1. Webkinz
You had them, your neighbor had them, every kid in your class had them. The oh so popular toys took your heart by storm with their online code to play with your own virtual version of the stuffed animal. But you didn't just have one. Oh no! You had like fifteen and they all lived in your massive Webkinz house with rooms you designed yourself. What did Webkinz give me? A god complex and an enormous amount of responsibility to keep fictional animal children alive. (It also gave my parents a massive phone bill because I would hog the landline for hours while I talked to my best friend and scheduled Webkinz playdates.)
2. Tamagotchi
As if the responsibility of Webkinz wasn't enough, you probably also had a Tamagotchi. The virtual toy gave you a pet that was and forever will be the most needy thing you've had a relationship with. You had to be constantly feeding it and playing with it or it would start to DIE. I have vivid memories of being anxiously feeding my pet during recess because I was afraid that it would die on me. I have no idea why so many toys put unnecessary responsibility on children, but what I do know is that everyone was stressed about their Tamagotchi. So at least we were all in it together.
3. Silly Bandz
These glorified rubber bands graced the wrist of any cool kid. You even got extra cool points if they glowed in the dark or were sparkly. The rubber bands had different shapes depending on theme and you never wore just one at a time. It was mandatory to have at least 6 on at all times. Eventually this obsession grew into a mini bracelet cartel. Where classmates would deal the coolest shapes and you would trade your generic shapes for the limited edition ones.
4. Japanese Erasers
These erasers were actually pretty cool. They came in fun shapes and colors and you could take them apart and rebuild them. The shapes ranged from yummy foods to cute hamsters. Although they were rarely used as actual erasers, it was a good excuse to bring these tiny toys into the classroom.
5. Uggs
Honestly these shoes were pretty ugly. But everyone had a pair so you just needed one too. You told your mom that you needed them for the winter because they would keep your feet cold (despite them not being waterproof at all) and they lost that fluff about a month after purchasing them. Bonus points if they were the cool ones with the buttons on them!
P.S Now the trend is Birkenstocks, so things haven't gotten much better.
6. Anything that said "Abercrombie", "Gilly Hicks" or "Hollister" on it
These brands dominated the middle school fashion world. The clothing was overpriced and did not accommodate girls with a little bit of a belly. All three brands had a California surfer vibe to them and all the popular kids wore these brands. I, like any other girl BEGGED my mom to buy me an over priced t-shirt that had "HOLLISTER" stamped on the front so I could feel like I fit in. So basically I spent my entire middle school career as a walking billboard for these brands.
P.S It hasn't gotten any better. When I was in high school we traded these brands in for "Calvin Klein", "Lululemon", and "Michael Kors"
