then I was before at least.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

13. Can't remember that much. Think I was getting into death metal and drinking. Certainly wasn't one of the cool kids (I collected warhammer models), but I had friends in and outside school and I was too oblivious to care that I wasn't very high up the social ladder. Tried hard at school. Started doing paper round.

16. Smoked weed, took lots of acid and spent most weekends doing rocks with my GF and friends from outside school, so was pretty much out of it in school and didn't really bother trying. I fucked off all but 3 school friends. Was one of those insufferable people who go around telling everyone how awesome a time I'd had doing drug XYZ the night before, however was now "popular" with the cool kids (and I suppose by extension I was one) due to being able to source most drugs. Primarily listened to Jungle. Still did paper round.

18. Listened to Gabba & acid techno, started DJing. Lots of drugs & squat raves. My old circle split up after doing too many class As, so I was very happy to find another group who were into going out and partying. I was very sociable in the drug culture/party scene but at least learned to shut up about all the drugs I'd taken outside that circle. Got a job as a shop assistant in a games shop. Started seeing my Ex GFs best friend, which in retrospect she probably wasn't too happy about but she didn't say anything and I was pretty oblivious to that sort of thing due to being trashed 90% of the time. Kept in touch with 2 of my school friends.

Now (almost double the last number). I live in a completely different part of the country. I'm a lot less sociable than I used to be, primarily because I've lost interest in partying but haven't really come up with any other social activities to replace the social networking that partying brings, hence me sitting on my ass writing this on the internet. I still keep in touch with 1 school friend and, barring a few notable exceptions, the core people I knew when I was 18 and live in the same building as one and on the same road as another.

 

[Esotera]

13 - Started playing guitar and getting into metal/rock. I was pretty obsessive about guitar and got fairly good quite quickly, had some great times with a band.

16 - Had a couple of serious relationships around this point that really didn't work out that well, and started drinking/doing drugs a bit more regularly. Basically I didn't care at all about anyone else and was just doing things that made me happy, which wasn't all bad but not really a sustainable way to live.

18 - Really focused on getting good A-levels so I could get the university course I wanted. Had quite a few issues with mental health at this point that were never fully resolved, just brought under control. Because of the psychosis I really began to appreciate living in a rural area far away from big crowds, which was pretty ironic as the last two years I'd been wanting to move to a city, and was going to in about a few months...

21 - Not thinking entirely about myself anymore, but I've still got a lot to work on before I think about being 'normal' and attempting relationships again. I'm also insanely busy due to my university course, and I'm just about to finish an industrial placement & begin my final year studies.

My heart isn't in it though, I just want to live frugally in an isolated area, with a support network of family & friends close by. I'm also getting pretty introspective as I'm writing a biography/random collection of information about my life, so I guess there's that. I'm hopeful but also quite scared about what the future will bring as humanity has a whole load of challenges.

 

[Corven]

13- socially awkward, loner videogame nerd with 1 or 2 school friends.

16-socially awkward, loner videogame nerd with 1 school friend

18- socially awkward, loner videogame nerd with 2-3 school friends.

Now (23)- socially awkward, loner videogame nerd with no friends and a $8.50/hour job.

There has been little to no changes in my attitude over the years I always knew there wasn't some magical metamorphose that would happen when I hit arbitrary age milestones where I would suddenly become more mature or "adult-like".

When it came to friends, "out of sight out of mind" is what I would describe my loss of friends as. I would move away to a new town and wouldn't make any effort to keep in contact.

 

[Simple Bluff]

13: "God dammit, I wish they'd just hurry up and make a new Kingdom Hearts already."

16: "Am I getting stupider or is everything getting harder?" (spoilerz: it was both)

18: "Holy crap... I was a fucking moron when I was 13. Welp, it's good to know that I'm always improving and always learning."

20 (now): "God dammit, I wish they'd just hurry up and make a new Kingdom Hearts already."

 

[Elfgore]

13- Starting forming a clique with my friends, met my best friend, and started realizing some people are just plain idiots. Also started reading alot. Always optimism and hope. No girlfriend

16- Had a pretty large group of friends that I spent time with, in and out of class, which I became the anchor for all the anger to flow into, still managed to be optimistic most of the time. Started getting very into music. Also thought all of my opinions were right, even if they were so foolish and arrogant that I actually cringe when I look at my oldest posts. Yes I joined this site at like 16 or 15. Sister dropped college making me realize I had two more years to enjoy an easy life. Dream of being game designer even with poor math skills. No girlfriend

18(now)- Realized that most of my opinions are well opinions and started to view things from others perspectives better. Dropped religion, became less left wing, dropped alot of friends because of drama and the fact they pissed me off, music taste dropped from heavy screaming doom satanic metal to more calmer genres of metal. Started considering leaving the states when I graduate college and move to Japan. Became very cynical towards the world after getting a beatdown by reality, realizing my dream of being a game designer would never work due to poor math skills. Hey look at that still no girlfriend.

 

[generals3]

13- Was quite average dude, had a group of friends. Wasn't the most social guy out there but i got around.
16- Started to party and get wasted with the friends. Group of friend got a bit larger but I still wasn't the very social kind of guy (despite going out a lot)
18- Started Uni, got to know some people in uni but went out a bit less (got a bit burnt out from the alcohol abuse when 16-17).
22- Almost done with Uni, trying to get a last kick before working. Meanwhile i got multiple group of friends and I guess I can officially say i'm not socially awkward and I destroyed half my brain with all the beer I drunk since I was 16.