I started identifying as a socialist around 12-13 when I read the Communist Manifesto and its framing made more sense than rich/middle class/poor. Being a history nerd though, historical materialism and later dialectics were the big breakthrough for me. They meshed with how I saw the world scientifically, a dynamic process of contextual relationships influencing each other.

Once I had a working grasp of dialectics, going back to anything short of it would be like attending preschool as an adult.