30 Formerly Rebellious Teenagers Show Off Their Incredible 'Glow-Ups'

[caption id="attachment_4158" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Moosemaster21[/caption] The change, the great change of the age. Sorry, the great change of AGEING. We've all been through the family photo albums as kids, looking at our older siblings, parents, cousins or whatever. We have all likely pointed and laughed at the embarrassing images and polaroids of them, and if you say you haven't, you are almost certainly lying. Right now, in the digital age where each of us has a near-innumerable amount of photos saved on our devices and across a plethora of social media profiles, this very modern age is perhaps the absolute monarch of embarrassment. Hands pointing at screens as hearty full-on meltdown-laugher reigns over each swipe and scroll. However, many people pride themselves on their transformations or simply laugh it off. I have in front of me, hundreds of examples of such glow-ups, where the people of this here internet is showing off how it really all changes for them. "It's not just a phase mom" - "Oh, it was... ok." [post_page_title] #1 'These Are My Rebellious Siblings And I As Punk Teenagers, And This Is Us Now!'  [/post_page_title] Of all the images I have in front of my eyes, I felt I had to start with this one... [caption id="attachment_4160" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Amanda Panda[/caption] It was absolute unsolicited pandamonium! It is now well, still pandamonium, just with a highly probably earlier bedtime. [post_page_title] #2 'I'm The Mom To A Neat 4-Year-Old, I'm Married, And I'm The Manager Of A Local Convenience Store. All Things I Told Myself At Fifteen That I'd Never Do. 15 And 25 Years Old'  [/post_page_title] Well, now, that's a transformation and half, isn't it? You go from hating the world, hating everyone you have to even look at and be aware of, no one understands you and nothing matters. I was a teenager in that era... it was, exactly like that. [caption id="attachment_4161" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: LemonMints[/caption] Indeed, from hating it all and all the people within said "all" to managing people, marrying a singular "people", basically feeding people and then above all ADDING to the people by birthing your own singular "people". Glowing up at its absolute epitome. [post_page_title] #3 'I Became A Fireman, If I Talked To Myself 8 Years Ago And Said You Would Cut Your Hair And Become Part Of The Fire Department I Would've Never Believed Myself' [/post_page_title] "I'll never cut my hair" - "I'll never stop wearing these clothes" - "I'll never get a real job, leave me alone." Do grandiose statements right a bell? Likely. Do they match this next example of glowing the up? Yes. [caption id="attachment_4162" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: RealTerse[/caption] From being defiant in the face of what is perceived to be a serious issue within the context of adolescent struggles, to be defiant against what destroys lives. Glowing up isn't half bad! Power to the flame destroyers! [post_page_title] #3 'After The Whole Emo Stuff I Went To A Videogame School, Learned To Code, And Now Am Working At An Awesome Startup. Definitely A Phase. But I Really Had Good Times. And Also Did Very Stupid Shit, Especially With Drugs' [/post_page_title] This one I felt really deserves to sit under the moniker of "best glow ups" as it shows perhaps one of the premier examples of what it means to make it in this world - and not just for the obvious reasons. [caption id="attachment_4163" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Psykopatik[/caption] This glowing glow-up is more than happy to admit the past, rejoice that they are over it, and stand there with no regrets in life. If you ask me, maybe we should make a new list, just this example over and over with perhaps a few color variations and added graphics! [post_page_title] #4 'I'm Still Listening To Brand New, Work As An Administrative Coordinator For A Fortune 500 Company And Up Until Now Never Noticed It Wasn't Really A Phase' [/post_page_title] I feel a little resonation with this one. Transformations aren't always as overt as you'd expect, especially through the context of this list of shock and awe! [caption id="attachment_4165" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: krisDemon[/caption] KrisDemon may well be all glowed-up, working, earning and making her way in life but shes never truly what has made her who she is. If you truly love something you never truly grow (glow) out of it. Remember that humans of all ages! Just be you. [post_page_title] #5 'Before - Year 2005, My 18 Year Old Emo Self. After - Year 2015, I Am A Loving Father And Husband. What A Difference 10 Years Can Make' [/post_page_title] Life can take us on some twists and turns, this particular example is one of maturity but also comfortability. That and traces of a former self via a checkered shirt, I saw that I bet there is a stripey t-shirt under there! [caption id="attachment_4166" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Dex2787[/caption] There is absolutely no real correlation between these images. I guess this is glowing-up! For the record, I really was clutching at straws with that checkered shirt and I humbly apologize. [post_page_title] #6 'Became An Infantryman For The US Army. Going To College, Studying International Security And Conflict Resolution'  [/post_page_title] *Exclaims in surprise and sits backward in my chair as a result of this next example!