As my teen years are quickly ending, I feel a growing nostalgia for everything I grew up with. As a child, the TV shows I watched and the toys I played with were all that mattered in life and everything else was insignificant. Now that I have an increasing number of responsibilities, I look back on that time and realize just how fast it went, and how much I miss it. Maybe I'm biased, but TV shows now just aren't the same as they were in the late 1990s - early 2000s when I was growing up. Very few of the shows I watched then are still on the air now, which is why my nostalgia pushed me to make a list of the shows I loved during my childhood. Later, I will probably use this list to search these shows online and watch all the re-runs while cataloguing pictures of my younger years and remembering the simple times. Here are 15 of the shows that shaped my childhood.
1. Dragon Tales
This is one of the shows I remember best from my childhood. I mean who didn't want to travel to Dragon Land?! For all of you feeling nostalgic like me and planning to watch these again, this one is on Netflix!
2. The Powerpuff Girls
Two words: GIRL POWER. Anything guys can do, girls can do it better (sorry boys)! Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup were, and always will be, my soul sisters. The show's last original episode was produced in 2005, but Cartoon Network released their shows for 2015-2016, and The Powerpuff Girls have been revamped and are scheduled to start airing new episodes in 2016! My inner child is cheering.
3. Lizzie McGuire
From 2001-2004, this was my go-to show. I don't care how old Hilary Duff is, to me she will always be Lizzie McGuire.
4. The Wild Thornberrys
I wish I could communicate with animals like Eliza....
5. Hey Arnold!
A classic show featuring a kid with a strangely shaped head.
6. Dexter's Laboratory
My love for this show is never-ending. I remember walking around talking in Dexter's voice and watching the cartoon every chance I had.
7. Rugrats
"You stupid babies!!!" One of the most popular shows of the 90s, and one of my favorites.
8. Sesame Street
This one had to make the list. Big Bird, Elmo, Count von Count, and The Cookie Monster are all characters we grew up with that taught us friendship, kindness and how to count!
9. Totally Spies
This Canadian show ran forever, with its last episode premiering in 2014. These girls kicked crime's butt and still went to high school and had normal lives. Another 'girl power' show that I will always adore!
10. Sabrina, The Teenage Witch
Sabrina Spellman made me wish I had magical powers.
11. Recess
There was never an episode of this show that didn't make me laugh. 4th grade never seemed so interesting!
12. Blue's Clues
This show was quirky and funny, but when they switched the host from Steve to Joe I forever felt betrayed.
13. The Amanda Show
I'm not sure there was a kid in the country that didn't watch this show at least a few times while it aired. Let's all take a moment to remember the old Amanda Bynes.
14. Tom and Jerry
Technically Tom and Jerry wasn't a 90s or 2000s cartoon at all, but it's such a timeless show that I always watched it with my parents as I grew up.
15. Spongebob Squarepants
Finally, how could Spongebob not make the list? It's the longest running Nickelodeon cartoon that all ages can enjoy. I watched it as a kid, and I'm still watching the new episodes now.
There are many notable shows that didn't make the list, but these were the first 15 that came to mind when thinking about what I watched as a child. Forever nostalgic.
