Ah, middle school.

Girls were meaner, hair was straighter and you had a whole lot to learn. Between trying to score your first boyfriend and maintaining friendships between girl drama, you had a lot to balance. There were a couple of essential items you couldn't have made it through middle school without.

Such as:

1. Lip Smackers

This stuff smelled so good you probably applied it and secretly licked it off from the inside of your lips. It's okay, I know I did.

2. Body Spray

Whether it was Victoria Secret's pear, lime verbena by Bath and Body Works or flirty by PINK, you used a lot of it. If you didn't have time to ritualistically stop by the bathroom in between classes to freshen up- intentionally making yourself late to third period- you could probably be seen sneaking it out of your purse and discretely spritzing it on on the way to class.

3. Mascara

Your mom didn't let you wear it so you snuck it to school in your training bra. "How do my lashes look" you and your BFF would ask each other. By the end of the day you probably had on six coats.

4. Blush

You had never owned foundation but you couldn't live without blush.

5. Gel Pens

Most people wrote with pencils- mostly because teachers made you. If you were rebellious, you wrote with pen. Nothing says bad-ass like turning in your American Government assignment in sparkly purple ink.

6. Flip Phone

Your generation literally invented texting in class with an antique phone like this. Kids before you never had the opportunity to learn to text while hiding a flip phone in the sleeve of a Hollister sweat shirt.

7. Old A&F bag you carried your BFFL's clothes back in

You'd text your bestie the night before so you could plan out your outfits together. For some reason, your clothes weren't good enough. You'd rush to the bathroom before first period to try on her clothes, throwing the A&F bag and that lovely half-nude model into your locker.

8. Gum

You always carried it but never dare to show it to others. The giving of a piece of gum was the peace offering of the time, an immense honor signifying an acknowledgment of the other student.

9. Roll-on lip gloss

The shine was real.

10. An old hall pass

If you were leaving class early, you were probably the coolest person in your class for the day. You got to raise your hand at the beginning of the class and tell your teacher you had to leave. Everyone wanted to know where you were going. All eyes were on you.

11. Magazine cut-outs of Justin Bieber or Jesse McCartney

You were convinced he was going to be your husband one day. You were his biggest fan.

If you weren't fortunate to experience middle school in the early 2000's, it's likely you missed the coolest era of pre-teens. Sure, we didn't have Twitter or iPhones but we had gaucho's, body glitter and style.