* [caption id="attachment_4168" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: JToth11X[/caption] If you were to encapsulate, epitomize and excellently envision the complete and utter point of this list, you would use this image. I mean, come on now, if the falsehood of "IT'S NOT JUST A PHASE MOM" was to have an image attached to its explanation then this would be it. That's it, the list is over, I'm done. [post_page_title] #7 'Me When I Was 15/16 And Now: 21 Year Old And Working In Some Carpenter Job' [/post_page_title] This entry may seem like just another hair-cut transformation, but its the excellence and brilliance of the subtleties that these images and their accompanying explanatory statement that really make it. See if you can ascertain what they are before I give you a little nudge in the right direction. [caption id="attachment_4169" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Axote[/caption] Would the hair get in the way with this new profession? Yes, so there's that. In Flames are a death metal band from Sweden - a heavily wooded area. Axote is now working for a carpentry firm and has chosen to include a photo showing clothing with such words written on it. Carpentry uses dead-wood. I laughed, a lot, I wonder if A) you did and B) if old Axote realized all this. [post_page_title] #8 'All That Hair And Makeup Practice Back Then Really Helped Me Become The Hairstylist And Makeup Artist That I Am Today' [/post_page_title] We all have to start somewhere and each decision indeed makes us who we are later in life. Case in point... [caption id="attachment_4170" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Russcarp[/caption] From the pursuit of perfection, spending a long time in the mirror in a quest to look his best to doing the same for others to help them in their own quest for self-comfort. Glowing-up, helping others and being happy. Solid. [post_page_title] #9 'I Became The Police. I Also Now Send Couple Christmas Cards. 2007 And 2015' [/post_page_title] Straightening my hair in the dim light, I styled my hair and - [caption id="attachment_4171" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: an0r4k[/caption] - the law won. Oh, and Christmas cards became a thing, apparently, because it's seemingly synonymous with being in a position of power. I don't make the rules. [post_page_title] #10 '1985, While I Was In Art School And 2017, Successful Artist, Teacher, Mother. Still Me!' [/post_page_title] Does any remember the Bowling For Soup song, '1985'? Well... [caption id="attachment_4172" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Ms Phlit[/caption] I think this may well be the newest and most up to date version where Debbie stayed herself, rocked it and did only that for the rest of her life, getting everything she ever wanted. Glowing-up isn't always about changing to fit whatever mold lay before you! [post_page_title] #11 'Me And 2017 Me' [/post_page_title] Eight years is a long time. A long-time where life-defining events bombard your existence until it has shaped you into something else entirely. At least, that is a common variable in this life we lead, but what, I heard you ask, are these eventful few years capable of changing? How will they be the catalyst for glowing-up and what exactly will change? [caption id="attachment_4174" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Nick Dunham[/caption] Hair, it's all about hair. The color, the style, where it is on your head? Hair. Hair. [post_page_title] #12 'I'm Now Married And A Stay-At-Home Mom To A 17-Month-Old' [/post_page_title] There isn't a great deal I can say about this. From staying at home living that myspace, proto-selfie life to, endless trying to take the perfect pic before the age of front-facing cameras to - [caption id="attachment_4175" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: c48a4d893e[/caption] - staying at home and caring for others. Who'd have thought it? [post_page_title] #13 'Then Vs Now.. Still Wearing Black' [/post_page_title] From paw-dorable... [caption id="attachment_4176" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit Yvonne van der Pol[/caption] ...to glowed-up pawfection. [post_page_title] #14 'We Cleaned Up Good! 2009 Vs 2016' [/post_page_title] You're not alone, but the great glow-up is not something you have to face on your own. Or, perhaps, all we do is move from one phase to another? Enter the next example. [caption id="attachment_4177" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Camilla Mundt-Hansen[/caption] From the rebellious