the internet was not in our pockets and our brains were way fucking healthier for it.
nothing was instantaneous either. i think we all had a LOT more patience. like i ordered my prom dress off the internet and we got SCAMMED HAHAHAH like that shit doesnโt really happen now. like ordering things offline was like a MYSTERY. it was so crazy
i remember having the school phone book theyโd publish every year and it was just everyoneโs names & phone numbers (i think you could opt out or whatever) but if i wanted to have a play date id have to go to the phone book look up the name and then go to the oldddddd school ass phone with the twisty dial up numbers and theyโre parents would answer and iโd have to be like โhi mrs. mom is your son there can i talk to him?โ iโd literally call my childhood crush and weโd talk on the phone all the time but heโd ignore me at school ๐
i also remember like i could come home from school and it didnโt feel like i was still easily accessible to everyone. i could get away and like recharge properly each night. kids donโt have that these days and itโs soooooo fucked. the more i learn about phones and the more i teach kids, the more i sound like a conservative. im like LET THEM PLAY OUTSIDE ALONE, tell em to come back when the street lights come on!!!!!! NO PHONES until 18!!!!!!
if i could i would change the law that lets ppl market their products to kids under 12 or something. iโd make kids being given phones under 14 illegal.
another funny anecdote from the early 2000s was that in middle school, lil wayne released the carter III and i CALLED MY STEPDAD from school and said you need to pick me up so he took me to newbury comics (irresponsible) we BOUGHT the CD and i blasted it in his car on the way back to school ๐
oohhhhhhh my god also the WAY i would just sit in my room and look up lyrics on AZlyrics.com and just sing the same 4 songs over and over until i learned all the words. or like listen to the song and write out the words if they werenโt up yet ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ
i also opened my diary and there was an entry from like 2011 and it just starts โI love tumblr.โ
i also have a lot of sweet memories of going to blockbuster with my mom ๐ฅฒ i can still smell the smelly smell and see the rug inside there and iโm half as tall as the VHS shelves ๐ญ
thereโs soooo much more, i cherish my childhood now even tho i was neglected as fuck. it was a very special time and iโm very lucky i got to experience that.
