Okay, so when I was 13 I had braces, bangs and 102 Webkinz. For reasons beyond my knowledge, though, I had a group of friends who conquered middle school with me. Between girly sleepovers, double dates at the Revere movie theatre, and Naked Brothers Band CD’s, being 13 was the time when we thrived and we didn’t even know it.

AIM was popular.

This was the time where AIM was popular, and in order to talk to someone you would have to wait until they signed in online. So, this means that every night before bed I would sit by my terrible Toshiba computer and wait for Jordan Buonopane to sign online while my mom thought I was working on homework. Part of what I miss about being so young is the mere fact that this was how we effectively showed affection. Words of affirmation via AIM messaging and profiles were nothing short of telling someone you loved and wanted to marry them.

Being 13 meant being too young for drinking, but too old for play dates.

Hanging out with my 13 year old friends literally meant hanging out with them. There was no pressure to answer our phones. There wasn’t school work we were worried about, and we didn’t have to spend every single second of our time together gossiping or worrying that we’re being funny enough, or entertaining enough.

You’re not pressured to get a job during the summer.

When you’re 13, summers consist of seeing a movie every week, working on getting the best tan out of all your friends, and recording your every single move in a Barbie journal, or maybe that one was just me.

You can find the good/ fun in just about everything.

I used to love going shopping with my mom because it meant that I got to run around and look at toys. Today, you couldn't pay me to go shopping with my mom unless it is for clothes for myself. We got excited for everything, and could make do with just about anything.

8TH GRADE.

You can’t even act like 8th grade wasn’t the best year of your life. Popular or not, boy or girl, smart or slacker, you were the rulers of the school. You got to be on the top floor, got out earlier than everybody else, and got first pick for absolutely everything. Not to mention those field trips at the end of the year.