As kids, we were constantly striving to be older. Now that we are all grown up, we cannot help but look back on our childhood and reminisce on those simpler times of fortune tellers and Pokemon cards. Lucky for us, we have the amazing era of the early 2000s to look back on, a time where Bill Nye was our favorite celebrity and where Tamagotchis were more coveted than cell phones. What we wouldn't give to go back to these days, even if only for a little while...
For all the nostalgic 20-year-olds out there, odds are your younger days most likely went a little something like this:
7:30 a.m.
Your mom wakes you up and tells you to get ready. You immediately turn on your Nintendo DS and cue up your favorite game at the moment "Nintendogs." You haven’t seen Fluffy all night and know she’s probably parched or famished. Your mind beings to wander. You cannot wait until you can get the new "Animal Crossing" and "Super Mario Brothers" game. You also wish PictoChat didn't only work when you were five feet away from your friends but oh well. If only there was a way such as this to communicate with your friends without having to actually be with them. You contemplate these thoughts as you make your way to the bathroom.
7:40 a.m.
As you walk out of your room, you nearly puncture your entire foot stepping over your Barbie brushes, Crazy Bones, and Beyblades. You walk through your door with the long Hello Kitty beads hanging from the top and admire the pink sparkly princess doorbell that is nailed to the wall.
After brushing your teeth with your Crest sparkly blue toothpaste, you go to your room and put on an outfit from your most favorite store in the entire world: Limited Too. You make sure the Bermuda shorts follow the fingertip rule and pair a t-shirt under your babydoll tank top so it will meet the dress code.
To tie the look together, you put on your mood ring and snap bracelet. Can't forget that Livestrong bracelet. You also put on your half-heart best friend necklace that Susie got you and a choker. You look in the mirror. You are one stylish chick. You apply some "Berry Jelly Donut" flavored Lipsmackers to your lips and can’t wait until you’re a teenager and can wear lipstick.
7:50 a.m.
You go downstairs and eat breakfast. Your mom makes you eat a Flinstone vitamin and you nearly gag as you choke down its bitterness. You swear that shiz is made of chalk. Gross gross gross. You decide tomorrow you will hide it somewhere when she's not looking.
8:45 a.m.
You kiss your mom goodbye and speed off on your Razor scooter to the bus stop. Upon taking it out of the garage, the bottom accidentally twists funny and nails you in the shin. You swear you have never experienced a pain as excruciating as this. You cry a little bit but quickly blink away the tears as you race to the bus stop that’s right around the corner. You hope the scary sixth graders who sit at the back of the bus won't notice your tear stains.
11:00 a.m.
After your morning meeting, math, and language arts, your teacher takes you down to one of the greatest days of the year: Book Fair. You are annoyed because Anthony butted you in line even though the teacher said you were the line leader, but you quickly get over it once you see the beautiful library transformation.You choose the books with the sparkly colorful covers because you are young and superficial. You also decide to spend $1.79 on the purple fuzzy pencil that you’ve been eyeing ever since you got in. What a day to be alive.
12:00 p.m.
After an exhausting social studies class ("in 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue"), you are starving. You eat your usual sandwich, Capri Sun, and Gushers. Your mom even packed you a DunkAroos!! Not as gourmet as a Lunchables meal but the Teddy Grahams and frosting will surely make up for it.
At the bottom of your lunch box, you find a note from your mom that says "I love you!!! XOXOXOXO." Your face turns red and you put it away quickly before your friends see. Luckily, Robby, your crush/the most athletic boy in the whole class, doesn't see because he's sitting behind you at the boys' table trading Pokemon cards.
That reminds you... You and your friends NEED to create a code name for Robby so you can talk about him without ~God forbid~ anyone finding out that you actually like him. After much contemplation, you finally settle on the codename "Blueberry," since he always wears blue Aeropostale shirts. Uh oh. He definitely caught you looking at him. You stick your tongue out and roll your eyes at him. You make a note to be extra mean to him so he doesn't think you like him.
Afterward, you and your friends talk about how annoyed you are that they banned Tamagotchi's and Heelys from school. Meanwhile, you hear Tiffany at the other end of the table bragging about her new “Firefly” phone. So lucky. You wonder when your parents will finally let you get a phone. You also wonder what your life will be like when you're older. Will you live in a shack? An Apartment? Maybe a house? Perhaps a mansion? You play MASH with your friends until your fate for the day is unfolded.
1:30 p.m.
