The 90s Spit Out A Kid Like Me

With The Sandlot celebrating it's 20th Anniversary this year, I began to realize how old I am getting. Granted 23 is not that old, but it seems like a long time considering everything that has came and went in that time frame. Back before I had the responsibility of life, it was nice just being a kid for awhile. No bills or worries. The worst thing that I had to go to the Doctor for was an ear infection or strep throat. The Dentist had bubblegum flavored mouthrinse and I could eat my entire weight in bubblejug and fruitsnacks. Before life got ahold of any of us and all we had to do was go to school and play. I was seriously Hooked on Phonics!! For us there were no bills to pay, no food to cook, no children to take care of (even though we watched out for each other). The hardest relationship choice there was to make was whether or not to sit with the little boy you liked on the bus or during recess. The hardest life decision was trapperkeeper or backpack. (Both with Lisa Frank-duh!). And the only time we had to "handle our money" was for lunch at school.While I was reading a blog that I follow (Thank you Allie) I came across a post that was talking about the things she missed from her childhood. I got to thinking about it all and decided to write it all down.

I always say that I was born at least a decade or two too late. I've always thought that I should have been born in the 70s, so that I could have grew up in the 80s. (That or the 20s/30s for the days of Gatsby, Dillinger, and Bonnie&Clyde...just saying). The 80s, the days of Rock-n-Roll, Big Hair, AquaNet, Horrible Fashion Choices, White Eyeliner, Car Dancing, Roller Skates, well you get the idea. I find it to be a magical decade (don't even start all you Haters from the 80s...Let me think that it was awesome...you know minus the cocaine). It's probably a good thing that I didn't grow up in the 80s for the plain facts of I can't roller skate to save my life, I can't dance to save your life (even though I try to re-enact Footloose and Hairspray from time to time), and I probably would've fallen in love with some dude that had a guitar and claimed to be in a band. What can I say? 80s Hair Bands were hot! Axl Rose, Bret Michaels, Sebastian Bach, Tommy Lee/Nikki Sixx, I think that you get my point.

Even though all of those things would have been working against me, the bad fashion choices and big hair would have been my domain! I would have rocked that shit look. With my style being tacky anyways, and the fact that my hair is naturally big and I have to tame it down, just give me some leggings, a sweat band, and some bangle bracelets and I would have been good to go!

Although I like to pretend that I'm 80s fabulous, I'm not. No, instead I'm a 90s kid. A 90s kid, that got to see the new Millennium roll around. Yes, the days of Grunge and Alternative Rock. Matching Jeans and Denim Jackets. Leotards and Converse. Turtlenecks and Conch Shell Necklaces. Gold Jewelry Everywhere!! When Tattoos (besides on Marines/Navy Men) and Body Piercings (besides your ears) first started to become publicly acceptable and common. Oh, and branding. Yes, people actually branded themselves like cattle. Yeah, that one I don't get either. Neon Colors and Gray Sweatpants. Thong Underwear and Hoop Earrings. Long/Greasy Hair and Aviator Sunglasses. Bangs and "The Rachel". Sadly, I had these bangs. Quit laughing. Hip-Hop. Old Navy and Nike. Air Jordan was fancy stuff! The days of "Heroin Chic" (thanks for that one Kate Moss). You get my drift.

(Yes, I still wear massive amounts of flannel and I would love to look like Jennifer Aniston, but Kelly Kapowski was definitely who I wanted to be when I was younger, she was the shit awesome)

Yes, I was there to see when acid wash was popular the first time. News Flash Teenies, It's Not New!! I had acid wash leggings as a child. Oh yeah, leggings aren't a "new trend" either. All the trends now are straight up being ripped off from a mixture of 80s/90s. We all know that it's the truth. Don't even try to deny it. Acid Wash, Leggings, Gypsy Blouses, SkateBoarders, Platforms, Flats, "Skinny Jeans" (although during my childhood they were called "Drainpipe Jeans"), Cowboy Boots (with shorts) Head Scarves, Anything Hippy (i.e. tie-dye, floral skirts, olive green, overalls, etc.)-Which yes we stole from the 60s, but get over it, all of that was stolen from the 80s/90s.

I would just like Everyone to know that-We did Grunge first!! Kurt Cobain paved the way for all you little disgusting  "alternative" teens that don't like to wash your hair. Yeah, he made that cool. If he wasn't deceased I would tell you to personally thank him, but since he is and you can't, you can thank him metaphorically. You're Welcome. You're not doing anything new you little snot-nosed punks  teens. If you can't tell, I have a problem with some of today's Teens. Their attitudes just make me want to punch them in the face correct them.

