Ah, the 90s. A time when denim was baggy, music was real, and a Saturday night spent watching “Nick at Nite” was a bold declaration of carefree adulthood. Back when the most pressing technological challenge we faced was untangling our headphones that were somehow always knotted more tightly than a Rubik’s Cube. Remember when the only streaming we did involved battling our siblings for control of the TV remote while the dial-up modem screeched its confusing war cry, announcing our arrival to the World Wide Web whiplash?
Ah, Yes, the era of grunge, where plaid was considered a fashion statement and we all collectively pretended to understand European cinema thanks to “Pulp Fiction.” It was a glorious time when we had crushes on boys who looked like they just rolled out of a dumpster, and our idea of a wild night was bingeing on Oreos and dancing to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in our living rooms. Our cul-de-sacs became a thriving ecosystem of skateboarding, Slip ’N Slides, and an epic number of bicycle alarms that only we could hear—or care about.
And who can forget the sheer joy of rummaging through the clearance bin at Blockbuster? The thrill of finding a VHS rental that might be halfway watchable was akin to stumbling upon a rare Beanie Baby. Of course, we had to deal with the terror of late fees, which were basically the 90s equivalent of the IRS. Forget owing taxes; the real horror was coming back to your favorite store after a wild weekend and being presented with that dreaded bill. “You owe us $25 for a copy of ‘Dances with Wolves’—good luck, pal!”
Let’s not even begin to talk about the beauty of mixtapes. The painstaking dedication required to craft the perfect collection of songs, all while dealing with annoying radio DJs who were determined to spoil your hard work with a “back with more of the hits” mid-track. And if you ever caught the feeling of getting the misjudged “right” song that played over your crush’s voicemail? Pure 90s magic... that remained trapped in an era where “deleting” meant actually setting fire to a tape in a symbolic act of heartbreak.
So, here we are, sipping our pumpkin spice lattes in 2023, still trying to figure out how to fold a map while Googling “how to start a fire without Wi-Fi.” We’ve come a long way since the days of cassette tapes and stolen kisses under the dim glow of a lava lamp. But let’s be honest—life was wilder back then, and we were all just trying to figure out how to survive our awkward teenage years without a TikTok account to document it all. Now that’s something to really get nostalgic about!