phase where doing anything but what your parents prefer to the next phase, glowing-up to whatever standard is perceived as the most normal - featuring a glow-stick headband! [post_page_title] #15 'From 15 To 25. Still Listen To Metal And Go To Concerts But I'm A Kindergarten Teacher Now.' [/post_page_title] This one, once again I feel I am resonating towards. Glowing-up is part of life. Indeed, this list is solid proof of such but that doesn't mean you can't use this societal construct for your own means! [caption id="attachment_4179" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Teagan Haigh[/caption] Getting on with it, making headway in life but still doing all the things that made you absolutely you back in the day? Teagan has nailed the glow-up! [post_page_title] #16 'From 16-Year-Old Who Never Smiled To 29-Year-Old Who Can't Stop Smiling' [/post_page_title] From the posing mystic out for attention to the pose of a happy person content with their place in life. You can't argue with that. [caption id="attachment_4180" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Alexis[/caption] No, seriously you can't, we all go on a journey to find ourselves no matter how cliché it is. [post_page_title] #17 '15-Year-Old Little Punk To A 22-Year-Old Married Woman Who Likes To Knit And Bake' [/post_page_title] The things we like to do often change. In many cases, what this often means is that we never really enjoyed those things, rather they were a passing fancy. But what do I know, eh? I just have all these hilarious case studies in front of me... [caption id="attachment_4183" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Katia[/caption] In all seriousness and contextual prose, however, what a change this is. From one phase to another. Now I obviously don't mean the marriage because that would be mean but this glowing out of bathing? Yeeesh. Not Cool. Baking is cool and jumpers keep you warm, so there is that. [post_page_title] #18 'From Crazy Colors And Straightener Abuse, To Embracing My Natural Color And Curls' [/post_page_title] I like this one. "WE MUST FIND AND EXPRESS OURSELVES, IT'S ALL THAT MATTERS" is often the maxim of the teen in the Western world, don't deny it now, I saw the glint of admittance in your eyes! [caption id="attachment_4184" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Christine Martinsen[/caption] In truth, it's a healthy thing, but in our teens, where our emotions are somewhere else entirely, the whole process is in complete and utter overdrive. However, sometimes, the best glow up is just to embrace natural progression and accept what you have. Hence this entry's place in this list of "WAIT... WHAT?!?!" [post_page_title] #19 'I Got Married In 2014. I Suppose That's When Things Changed' [/post_page_title] On my quest and mandate to find the "best" examples of glowing-up on this list, I really have seen everything. From the most overt and the unambiguously natural, it's been quite an adventure, and it isn't over yet! [caption id="attachment_4185" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Shannon Whitaker[/caption] Firstly, I admire the time it likely took to compile such a transformation and secondly, what a transformation this is! Of this list, this is perhaps the best at capturing how we progress of humans of this society. [post_page_title] #20 '16 Vs 26' [/post_page_title] Couldn't this be any different? [caption id="attachment_4186" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Jade Michelle[/caption] From a spikey fluffy misunderstood teen taking selfies once again in an era before from-facing cameras to something else entirely decade later. In short, shyness to a confident glow-up. [post_page_title] #21 'Played In A Hardcore Band, Then Became A Marine Now I Work In Private Armed Security' [/post_page_title] From vehemently against the main, to fighting for the man and then onward to fighting for the man with the most money. [caption id="attachment_4187" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Shawn Braly[/caption] How our ideals change! Glow-ups are subjective, remember that. Each to their own! [post_page_title] #22 '15 - 19' [/post_page_title] Style comes and goes, with the same formulaic fads gaining popularity before falling to the next. We all know the game, for we play it throughout our own lives, or rather the quest to find out comfort within the greater game of life anyway. [caption id="attachment_4188" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Harry Kidd[/caption] This glow-up, from creased messy layers and wisps of vision inhibiting locks to smart and regimented, is more than proof that the system works. What a transformation though! From scrapper to dapper in matter four years, I'd love to see what the mid-point was in this process. [post_page_title] #23 'About A 6 Year Difference. Went From Listening To Aa, BOTDF And Fir, To Keaton Henson, Cigarettes After Sex And RHCPs. Glad I'm Out Of That Phase' [/post_page_title] Have you ever listened to BOTDF (Blood On The Dance Floor)? I think that be honest