I kept some things with me from the 90s including Gray Sweats, Flannel Shirts, Aviators, Hoodies, Hoop Earrings, and a few others. No need to go through my entire life wardrobe. All I'm saying is that even though I wanted to grow up in the Glory Days of the 80s, growing up in the 90s wasn't too bad at all. There's things that I definitely miss from the 90s, and I wish that I could have back. You never really realize how many awesome things happened around you, until you stop and think.

I miss...

Watching alot of Wrestling with my Brother. We watched it back when it was WWE instead of WWF, and it was awesome!! It's still good now, but it was better then. Sorry, but it was. We were big fans of the show and it's events. I still remember watching it all with Greg and re-enacting certain things. (I know we were asked not to "try this at home", but we did anyways...at least he did). His favorites were Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, HHH, Val Venis, X-Pac, and The RoadDogg. Mine were The Undertaker, The Hardy Boys, Chris Benoit, Mick Foley, Test and Bob "HardCore" Holly.

The Music of the 90s. Seriously, I do. MmmBop!! You know what I'm talking about. The 90s really was the time to reinvent and experiment with mixing music and sounds, and trust me they did plenty of it! We had awesome Boy Bands. It was the Beginning of Grunge, the Era of Alternative, and the Golden Age of Hip-Hop. Nirvana, Sublime, Jane's Addiction, Green Day, Pearl Jam, and a million other great ones. Besides we had Vanilla Ice in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go! Only 90s kids get that one.

The Tv Shows of the 90s. Family Matters, Full House, Friends, Boy Meets World, The Nanny and Home Improvement. Those were excellent shows. Back before the only thing on tv was reality. Before the Kardashians there was the Winslows. Before Jersey Shore there was Friends. And before Property Brothers there was Tim the Toolman Taylor. Among others. Big Wolf on Campus. Beverly Hills 90210 (the original), and I watched Saved By The Bell every morning before school! Buffy The Vampire Slayer when David Boreanz was Angel instead of Booth and Roseanne when Johnny Galecki was David Healy instead of Leonard Hofstadter. Are You Afraid of the Dark? was an after school ritual, Clarissa Explains it All really did explain it all (with pretty letters), Dawson's Creek, All That had Amanda Bynes before she was crazy and Nick Cannon before he married Mariah. Seriously who didn't love Kenan and Kel?
                     "Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda! Is it true? Uhhum, I do, I do, I dooo!"

The Cartoons of the 90s. Let's not forget about Nickelodeon. OMG, Nickelodeon!! Back when people originally got Slimed, and it was Fantastic! "Ahh! Real Monsters!", Hey Arnold, Rugrats, CatDog, Doug, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, Gullah Gullah Island (with BenyaBenya the Pollywog), Little Bear, and The Angry Beavers. Darkwing Duck and Gargoyles. Kids game shows were awesome too! Umm..Legends of the Hidden Temple and Wild and Crazy Kids? Yes please!

The Toys of the 90s. Furbies (the original), Tamagotchis, Barbies, Lite Brights, Easy-Bake Ovens, Super Soakers, Bop It, Talkboys, Sky Dancers, Beanie Babies, Pokemon, Transformers, Skip It (which I was never very good at...I ended up taking me and the neighbor boy down...oops), and Hit Clips! Yes, the ipod before ipod was even thought of. If you had these you were beyond seriously cool! I myself had Nsync No Strings Attached and Britney's Stronger. Besides nothing really beat playing Mario Brothers on the original Nintendo game system! Koosh Balls-Yes please! We even got our toys right out of the machines at Pizza Hut for a quarter (i.e. Sticky Hands!). They also gave away awesome Toys in Happy Meals back then too! I'm talking the good stuff!

And lets not forget the first loves of my life, Stretch Armstrong and the Green/White Power Ranger Tommy Oliver!! I so wanted to be Kimberly (aka the Pink Ranger).

                (Tommy-aka Jason David Frank, then and now. See I had good taste as a child...Such a badass!)

