We all do dumb things as teenagers. The notion of consequences can completely go out the window because, realistically speaking, when you’re underage, there’s a lot you can get away with. But you’re also much more prone to putting yourself in dangerous situations .

But once you’re an adult and start looking back, some memories will actually make you think, “Wait, did I really do this?” And that’s when it dawns on you just how irresponsible you were. And so, users on TikTok shared the moments that made them realize how lucky they are to still be alive. Here’s what they said.

I used to go to anime conventions alone, and one time my phone died. So I started charging it at an empty outlet, and this guy came over and started charging his phone there too. We started talking, and it turned out he was from the same city I was heading to. He offered me a ride, which I turned down, but I did accept when he offered to drive me to the train station. Y ou have to be 18 to drive here, and he looked like he was in his twenties, so 16-year-old me thought nothing of it and accepted. It was only once I was in his car that I realized… I didn’t actually know this guy. And I was already sitting in his car. I joked that I hoped he wasn’t going to kidnap me. He started laughing and said something along the lines of, "Well, that would be interesting…" and started reaching into his pocket. I panicked, but thankfully he pulled out his state police badge. Phew.

I unknowingly at 17 got a ride from a stranger... Years later the stranger was Ariel Castro.

Life does feel different when you’re young. The lack of responsibilities, the free time, the groups of friends, and the feeling that there are few consequences. Sometimes, all we want is to go back to those days , but at the same time, we probably wouldn’t make the smart choices and decisions we make today. That's partly because of a small part of our brain called the prefrontal cortex.

Teenagers put themselves in such precarious situations partly because their prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed. This region evaluates risk, controls impulses, and predicts consequences, and research shows it doesn’t fully mature until around age 25. Basically, they’re all gas and no brakes, and well, that’s how they end up in the backseat of a stranger’s car in the middle of the night.

I was walking home alone at night after a choir concert. I was around 16 at the time and was almost home when I passed through this open-air shopping area where cars could drive around the whole thing. A car with about four guys inside pulled up next to me and offered me a ride, but I refused. They drove away, only to circle back a few minutes later and ask me again. When they finally drove off, I waited until they were out of sight and then ran as fast as I could. I hid behind a garden on the next street, and that’s when I heard the same car come back for a third time. The guys got out and started shouting, “Where is she?” I swear, I genuinely think I narrowly escaped being kidnapped.

I was walking around at a mall with my brother. Some lady pulled up right next to us and said why are you guys out so late at night? We told her we were waiting for our MoM to come pick us up because she was getting off of work and she was almost an hour away. The lady offered to drive us home and we were about to say yeah because it was pretty late at night and we figured since our house is 10 minutes away why not just get a ride home, but my Mom had called us and said she was a few minutes away. So we told the lady it was fine and that we were gonna go home soon. We went home with my Mom and the next morning on the way to school that woman was being arrested right outside of our school after dropping her daughter off for trying to kidnap other girls and sell them... My anxiety when I realized that me and my brother could have gotten human trafficked that easily had me scared to the bone. Reality hit me right there and then. That's when I realized women also traffic children. Women can be as dangerous as men. I will genuinely never forget that.