Young Bernie Looks The Same And Totally Different

I've led myself to believe that Bernie Sanders was probably born with a half head of lightning white hair and bifocals. He just sort of has that look to him. So imagine my surprise when I did some searching around and found photos of the Bern back in the day, when he had a full head of CURLS, though it seems like he really may have been born wearing glasses. What's totally weird is that in vintage photos, Bernie Sanders somehow looks exactly the same as he does right now, but also completely different. It takes a second to recognize him, but when you do it's like, "Oh my gosh! It's Bernie Sanders!" Old pictures of Bernie Sanders show a side of him we recognize, and another side that shows him as a spry young student, new politician, and curly-haired cutie.

I was able to find photos of a young Sanders across three decades, and I have to say that the man was a bit foxy when we hit the late '60s and '70s. That is, if you're into the whole, curly hair, smart, wants-to-change-the-world type. Then, all of a sudden we hit the 1990s, and Sanders looks like the man we see raising his arms and voice at the Democratic presidential debates. The evolution of Sanders' hair alone is wonderful to behold, and it was also awesome to discover that he easily could have passed for Ira Glass' twin back in the day.

Here's a look at Sen. Sanders through the years — from sit-ins to mayoral photo shoots, young Bernie did it all.

Portrait Of A (Very) Young Sanders

Here are some shots of Bernie in the 1960s, when he would have been in his 20s. The first photo is of Sanders speaking to a group of students at the University of Chicago during a sit-in to protest segregation at the school.

He's so young! The short hair! And lots of sweaters, of course.

Let's Talk About Curls

And here we have Ira Glass' long lost twin!

Is anyone else attracted to these photos...?

A Little Older, But Raring To Go

Here we have some pics of Sanders as he begins to age (bye-bye to the front half of the curls), but he's still looking very energized and ready to change American politics.

He looks so down to business in that photo with the phone.

A Bit Closer To The Present Day

This is Sanders back in 1991.

The glasses/ tweed/ comb-forward combination really makes this one.

Sanders as a young man is exactly what we'd hope for, and also probably beyond what we could imagine (I was unable to picture the man with a full head of hair before I saw it in black and white). It's also a fun peek into his journey as a politician. Looking at the photos of Sanders at the University of Chicago protest in the '60s, I wonder if he ever thought he'd be running a presidential campaign.

Images: Wikipedia (2)