Ah, high school. I remember the days of endless testing, hours of homework, thick eyeliner, and black hair. I remember every single day feeling misunderstood and any annoyance could be solved by turning up the volume on your headphones and tuning out the world. And who could forget customizing your Myspace page so that it directly reflected your favorite bands? But as we all grew up, we began to realize our parents were right. That emo phase was exactly what it was- just a phase. However embarrassing those old photos of you may be, your emo phase was actually really important to growing up.

1. You learned how to deal with your emotions.

You spent so many years feeling like nobody cared about you, and so you turned to music and writing to help fill that void in your life. Today, you're able to keep your cool, no matter what life decides to throw at you.

2. You started editing photos at a young age.

Not that they were any good, but at least you can say you had some experience working with photo editing software.

3. You started an early appreciation for magazines and print publications.

Maybe you only subscribed to look at all of the pictures but it still counts.

4. Your a pro at perfect selfie angles.

Forever taking selfies from this angle.

5. Skinny jeans are now "in" and you can actually say you've been doing it for years.

This photo was taken from Forever 21. Remember when you could only find these pants at Hot Topic?

6. You can actually tell your kids why chopping their hair up is a bad idea- You have proof.

My parents always told me know because it would look stupid. But they didn't know what I was going through. Lesson learned.

7. You developed thick skin.

You were probably made fun of A LOT. And all of that bullying taught you to be stronger and not to worry about what other people think.

8. You don't judge other people, no matter how weird they are.

Because you know what it's like to be on the other end of that judgement.

9. You don't wear black as much anymore, but it still looks good on you.

10. You've got a deeper appreciation for things.

Even though you spent many years being an outcast, you learned valuable life lessons while everyone else was off listening to less then inspirational music.

11. You have excellent budgeting skills now, thanks to always saving money to go to Hot Topic.

12. You learned HTML in order to make your Myspace page the best it could be.

Seriously, you could probably get an entry level job as a web developer.