So many people say that they hate 2016 for one reason or another. Usually the people that feel that way begin to feel nostalgic for the past. In these past few days, I've also been feeling nostalgic for one year in particular: 2006. If we look back at 2006, we see how simple life was as opposed to now. So let's take a look back 10 years... to 2006, a much simpler time.
Movies like "Cars," "300," "DaVinci Code," "Devil Wears Prada," "Night at the Museum," and "She's the Man" were just hitting theaters, and they only cost an average of $6.55 to see! However, the highest grossing movie was "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." Meanwhile in the book world, sequels like "New Moon" and "Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters" were hitting the shelves. Also, "Dear John," "Eat Pray Love," and "The Blind Side" could be seen on bookshelves of avid readers.
Being seven in 2006, I was growing up in what I consider the golden age of kid's TV. On Disney Channel, "Hannah Montana" had just started while "Phil of the Future" was just ending, but "Kim Possible," "That's So Raven," and "Suite Life of Zack and Cody" were still going strong. Disney Channel also had released a good bunch of TV movies such as "Read It and Weep," "Cheetah Girls 2," "Return to Halloweentown," and "High School Musical." On Nickelodeon, "iCarly," "Zoey 101," "Drake and Josh," and "Danny Phantom" were still airing. Other notable shows not on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon that started include "Psych," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights," "30 Rock," and "The Hills."
On the radio, tunes like "Hips Don't Lie" by Shakira, "Sexyback" by Justin Timberlake, and "Every Time We Touch" by Cascada were among the top 100 played. Other songs like "Move Along," "Life is a Highway," "Dance, Dance," and "Unwritten" were also popular. But the number one song of 2006? "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter.
We didn't reach the smartphone age in 2006, but we did have a major milestone: the original Nintendo Wii was just released which would go on to be a big success, and then evolve into the Wii U. Google had just bought YouTube, which today is filled with tons of videos and famous YouTubers like Smosh and Pewdiepie among others. iTunes was also breaking ground after the 1 billionth song was just downloaded.
In other news, the Steelers had just won the Super Bowl 40, and NASA declared that Pluto was also officially declared a dwarf planet. And 10 years before Trump vs. Hillary, our President was George W. Bush. In summary, you could conclude that 2006 was a time to be alive. The movies, music, and books were great, and we hadn't become quite so absorbed in technology yet. So here's to 2006, you will be missed.
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." -The Office