25 Things That 2000s Middle-Schoolers Remember All Too Well
Start writing a post
Student Life

25 Things That 2000s Middle-Schoolers Remember All Too Well

The good, the bad, and the painfully awkward.

23012
25 Things That 2000s Middle-Schoolers Remember All Too Well
Sara Petty

Now that we are engulfed in a sea of frat parties, early classes, and job searching, it is important to look back on the days when we were surrounded by puberty, butterfly clips, and T-Pain. As if your middle school days weren't painfully awkward enough that they are imprinted on your brain forever, here's 25 of the many impossible-to-forget components of the average 2000s middle-schooler.


1. The sound of the door creaking open or slamming shut on AIM

Finally, footballManDude__xx_2, your crush for the past three days, has signed on. It's time to put your font into your classic magenta Comic Sans, take a few deep breaths, and say, "Hey, who do you like?"


2. Perfecting your away message

Song lyrics, being annoyed at your mom, and obnoxious quotes like "[real eyes] REALiZE [real liesss]" were so cool until the popular kids started just putting "614.555.2218 txt it."


3. LiveStrong bracelets and silly bands

If your LiveStrong bracelets didn't at least make it past your elbow, you were a straight-up dweeb. LiveStrong bracelets went away about as fast as they came, but they were replaced with everyone's favorite bracelet that could somehow transform into a heart.


4. Stressing over the perfect Top 8 on Myspace

For some reason, friendships were contingent upon who was in those damn top eight slots. For some reason, despite that, everyone still left Myspace creator Tom in their top.


5. Hoping on your next upgrade that your mom would let you get a Voyager

"But mom, this orange EnV 2 isn't cool anymore! I need the front screen so I can see myself make duck lips and a backwards peace sign!"


6. Agonizing over what Abercrombie top you'd wear to the school dance

Of course, you didn't want to look like an absolute fool while lining up with a bunch of 13-year-olds and doing the Soulja Boy dance in front of your teachers.

SEE ALSO: 11 Things You Remember If Alex Russo Was Your Middle School Style Icon

7. Your AIM screen name

Mine was "batnballgurl2213." It later changed to "saraheartsyouuu22" which remained my primary email address until I was embarrassingly far into high school.


8. The least stylish clothing trends

Including, but not limited to, double popped collars, jeans under dresses, T-shirts under tank tops, or shorts with words across the butt.


9. Axe

It's the smell of puberty-ridden middle school boys who didn't understand the concept of "less is more."


10. Bringing your digital camera to everything

Back in our day, we couldn't just take a photo and upload it in seconds. We took 400 pictures on our digital camera, went home, put the memory card into the family computer and took two hours out of the day to upload every single one of them to MySpace with individual captions such as "me &+ muh franz" or "gettt like ussss!(:" on each one.


11. Getting on MySpace and having "new mail"

Your whole stressful day of learning basic algebra and reading "Fahrenheit 451" was instantly better because someone commented "~let me have ur face~" in your newest selfie.


12. Becoming a professional coder for your perfect Myspace layout

You had to channel your inner computer science nerd when you wanted your name to be <bold> or you wanted to add a scroll box to your profile.


13. Writing "hello" or other words on your calculator by turning it upside down

Ha, your clueless teacher thought that you were doing math, but you were really writing "5318008" to show to your friends.


12. Owning photos

There was no logical reason for this, but every time that you uploaded an excessively over-saturated picture taken with your digital camera's self-timer, your friends would race to comment "I own dis pic<3" and you would then change the caption to "Mary owns dis pic<3."


13. Taking middle school sports more seriously than the professionals

Our 17 fans (entirely (made up of our parents) adored the enthusiasm.

14. The world's strangest photo edits

A picture of you and your friends wasn't a picture of you and your friends if it didn't have "Friends" written on it in huge, colorful letters.


15. Signing your friends' yearbooks with "hags"

"Have a good summer" was apparently too much work. The only people who took it seriously were your best friends who took up an entire page writing down all of your inside jokes in various colors.


16. Putting "Aaaaaa" in front of your best friend's name in your phone

Apparently, where they were in your contact list was highly indicative of the merit of your friendship.


17. Averaging two-week-long relationships

During the average relationship you started dating over text via your best friend, talked in person maybe two or three times, you hugged once, and then you broke up over AIM.


18. Writing your favorite song lyrics on your arm or your shoe or the loose leaf paper in your Trapper Keeper

We literally just drew all over ourselves, regardless of how many times our mom told us we were going to "get ink poisoning." Sorry, mom, writing, "Just dance, gonna be OK <3" was worth the possibility of below the elbow amputation.


19. The music

Akon, P!NK, and Timbaland were truly the gifts that just kept on giving. Your parents couldn't even scold you for inappropriate music because it's not like you knew what "U + Ur Hand" or "Promiscuous" was even about. I can tell you exactly where I was when I found out Akon's "I Wanna Love You" was really "I Wanna F*ck You."


20. All of the Lip Smackers

Was an extra pencil pouch just to keep them all together too much?


21. Using the most awkward camera angles

Stretched out and eyes up, that's the way that we liked to take photographs of ourselves.

22. The awkward hell hole that was health class

It was where you kind of learned the science behind a period and everybody laughed at the word "sex."


23. Hoarding highlighters and gel pens

You got bonus points if your highlighters were scented.


24. So many peace signs

We were too awkward to put our arms around each other, so we simply chucked up the deuces and called it a day.

25. Shutter shades

Were they cool-looking? No. Could we see out of them? No. Was there any appeal to them? Not at all.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
houses under green sky
Photo by Alev Takil on Unsplash

Small towns certainly have their pros and cons. Many people who grow up in small towns find themselves counting the days until they get to escape their roots and plant new ones in bigger, "better" places. And that's fine. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought those same thoughts before too. We all have, but they say it's important to remember where you came from. When I think about where I come from, I can't help having an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my roots. Being from a small town has taught me so many important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Keep Reading...Show less
​a woman sitting at a table having a coffee
nappy.co

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

92626
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

71041
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments