Most people I associated myself with in the past had an “emo” phase in the early-mid 2000s. It consisted of Gerard Way fanfics, having a copious amount of X's and underscores in your AIM username and, most importantly, high-top Converse shoes (or if you were super cool, the ones that went up to your knees). Due to conservative parents, I never fulfilled the emo lifestyle entirely: I wasn’t allowed to get the “scene" haircut or wear the color black, and my mom picked out my clothes until about halfway through sixth grade. My first pair of Converse were blue and had kittens on them, and the most emo thing about my appearance was my wide-rimmed glasses. But, it was the best I could do, and I thought I was as intense as it got. If you become nostalgic or embarrassed by viewing any of the following, there’s a high chance I might’ve befriended you at some point in my pre-teen years because, let’s face it. You, too, were an emo kid.

1. At some point, you most likely identified yourself as emo, gothic, scene, punk and/or hardcore -- all at the same time.

When I was in elementary school, my sister (who was in middle school at the time) called her friend group “emopothic” -- emo, punk, and gothic, all in one. I used to not understand it, and I was terrified by her friends, as well as herself at some times. Now, I understand them entirely.

2. Pep rallies were the bane of your existence.

In fifth and sixth grade, I was that one prick who booed instead of cheered. Cheerleaders disgusted me just as much as they were disgusted by me.

3. So were “preps.”

If you saw a girl with a fake tan, or a boy wearing a nice shirt, you immediately hated them no matter how hard you may have tried not to. But chances are, you didn’t try not to. Preps were nauseating.

4. Your obsession with anime and manga was through the roof, whether you actually liked it or not.

And if you didn’t actually watch anime or read manga, you would never admit it. The art-style was the onlyacceptable art-style to draw with, and if you didn't know who L was, you were definitely a poser.

5. Your hair had to cover a major portion of your face.

Being that I couldn’t get the “scene” hair down, I chose to grow my bangs past my eyes. I thought it was cool, not even realizing that they weren’t covering my eyes -- they were just greasy strings of hair draped over my face. Plus, my glasses were in the way of them.

6. You made a majority of your friends on chat room websites such as Meez and Gaia Online, or in some kind of MMORPG, like World of Warcraft.

Half of your life revolved around your online friends, and most of your time was spent in your room on the computer. You probably exchanged AIM’s against the warnings by your parents, and maybe even phone numbers. I remember the above screenshot all too well, and I remember making sure my bathroom breaks were as fast as possible so that the avatar I was talking to wouldn’t sign off. Shoutout to Amber and Brittany, some of the OG’s who made it out alive with me.

7. Your AIM icon probably consisted of a quote or song lyrics, and so did your away status.

Just like this one.

8. When you saw pictures of emo couples, your heart melted.

They were your relationship goals, and you yearned for an undying love like theirs. Because, what emo couple wasn’t happy deep down inside, right?

9. Coon tails.

You wanted them so badly. Something about having stripy hair was so unconditionally appealing.

10. You wore eyeliner and nail polish, no matter what gender you identified as.

And the darker and heavier it was, the better. The first time I bought liquid eyeliner was like an awakening for me, just like the first time I wore black nail polish. Exhilarating.

11. If you're a girl, bows on the side of your head were a key accessory.

If you didn’t own at least one, you felt incomplete -- insecure, even. But, you worried not, because they were at easy access from your local Hot Topic and Claire’s.

12. Tokio Hotel, My Chemical Romance, 30 Seconds To Mars, The Used, and so on -- they were your saving grace.

Annoying preps having a conversation nearby? Put in your headphones and crank up the music. Adults talking your head off? Headphones. Did someone in the car change the radio to some mainstream station with trending pop-music? Headphones! Loud music was the easiest fix to any situation.

13. You hated being called emo.

After all the hard work you put into shaping your dark, heavy lifestyle, the last thing you wanted was to be called emo by an outside source. Just because youknew you were emo, doesn’t mean you wanted other people to think you were -- because, “labels are for soup cans." (Sigh.)