you should, for it will allow this entry to make SO MUCH more sense. [caption id="attachment_4190" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Ariel[/caption] From RAWRS of emotional anguish, utterly superfluous bows to defunct completely and marketed music that few would admit to once liking or rather falling for to looking her best. Ariel wins her spot on this list of glow-ups. [post_page_title] #24 '2010 To Now' [/post_page_title] Another well-deserved spot on this goes too... [caption id="attachment_4191" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Desiree Hébert[/caption] Desiree Hébert has gone from living in the moment of the all-important scene-kid photo to moving on and making the decisions that will enrich the rest of her life and looking truly happy doing it. Glowing-up? She's completed it mate. [post_page_title] #24 '14 To 21. Too Many Phases To Count' [/post_page_title] Too many? Or the correct amount? [caption id="attachment_4192" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Maia Goddard[/caption] I guess this is growing up? *Dammit - Blink-182 starts playing* Is she finished, who knows?!?! For now, though, Maia is all glowed-up. [post_page_title] #25 'Before & After 10 Years, More Or Less' [/post_page_title] Some of these chronologies are as excellent as the effort that went into them. Hat's off to the chronological change-fest that is the long journey to this swish glow-up! [caption id="attachment_4193" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Paddi Avalon[/caption] What a difference a da-DECADE makes! Mr. Avalon has gone from scraggly bad-boy to a glowed-up and handsome young man. It really is remarkable how we change, if you only could see little selections of photos, you'd love them! My apologies - laugh, you'd LAUGH. [post_page_title] #26 '1989-2017. Waiting For My Next Metamorphosis.' [/post_page_title] And now for another chronology capturing 28 years of glow-up. This man's transformation could have been cut off at any point into eight separate entries, but by the gods would it be far less striking! [caption id="attachment_4195" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Joe Torres[/caption] From years as a baby-faced pretty boy to years of long hair and a grungey aesthetic, one thing that ties this collage of glow together is the ubiquitousness of  Joe Torres' ability to absolutely own any look he chose. Be the nice guy born from Mr. Serious-Business to the suave handsome older gentlemen look, this man glows no matter! Excuse me, I now have a goal to achieve. [post_page_title] #27 'Our Rebellious Teenage Stage Vs Being Married 7 Years Later With Two Kids!' [/post_page_title] Phases are coexistent it seems! This couple has progressed and transformed together through it all towards glowing it up in adulthood with a side order of parental responsibility. [caption id="attachment_4197" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Amber Chaves[/caption] I have but one question though beyond the token and faux "THAT ISN'T THE SAME PEOPLE, NO WAY" exclaim. Will the pattern repeat for the kids? Will they have their own scraggly emo phase? Only time will tell! [post_page_title] #28 'No Regrets, But I Wouldn't Do Half Of The Stuff I Used To' [/post_page_title] Once again, we have a stark contrast, owned and not regretted in the slightest, setting itself up for a latter glow. [caption id="attachment_4198" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Rachel Leonard[/caption] What was once missing was found and the hair follicle abuse was halted in favor of a full head of healthy hair. If there is one theme involved in nearly all the examples on the list of stark transformations, it's the hair! Oh, the hair! I have come to the conclusion that all that matters in the world is hair. [post_page_title] #29 The 90's Versus Now!  [/post_page_title] I do wonder if the people entering into the vast collection I am pulling from really believe what they are digging up from their care-free rebellious pasts? Humans live long lives after all and memory only goes so far. [caption id="attachment_4204" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: Rachel-erika Low[/caption] I should think the above example was a catalyst for another exclaiming of something akin to "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WAS ME." From the care-free pseudo hippie '90s to the now and world exploration, well dressed and smiling. It certainly could be a lot worse and could certainly be further away from being a glow-up! [post_page_title] #30 'Nuff Said'. [/post_page_title] As much as I have said this a few times now, the idea of becoming who you feel need to be or rather who you have always meant to be is a journey all humans to varying degrees and to various longevities will endeavor towards. Regardless of how many times I say it or phrase it, its the truth. Enter the last entry. [caption id="attachment_4201" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Credit: John Neu[/caption] Finding who you are supposed is the ultimate glow-up!