Our teenage years can be tough. Many teens are trying to discover who they are while simultaneously curious as to who they might become in the future. Those struggles often lead to a rebellious stage that spans the gamut from anti-social introvert to rebellious extrovert.
After years of discovering who they are, some teens turn into very different adults. They lose their emo, punk, or rocker look, find something they are passionate about, and start acting liked adults.
We've put together a list of some very rebellious teens who blossomed into beautiful and amazing adults. Enjoy.
This Mom Is Almost Unrecognizable 10 Years Later
This young rebel looked a little mad at the world when she was 15 years old. Ten years later and she's a mom to a four year old and managing a local convenience store. In telling her personal story from child to store manager she says those were "all things I told myself at fifteen that I'd never do." Everyone grows up on their own timeline and this woman definitely figured out the path she was ultimately going to take pretty quickly. Would you recognize her transformation if you saw her on the street 10 years later? It will be interesting to see if her own kid follows a similar path.
From Young Rebel To Firefighting Hero
This guy was sporting long hair and dark clothing when he was a teenager. As he grew older he found his true passion as a firefighter. To prepare for the academy he ditched his juvenile clothing and cut off his long black hair. He says if you told him eight years ago that he would cut off his hair and start training to be a firefighter, he wouldn't believe you. In fact, if he told himself that he was going to follow this path he says it wouldn't be believed. This young firefighter is another good opportunity to remind ourselves that people change and grow into who they will be as they get older.
This Guy Went From Punk To Programmer At A Startup
This guy is the first to admit that he doesn't really understand why he went through a big emo stage at a young age. While celebrating that culture he started to learn about programming and eventually went to school for video game programming. He became an expert in his craft and eventually started a really cool startup. He admits that his life was full of "stupid" decisions, including drugs. Today, he's a hard working coder who loves going to work every day to work on cool new projects. It's amazing how quickly people can turn around their life if they put their mind to it.
From Emo To Goth To Marketing Consultant
Teenagers and young adults are on a journey to find who they truly are. This female started her formative years as an emo loving party girl. She then went goth and then converted back to her emo days. Eventually, she realized it was time to grow up and she found her passion in the marketing industry. She's now a marketing consultant who has turned in her choker necklaces and purple hair for a suit and a respectable pair of glasses. Part of her will probably always be an emo or goth at heart but now she lives in a world where she has a stable job and a bright future ahead of her.
This Rebel Has Stayed True To Her Roots
This woman may have given up her fishnets and lip ring but she has promised to stay true to the things she loved while growing up. She says she still listens to the band Brand New but now works as an administrative coordinator for a Fortune 500 company. She says up until recently she never noticed her choices as a "phase." This hardworking female is a great reminder that you can change little things about yourself as you grow into your own skin without giving up the things that ultimately led to who you are today. Maybe everyone should have a little bit of punk rock in them to be reminded that things change but it's not all bad.
This Emo Kid Is A Responsible Dad These Days
There are a lot of emo kids in the world and some of them grow up to be parents. This guy shared a photo from 2005 when he was just 18 years old. His emo-loving self sure didn't hold on for that long, by 2015 he was a loving husband and the father to an adorable little girl. He points out that it's pretty amazing "what a difference 10 years can make." He might not be the same person he was back then but his daughter will surely love this photo when she discovered it one day. He's probably just hoping she doesn't go through the same phase.
From Myspace Profile Coding To Full-Time Programmer
This former emo girl has a pretty great outlook on how she went from emo to full-time programmer and mom of a four-year-old girl. When she was a teenager she spent hours coding new profiles for her emo-heavy Myspace page. Her love of customizing her profile eventually led to a love of computer programming. She's now a full-time developer with a beautiful family and a strikingly different look from her old days. We admittedly wouldn't recognize this mom on the street 10 years later but we'd probably get along with her a lot better at this point in her life.
From Early Days As A Rocker To Military Career
This guy started the early 2000s rocking out in a band. He was sporting the look of a guy in a rock group but that quickly changed when he joined the US Military. He's now serving our country as a member of the US Air Force. He is happy to celebrate his new role in life which includes a buzzcut and a uniform he puts on every single day when he goes to work. The people we are early in life are not the people we will become and this guy is a great reminder that you may find your calling after you've experimented with other options when you're young.
From Hot Pink Hair To Teaching Our Future Leaders
When this girl was a freshman in high school she loved to sport hot pink hair and plenty of emo-friendly wristbands. Once she entered college and found her calling as a teacher she was quick to ditch her younger look for something more presentable. She explains that her life changed when she decided to become a special education teacher. She admits to now teaching kids to avoid the mistakes she made in life. She says her former 9th-grade look is fitting since she now teachers 9th graders.
