17 Photos Proving That the Meaning of the Word “Cool” Changes Over Time

Trends change a lot, and some of them don’t age so well. A lot of people may feel embarrassed when looking at the pictures from the past and realizing they didn’t look as cool as they thought they did. However, instead of letting embarrassment take over, the people featured in this article decided to have a good laugh at themselves and share their past with the Internet.

1. “Me, a straight female, trying to impress my crush by being one of the guys, I’m on the right.”

2. “In case you’re wondering, yes, I was home-schooled.”

3. “Prom ’03 + ’04. What a difference a year makes.”

4. “I guess the photographer and I had a great time.”

5. “I thought I looked like James Bond when I went to a night club in my dad’s suit. 2008. I used to use around 4 tubs of hair gel a week.”

6. “Young me was a huge Assassin’s Creed fan, circa 2011.”

7. “Me in 1988 with a VW Bug I bought for $50.”

“I made a BEACH PATROL stencil out of newspapers, then painted it with a can of spray paint in my driveway.”

8. “My mom calls this photo a family heirloom. It was taken 16 years ago: me (female, 13) and my boyfriend (male, 13) at the Olive Garden.”

9. “2011, I was 14. I thought I was the coolest and most emo person ever.”

10. “Studded belt, beaded necklace, rave bracelet, skinny jeans, and teased hair: meet 16-year-old me, circa 2010.”

11. “The baby face, the deer in the headlights stare, the loudest T-shirt I could find — not shown is my matching jean shorts.”

12. “Out at the rock club with the crew in about 2001. I can’t believe we used to take a 30-minute bus ride to the city whilst dressed up like this.”

13. “Here are my poor parents being nice to me back in 1987 during my Billy Idol skateboarding phase.”

14. “Had to let Myspace know I could play drums somehow.”

15. “Wore a beanie for 2 days to get my greasy hair to cover my eyes. Also had no idea how to play that bass.”

16. “Me at 12 or 13 thinking I was cool posing with a random car.”

17. “Still waiting for my glow-up.”