Middle school was rough.

Most people deny or try to forget those times when they slathered layers of black eyeliner on their eyes and drew Dan and Phil themed cat whiskers on their cheeks in black sharpie so everyone would see it for at least three whole days.

Unfortunately, everyone remembers.

Those still in denial are in for a wild ride when the legendary emo band, My Chemical Romance, (MCR) makes their return.

Many students will have the spiritual awakening of realizing that they still know every lyric to “Welcome to the Black Parade”, even as a junior or senior in high school.

“I feel pretty proud of myself,” junior Jake Russell said about the return of MCR. “Me and some friends had this theory that they were going to come back in 2019 … we always knew it would happen, and it happened.”

According to Russell, MCR’s last album, “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys,” was an album that told a story that took place in 2019.

Not only was the time frame right, but there were also rumors saying that the band was coming back together, which have been circulating around the fan base for years.

“Gerard Way, [the lead singer for the band,] always talked about how great it would be to get back together,” Russell said.

Like many others, Russell first found MCR back when he was a student at Olympus Junior High. He said that their return brings back lots of memories.

“Some (memories) I’ve tried to repress because we’ve all had our embarrassing middle school moments, but at the same time, music really brought me towards my friend group in middle school,” Russell said.

MCR is a token band of “emo” phase that many students went through back in middle school. 

Despite having a dark reputation, MCR made many students’ middle school memories sweet.

“I don’t regret it at all. I still have my (MCR) posters up and listen to the music when I’m in the mood for it,” said junior Antoinette Montano.

Montano’s favorite part of middle school was her emo phase. She loved the community that the music and styles came with.

“It really does feel good to be able to relate to music and then be welcomed into a community where others feel the same way,” Montano said.

Students have stuck in this community for years even as times have changed, and something such as MCR’s return is the perfect thing to spark nostalgia among many teens.

“I remember everyone freaking out about the G-Note… (There) would be little ritual things I’d see on the internet for people to try to get them back,” freshman James Singh said.

When he was a student at Cavitt Junior High, Singh didn’t listen to much of MCR, but was very much in the community. Even though he wasn’t a die-hard fan of their music, he did enjoy their mainstream content and their song “Vampire Money.”

“These people are getting what they want, and that’s cool,” Singh said.

MCR was always one of the front-runner bands for the emo community. Their return show— aptly named “Return” —is scheduled for Dec. 20 when they perform for the first time at Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

“MCR will always be special to me; I listened to them for many years and during many difficult times,” Montano said.