From Emo To Joining The Police Force
This police officer wasn't always thinking about serving his community. When he was a teenager in 2007 he was dressed like a society-rebelling emo kid. He now jokes that not only was he a police officer in 2015, he was also sending out Christmas cards with his partner. Sometimes kids just need a little bit of time to figure out what they want in life and then they need the opportunity to grow into the man they were always meant to be. This police officer probably has the ability to really understand where many of the rebelling kids he has to deal with are coming from and that's a nice skillset for a police officer to have.
This Government Analyst Has Held Onto Her Punk Roots
Not every "rebel" on our list gave up fully in their past. This woman found a love of fashion and changed the way she dressed but she holds onto some of her younger roots. She explains that since her teenage years she has become a Government IT Analyst. While her day job is much different than her younger days, she admits that her taste in music hasn't changed and she still listens to the same music along with a new interest in Post Hardcore and Djent. She's proof that you can give up some of yourself while holding true to who you are many years down the road.
Three Decades Later And Some Things Never Change
The photo on the left was taken in 1985. These days this amazing woman is an artist, a teacher, and a mother. Her hair color may have changed but going from dark red to dark blue is her way of holding true to her artistic roots. Honestly, we may have paid more attention in art class if our teacher looked the role. She's proof that the people we were can still inspire the people we have become. It would be interesting to see if her kids have been inspired by her own bold hair choices and followed in her artistic footsteps.
This Emo Girl Is Studying To Be A Veterinarian
It's easy to discount emo-looking kids as unmotivated. In reality, sometimes they are just making fashion, music, and lifestyle choices as they experiment with who they are. This girl proves that some emo kids have a lot of love to give and we shouldn't discount them because of the choices they make in clothing and makeup. She's in her first year of veterinary school and plans to help keep animals alive and healthy for the rest of her life. Her transformation is pretty amazing but not as incredible as her career goals which she is already pursuing.
From Emo To Motivational Speaker
This guy admits that he wasn't sure what he wanted to do in life or where it would take him years after he went through his punk/emo/rocker stage. The photo on the left was taken years before he became a seminar speaker who talks about dealing with failure and going after your goals in life. When you decide to judge people based on how they dress and the look they portray, just remember that they could be very different people than what you see in front of you. This guy has had an amazing transformation and now he's helping other people on a daily basis.
This Accountant Is Still Embracing Her Emo Side
This girl graduated from college and gave up her old emo look. While she earned two degrees and started working for a school district in the accounting department, she has refused to fully give up her inner Emo. As you can see from her before and after photos, she still finds time to have fun and test looks. At least now she's probably only dressing up for Halloween, parties, and more acceptable type of functions. Most people don't fully abandon their inner-self they just find ways to celebrate who they are in different and unique ways.
This Girl's Outlook On Her Transformation Is Right On Point
When this woman was younger she liked to really show off her taste in music with the way she decided to dress. Her music tastes haven't changed in recent years but her outlook on how she supports her music has. She says, "I just realized that music taste is something you carry in your heart and headphones, and not write on your forehead." A lot of the people on our list expressed their taste in music with their choice in clothing and makeup, perhaps this is why many of them have undergone a drastic transformation in recent years.
Some People Change So Much They Don't Recognize Their Former Self
We love this girl's outlook on what changed in her life. After years of listening to screamo music and wearing a ton of black eyeliner, she simply realized that lifestyle was giving her a headache. She now works an office job and says "screamo music gives me a sore head." The best part about growing up is that we are constantly discovering what we like and what makes us happy. If your tastes change you should embrace whatever comes next and see where it goes. Her new look is definitely more adult-like and professional.
From Anti-Social Emo To Social Butterfly
If it's true that our life experiences shape who we become, we'd love to know what this girl went through to find her new lot in life. She explains that the photo on the left was taken seven years ago when she listened to emo music and hated social gatherings. Today? She loves pop music and she is always attending social functions and hanging out with her friends. Our teenage and early adult years can be tough and some people just need a little bit more time to find out who they are and make the transition into adulthood.
She's Still Rocking The Red Hair
You'll notice a connection between some of the people on our list. While many of them have given up on their former lifestyle choices, they often keep a piece of that life with them. This woman explains that she used to be a tomboy/emo who was "struggling to find myself." These days she's studying to be an accountant, although she still rocks her red hair. You can change a lot about yourself in 10 years but sometimes it's the little things in life that remind you of the person you once were and reinforce the person you want to be.
The Girl Who Never Smiled
When you experience a lot of angst in your teenage years it can be hard to come to grips with your life and where you are headed. This beautiful woman explains that she was a young girl who was incapable of smiling. Thirteen years later, she's now 29 years old and says she "can't stop smiling." It's amazing what more than a decade can do for a person's outlook on life. We can't go back but we can learn from our prior experiences, discover who we are and who we want to be, and then move on with some amazing results.