Were you born in the late 80s to early 90s? Did you watch a lot of television to keep you quiet or entertained while parents and guardians were working or otherwise occupied? Can you remember the shows you used to watch with fondness?

Me too!

I was mostly a Nickelodeon girl as opposed to a Disney fanatic, but PBS also had some amazing programs for kids back then, as they do now. So grab some Dunk-a-roos, a Fruit Roll-up and a small bottle of juice in an unnaturally bright color shaped like a barrel and strap in, we're walking down memory lane today. I hope you're ready for some nostalgia

Let's start with the early life.

If you were like me, you were a massive "Barney" fan when you were still in diapers. The bright colors, fun music and encouraging messages were all great for children. My mother regularly tried to get me to clean my room by spontaneously singing the "clean up" song. It did not work well.

But suppose you were more of a cartoon fan.

That means you probably spent a lot of time watching "Blue's Clues," another one of my favorites. Steve was funny and intelligent and felt like the best babysitter in the world.

But let's not forget where we all came from and where we all wanted to be.

We all knew the way to Sesame Street.

I had a particular fondness for puppet-based shows like "Sesame Street" such as "Fraggle Rock," "Eureka's Castle," "Between The Lions" and "Bear in the Big Blue House" because all of the characters were wildly different from one another. Things like race weren't even suggested because everyone was so absurdly different. Bears, birds, otters, Fraggles and whatever the heck Oscar the Grouch was were created to erase barriers and teach kids that everyone is deserving of respect and friendship.

I also loved cartoons based on this idea, like "Rollie Pollie Ollie," "Franklin," "Little Bear" and "PB &J Otter," the last of which probably had one of the greatest theme songs ever in a children's show.

They taught me valuable-- if not very corny-- lessons about life, friends and being a turtle/bear/otter/robot. The most important ones to me, though, were the ones that promoted reading.

Reading is important, and this show pushed it like parents push veggies. I was always allowed to watch as much "Arthur" or "Reading Rainbow" as I wanted because they promoted reading. Also, we should all thank LeVar Burton and the gift he gave to humanity in the form of "Reading Rainbow."

Moving onto the more sophisticated cartoons...

I don't know about any of the other ladies reading this article, but I was all about "The Powerpuff Girls." They were literally everything I aspire to be: sweet like Bubbles, intelligent like Blossom and a badass like Buttercup, all while retaining femininity and individuality.

One thing that always discouraged me in the 90's was the clear gender duality. Pink or blue, girl or boy-- even McDonald's toys were referred to as "boy toys" or "girl toys", Barbies or Hot Wheels. I wasn't about that. I loved my action cartoons like "Batman: The Animated Series," "Power Rangers" and "Gargoyles."

Those shows taught me about honor and integrity and to protect those I love. I was regularly made fun of because I enjoyed shows that were mainly targeted at boys. Now, (in my old age) I see that these shows were for all children, and I should've spent less time worrying about what others thought. Also, you try to tell me that the original "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" was not a gem.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

I also really enjoyed adventure shows like "Chip N' Dale: Rescue Rangers," "Tale Spin" and "Duck Tales," but who didn't enjoy "Duck Tales"?

Nobody, that's who.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention my absolute favorite show growing up, "Rugrats." I watched it far longer than I probably should have, but it amused me endlessly and I always enjoyed it. I think the absurdity of the show was what drew me in.

That and I liked sweets just as much as Angelica and it made me feel less guilty about consuming more chocolate than the average American child.

Game shows were wildly popular in the 90's, especially ones made for children and teenagers. Let's face it: if you didn't want to run through the temple to assemble the Shrine of the Silver Monkey (and if you screamed at your TV every time some stupid kid couldn't get it right) on "Legends of the Hidden Temple" or you didn't want to climb the Agro Crag on "GUTS," you weren't a real 90's kid.

There was a random genre of 90's TV show that inspired me more than anything else. It was an anthology for kids-- the very show that drove me to create my very first short horror film.

"Are You Afraid of the Dark?" was one of the greatest shows to come out of the 90's. If it didn't scare the living cheese out of you, you're lying. It was like "The Twilight Zone" for kids. Monsters, ghosts, evil clowns, aliens, vampires - this show had it all, and it ended with an amazing movie, "The Tale of the Silver Sight."

But not every show in the 90's was utterly terrifying. Sitcoms still reigned supreme on primetime TV, and we all enjoyed them every Friday night. We didn't go to the mall or the bowling alley, we invited our friends over to watch the Friday Night Line Up. "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Seventh Heaven" and "Boy Meets World" were all on the docket.

TV wasn't the only thing I enjoyed as a child. I went outside with my sister and my neighbor and we all played until the street lights came on. I rode my bike, I got dirty, I scraped my knees. I had fun. But television wasn't demonized like it sometimes is today. Some parents won't let their children watch more than one program a week, thinking TV will rot their brains, but I learned a lot from these shows. I learned to be brave in the face of adversity. I learned to be strong and true to my friends.

And I never missed an episode of "Doug."