The Movies of the 90s. We had awesome movies. Don't get me wrong can't go wrong with the classics (including 80s John Hughes), but basically the 90s rocked when it came to cinema. Hello, we had Titanic! Beat that bitches people. We gave birth to the awesome beginning of Quentin Tarantino. If you don't know who he is, then we can never be friends. Seriously, don't even talk to me. Do you know that cutie Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Yeah well, before he was a "heartthrob" he was seeing Angels in the Outfield. We had Power Rangers and Turtle movies! We had the best of the Terminators (2:Judgement Day) along with Forrest Gump and my all time favorites What's Eating Gilbert Grape?! and Fight Club!! That's right, we had Fight Club! Along with the beginning of the Scream Franchise (you can thank us for caller i.d.), Silence of the Lambs, Jurassic Park, Schindlers List, American Beauty (every guy at that time was excited to see Thora Birch and Mena Suvari naked), Home Alone, Shawshank, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Matrix, and Saving Private Ryan. Hocus Pocus and A League of Their Own! There's No Crying In Baseball!!

Back when Will Smith was awesome he went from being The Prince of Bel Air to saving the world from an Alien Invasion (in two separate movies)! Who doesn't love American Pie? Really?! I miss The Land Before Times! We were the first to see Dead People, and we rode on Con Air. Not too mention it was thanks to us that you have the awesome funny guy Adam Sandler today. We loved him when he was Billy Madison! Let's also not forget Tommy Boy! Braveheart was a favorite of mine, along with The Mummy and Armageddon. I Don't Wanna Close My Eyes!! Sorry, I really like Steven Tyler. It was also the Disney Renaissance. From The Little Mermaid, to Aladdin, to The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Toy Story. Pretty Woman, Dances with Wolves, Mission Impossible, Austin Powers, there's just to many to name. We also revamped Star Wars with The Phantom Menace (our bad...sorry about that one), and before the day of Twilight we had an The Interview with a Vampire. There just really is no end to how awesome the films were! Before all of this mainstream, special effects/digital animation crap, we had good solid stuff to offer.

I miss Dunkaroos, Fruitopia, Surge, my inflatable alligator couch that I used to lay/sit on for hours and watch Anastasia or read R.L. Stine books like Fear Street and Goosebumps. I miss the Candy. We had awesome candy! All the way from Bubble Jug, Squeeze Pops, Wonderballs and Warhead Lollipops! I also miss Oreo O's! It used to be my favorite cereal!! (Well, that and Captain Crunch of course).

I miss a million other things about being a Kid too. I grew up pretty quick, but that doesn't mean that I don't still retain the memories of my Childhood. My Brother and I, along with our friends have many of them to share, and do when we talk or get together. What else do we miss about the 90s? What things do we think were cool from "our day in age"? What do we remember good and bad?

Well...The Bad...We were thawing out from The Cold War, but unfortunately going straight into The Gulf War and Desert Storm. The bombing of the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City scared us. Timothy McVeigh haunted us. River Phoenix died of drug induced heart failure, he was an excellent actor and died far too young. We were still dealing with the cancer effects of Chernobyl. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold made me scared to go to school, they were the boys responsible for Columbine. The O.J. Simpson trial took place and so did the trial of Jack Kevorkian. When I was little I remember hearing about a kid named Matthew Shepard and it made me cry. They were so mean to that boy and he didn't deserve it, all because he was different than what they thought was right. I'm glad that he is an inspirational figure now. I also remember hearing about Jonbenet Ramsey and Shanda Sharer.      

And...The Good...Before Carson Daly hosted The Voice, he was a badass cool guy that ran the MTV World with TRL. He had the best guests and the best lines, EVER! MTV played music all the time and it was good. We released the first MP3 player. Thanks to us the www got it's momentum going (we made email big). We personally handled the distribution of hand-held Video Games and upgraded in home Video Games (all the Halo fans out there...yeah that's right). Clinton was President, and "did not have sexual relations with that woman". Cd's were big with us, it was before all of this high-tech music streaming stuff. Although personally, I'm still a mixed tape kind of girl myself and used them alot! We cloned Dolly the Sheep. In the early 90s we still made Plymouth!! We also made bio-degradable things to replace styrofoam and such, all you "eco-friendly"/vegan people- You're Welcome! We stood up Big Time for the Defense of Violence Against Women. We also got to experience Y2K!!

We were just Kids and had fun with other normal kids. None of this TeenMom-BuckWild-HoneyBooBoo mess. We were just normal, sticky handed, marco polo swimming, staying up late, dirt rolling, lightning bug catching, mud pie making, flower picking, dodgeball playing, pixy stick eating, kool-aid drinking kids. And you know what? It was pretty great!!