People are sharing their 'ugly duckling' transformations and they're incredible

Growing up is tough, especially because it sometimes feels like the transformation is never going to happen. If you're going through puberty and it's terrible, just know there's another side to it and that is on full display in the subreddit /r/uglyduckling. 

The subreddit is for anyone who has undergone a transformation, so not everybody is in that period in college where you finally figure out how to dress. But, many people tend to skew young and the changes they make are pretty simple. Like growing their hair out. 

She wrote, "4 years between the photos. Used to really dislike how I looked but slowly and it by bit, I started to treat myself a lil nicer, didn’t realize the difference till I saw it like this." 

How did she do it? By embracing the little things. "I kinda just started by letting myself be as girly as I wanted I think, if I thought something was pretty I'd wear it or if I felt like putting make up on I did, eventually I got better at doing it and I really like treating myself 😁," she wrote. 

Making little changes in your life can transform you in all sorts of ways, even if it's the decision to avoid the salon. Every journey begins with one step!

Below are some of the most astounding changes people went through. Some have elaborate stories, some just grew out of their awkward phase, and some just woke up one day and realized they'd changed.

"4th grade me & 22 year old me. The photographer even made me push my glasses up because I liked to wear them on the tip of my nose -_-," wrote the user below.

This article was originally published on January 2, 2020. It has since been updated.