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AIBU?

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Original poster

To hate my former self?

37 replies

LittleMissLateForWorkAgain · 20/04/2026 13:48

I m made the big mistake of reading my own teenage diaries and oh God I want to go back in time and slap my former self!

Whiny, selfish, moaning about a (perfectly ok) part time job. Lazy.

Moaning about being asked to babysit younger siblings while my parents were at work.

Completely taking for granted nice parents and a big house in the country. I moan about the lack of buses and the highlight of my week seems to be going to town and drinking as much as possible with my friends.

I moan CONSTANTLY about my A Level coursework and say I don't want to go out with a perfectly nice boy because he has spots! I then virtually throw myself at the good looking "bad boy" of the sixth form

Arggghhhh it's in the bin now.

Aibu to cringe and hate my rotten little self?

I promise I grew up into a much nicer person!

OP posts:
TheSlantedOwl · 20/04/2026 14:09

Aww forgive yourself - you were growing into the idea that there were new responsibilities which is totally understandable!

Upearlyaseva · 20/04/2026 14:04

LittleMissLateForWorkAgain · 20/04/2026 14:00

I care because I would hate my adult dc to read that if anything happened to me.
But also I really forgot what I was like!
In my mind I was a lovely teenager!

Really? You don’t think they’d find it funny? It reads like a TV stereotypical teen tv character in a comedy drama!

ComtesseDeSpair · 20/04/2026 14:03

Teenagers are rarely their finest selves. Feeling hatred for yourself over what ultimately sounds like fairly typical teenage emotions and attitudes is counterproductive and isn’t going to do you any good. You probably were a fairly nice and ordinary teenager - you didn’t say any of this stuff out loud, or hurt anyone, you vented it in private.

Original poster
LittleMissLateForWorkAgain · 20/04/2026 14:00

I care because I would hate my adult dc to read that if anything happened to me.
But also I really forgot what I was like!
In my mind I was a lovely teenager!

OP posts:
notimeforregrets · 20/04/2026 13:59

MrsFionaCharming · 20/04/2026 13:51

I reread my teenage diaries during lockdown. Then I shredded them so no one would ever find out what a horrible person I was!

I did exactly the same!

LimbOnTheTreeTheTreeInTheHoleTheHoleInTheGround · 20/04/2026 13:57

My kids often say to me that they would love to have met me as a teenager. I tell them that they would have hated me. Attention seeking, whiny, more attention seeking. I just laugh about it now honestly. It's a rite of passage being a bit of a dick in your teens.

TheDenimPoet · 20/04/2026 13:56

I honestly wouldn't have put it in the bin. You might find that, decades from now, it's really good to look back at what your life was like.

I also complained about things, but when you're in the moment, with the hormonal fluctuations and confusions that come with being a teenager, you feel like you're being completely reasonable!

Legomania · 20/04/2026 13:55

Why do you care? You were a completely different person then, and your brain hadn't even finished developing.

Upearlyaseva · 20/04/2026 13:54

It sounds almost like a cliche of a teenager

SpiceGirlsNeedAComeBack · 20/04/2026 13:51

All mine went in the bins years ago, I was a complete douche bag to put it nicely.

MrsFionaCharming · 20/04/2026 13:51

I reread my teenage diaries during lockdown. Then I shredded them so no one would ever find out what a horrible person I was!

Thepeopleversuswork · 20/04/2026 13:50

Aren’t all teenagers like that?

Its a bit cringe but your reaction is OTT.

I didn’t keep a diary (thankfully) but I know I was an utter nob at school. But you learn and move on.