Fashion trends come and go, and like many other teenage girls in 2019, I’ve developed a love for the newly popularized mom jean. This cut of jeans is ultra high waisted, loose around the hips, tight around the ankles, and depending on who you ask, incredibly ugly or extremely cute. While I fall on the latter side of the spectrum, my mother is very much the former. 

Every time I walk down the stairs in a pair of these highly divisive jeans, my mother has to make some remark or comment. Usually it’s something along the lines of, “You’re going to look back in ten years, and you’re going to cringe so hard at those jeans.”

And you know what? She’s probably right.

In all likelihood, in ten years I’m going to look back at a picture of my fifteen year old self and I’ll probably be mortified. I’ll joke about the jeans, and think I look stupid, but in all honesty, I really don’t care about what future me has to think. I understand that this mom jeans trend is probably just a phase, but I’m not sure why that is a bad thing. I like these jeans now, and that’s all that matters. 

Too often we connote the term “phase” as being negative. If someone says that a teenager “is just going through a phase,” it is often said to belittle or demean the teen in question. But why is going through a phase a bad thing?

When we’re in high school, we’re in a transitional period of our lives. High school is a time to figure out who you are, and you can only do that by trying new things and having new experiences. Picking up new hobbies and trying out different styles is how you find out what you really like and who you are, and that isn’t something you should be mocked for. 

Let teenagers experiment with new styles and fashion without teasing them for it, and that goes for things other than clothes too. 

If a teen wants to go vegetarian or vegan don’t mock them for it or tell them it’s not going to last. 

If a teen wants to become more involved in politics and is developing their own opinions, don’t tell them they don’t know what they’re talking about. Finding yourself is hard enough to do without outside voices causing you to doubt yourself or feel embarrassed. 

If you’re someone who keeps hearing the words, “it’s just a phase,” over and over again, remember that no one can predict which way fashion trends will go or what styles we’ll be wearing in ten years, so living to impress your future self will be nothing but futile. 

Embrace the phases as they come and go, and don’t let the fear of embarrassment keep you from having new experiences or from taking part in things that make you happy.