Your teacher puts on "Magic School Bus" during science class, but you really wish you were watching "Bill Nye the Science Guy." You fidget with the tiny fuzzy bears inside your desk. You also rearrange the neon smelly erasers and gummy pencil grips so they are sitting neatly right in front of your tye-dye book-sock-covered textbooks.
2:30 p.m.
Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, you discover that you have computer class today. You can't wait to play the best/most frustrating game of all time, Zoombini's. And also Oregon Trail and FunBrain. During class, Robby a.k.a. "Blueberry" sits three seats away from you. If this is his way of trying to tell you he likes you, it's totally working. Life is good.
4:30 p.m.
You come home and go onto the computer. Your mom doesn’t like it when you play long, so you try to be quick. First, you type your email (smileygurl_soccerluver96@aol.com) into AOL. You quickly email Susie about how funny the “pants on the ground” guy was on last night's American Idol, since you forgot to tell her today. You are sure to decorate the message with lots of "<3333" and ":-)))))" and "lolz" and end it with a short and to-the-point "g2g ttyl."
Afterward, you go on “Neopets." You finish your time by hunting for gems at the "Curio Shop" on Webkinz. You are very nervous about the latest rumor that's swarming about how Dr. Quack will kill your Webkinz at midnight on Sunday. You already know you will be getting zero sleep that night. At least there's still Club Penguin.
Sidenote: A couple years earlier, you spent most computer time on either myscene.com, pollypocketworld.com, or barbie.com, but you claim you are much too old for that babyish nonsense now (not really but that's what you tell everyone).
5:00 p.m.
You start your homework assignment. You are supposed to write a poem about spring. You spend 10 minutes playing with different fonts and colors on Word Art but you eventually decide on the classic rainbow one that everyone always uses.
You then notice the paint icon on your desktop and get distracted yet again. You use your artistic skills to create a beautiful and scenic beach landscape. You then set the masterpiece as your desktop background before you get back to work.
6:00 p.m.
You finish your homework by reading for your Reading Log. You are currently in the midst of "Bridge to Terabithia." You already know how it ends since you saw the movie a few days ago. It was the first movie you ever cried in. You also have a major crush on Josh Hutcherson. Maybe that’s why it left such a big impact on your heart.
You also spend some time reading the newest edition of the "American Girl" magazine and also reading the juicy gossip on Miley Cyrus and Nick Jonas's relationship in your J-14/Tiger Beat magazines.
6:30 p.m.
You play outside with the neighborhood kids. Today, you and the gang decide on "Capture the Flag." Eventually, the game ends because someone cheated/fell/cried so you spend the rest of the evening playing with your "Skip It" and hopping on your Pogo Stick. You also practice your jump rope skills for the "Jump Rope for Heart" competition in gym class tomorrow.
7:00 p.m.
You shower using your favorite Bath and Body Works American Girl shower gel and shampoo. Since you finished your homework early, your parents let you watch the newest “Mary Kate and Ashley” movie, but you knew they would let you since the movie is due back at Blockbuster tomorrow.
8:30 p.m.
Your landline rings. Susie, your BFFL, is on the other line (she doesn't even have to look your number up in the school directory, that's how close you are). She squeals with excitement that "High School Musical Dance Along" is on tonight at 9:00 p.m.!!!!! You scream with joy. While you are waiting, you watch the end of Lizzie McGuire. You are annoyed by the commercial breaks but you find that one commercial with the Chef Boyardee can that rolls home to be oddly satisfying.
Finally, "let's watch a Disney Channel movie" starts playing from the television accompanied by random kids doing splits through film. You brace yourself for the epic-ness that is about to unfold before your eyes.
9:30 p.m.
You make it to the end of Breaking Free before your mom makes you go to bed, so you make her tape the ending on VHS. You make sure all your Webkinz and Beanie Babies are all comfy under the covers. Today, you conclude, was totally cool beans. Tomorrow, however, will not be. Why? Your teacher announced during dismissal that tomorrow is "Puberty Talk" day. The mere word "puberty" makes you twitch. You break into a cool sweat thinking about the how awkward the whole ordeal will be. As much as you can't wait to be a teenager, you decide you are okay with just being a kid for now.
You shuffle through your "Kidz Bop," "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus," and "Disney Mania" CD's, before deciding on "The Cheetah Girls." That night, you dream of Zac Efron's luscious locks, and also of Josh Hutcherson's dreamy eyes and adorable freckles, while the soft chords of "Cinderella" from the original Cheetah Girls play softly on your boombox.
It's days like these that you wouldn't trade for the world.