We all have our own concept of time. Some watch as it floats lazily by, while others frantically chase it to the ends of their existence. Time is elusive and it is final, and we often wonder where it's gone.
I've noticed that many people around my age wonder the same thing, as they too try to grapple with newfound bouts of nostalgia and random waves of "old person feeling" in this rapidly changing technological word.
We are '90s kids, and we are growing up fast.
What does that mean for us? In case people have forgotten, we grew up as first-hand witnesses to some of the biggest leaps in technological history. We watched as the Internet became the beautiful monster it is today. We were there when Time awarded the Nintendo 64 the 1996 machine of the year. We played Tamagotchi on tiny, handheld eggs, not on our smartphone.
Every generation can say that things were "simpler back then," but there's a reason why the term "'90s kid" is such a hotly debated topic. Being a '90s kid carries a sort of emotional baggage that none of us can truly pinpoint.
Life simply went too fast. We are able to clearly remember things that were so integral to our youth while also watching them go utterly obsolete. Everything, down to the very way two humans would communicate, was rapidly changing in front of us, things that the younger generations have simply come to expect, while we're stuck tearing up over old AIM chats from when we were in high school.
As we all grow old, we carry our experiences with us to our graves, and it's comforting to know that you're not alone. Nineties' kid syndrome is something that's real, and it's hitting adults everywhere. The symptoms are unmistakable. and include, but are not limited to:
1. Using the word "not" in an argument, primarily by gaining your opponents trust through agreeing with them, then pulling a vicious act of betrayal, by screaming the word "not!" at the very end.
2. Saying things like "You know, Furbies were actually really cute."
3. Playing with a Yo-Yo ball.
4. Whispering lines from the movie "Titanic."
5. Wearing mood rings and/or rolling up one pant leg.
Regardless of anything we say or do, the '90s will forever live on in our hearts and in our minds; but most importantly, it will be immortalized through the Internet. Although I'm glad things like fanny packs and chain wallets have cycled their way out of the cultural loop, we'll always be reminded of how wild a ride the '90s was. To some, that ride will never quite be over.
Here's to hoping we never see things like the soul patch again, though.
