When I was in middle school, you were considered "cool" if you got to wear makeup to school. It didn’t matter if your eyeliner was on fleek, or if your brows were flawless — if you had that sparkly blue eye shadow, you were a goddess. And if you were rich or cool enough to be wearing Abercrombie & Fitch, just consider yourself front-of-the-lunch-line material. Compared to kids these days, all of those possessions seem outlandish — but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I was about 12 when I started middle school, and let me tell you, I had no sense of or interest in clothes or fashion — and neither did most girls in my class. Like, if it was one of those lucky days where one out of my three Hollister T-shirts were clean, I felt like I was on top of the world. These days, kids are wearing outfits that cost more than my phone bill. Calvin Klein, MK, Ralph Lauren — seriously? What ever happened to good old Bobby Jack. I feel like now it’s become a competition to see who can get their hands on the most expensive or best name brand items. Middle schoolers should be concerned with what color hair chalk they’ll be using next week, not the "7 for $27" sale at Victoria’s Secret.
So, back to the blue sparkly eye shadow: When my friends and I would hangout and give each other “make overs,” it would usually consist of some neon-colored eye shadow, bubble gum pink blush and an artificially flavored lip gloss — all of which were most likely purchased at the dollar store. But none of that mattered because we had so much fun turning each other into clowns. Of course, at the time, we thought we looked great. But now we have the luxury of being able to look back at these awful pictures and laugh at ourselves, while also remembering how much fun we had doing it. And since when is it acceptable for middle schoolers to have Sephora, MAC and Kylie Jenner Cosmetics? Where are you getting the money to buy these overpriced products? And why do you look like a 21-year-old woman, when you’re a 13-year-old girl? When you look back at these pictures are you going to say, "Damn, my contour was not on point that day"?
The worst difference of all between now and then, I think, is the prominence of cell phones and the internet. I would spend hours flipping through magazines like J14 and Tiger Beat, just so I could find the best posters to rip out and hang on my walls. My friends and I would do the dumbest stuff (photo shoots, kickball, imaginary games), but we would be outside until the streetlights came on. Unfortunately, instead of searching for the best spots for hide and seek, kids are more concerned with their "follower to following ratio" on Instagram. Seriously? And if they are outside, they can’t be without their phones because God forbid they miss a Snapchat moment!
I don’t want to sound hypocritical. I love Snapchat and Instagram as much as the next person, but I’ve also had my childhood. In my opinion, girls who are 10 years younger than me shouldn’t have the same interests (or outfits) as I do. “You have your whole life to be old, but only a few years to be young.” (Thank you, Khloe Kardashian, for being so inspiring.) Enjoy your young years — that $50 eye liner will still be there when you get back from building a fort under the kitchen table.
