See Daughters Recreate Their Mothers' Old Photos

In this video from BuzzFeedYellow, daughters recreate photos of their mothers, and the touching results suggest that many women might be more like their moms than they realize. BuzzFeed had three women sit down with their mothers to talk about their relationships, and undergo makeovers to look like their moms did at their age. The ensuing photographs show striking physical resemblances between generations that speak to deeper emotional bonds between mother and child. In short, you may want to grab a tissue and your phone — because after you watch this video, you’ll either be crying, or calling your mom, or doing both at the same time.

When I was a teenager, the idea that I might be a lot like my mom was something I resisted, out of a natural impulse, I think, to separate myself from my parents and see myself as independent. It’s only as an adult that I’ve been able to recognize, and embrace, how much I am like my parents, in terms of both my appearance and my personality. Jenny, one of the daughters in the video, reports having had a similar experience with her mother, telling her, “I remember a phase of not wanting to hang out with you in my late-teens, mid-teens, and then from my early twenties until now, you’re one of my best friends.”

The other video participants also have close bonds with their mothers. Allex says of her mom, “I would consider her, not only my best friend, but my personal inspiration.” Michelle tells her mother, “I love how kind you are and nice you are, and how much you gave up to provide a life for me.”

Michelle explains that, because she’s mixed race, she’s often been told that she and her mom don’t look alike. “A lot of kids told me when I was younger that I didn’t look like my mom, or that it was impossible for my mom to be my mom,” she says. “I think I actually have a lot of her same physical features, and the only difference is skin color.” She’s right — looking at her next to photos of her mother as the same age, the resemblance between the two is remarkable.

As they transform physically to recreate photos of their moms, the daughters in the video reflect on how different their mothers’ lives were at their age. All of their moms had already had children by the time they were the ages their daughters are now. Allex says of her mother, “She was married and already had a child when she was my age, and I’m nowhere close to that… I think she was a lot more ahead in her lifetime at the age of 25 than I am.”

BuzzFeed reports that the mothers and daughters felt that making the video “was a bonding experience.” Watch the whole thing below.

Images: YouTube (5)