Ah, the classic tale of “When I was your age, I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow… while dodging wild animals.” Every generation swears they won’t fall into that same trap, yet here I am, ready to share my own version.
Dear Kids,
Back when WE were kids…
If you had a crush, you didn’t post about it on social media. No, you wrote it on the bathroom wall or dedicated a song on the radio. And believe me, everyone was listening—because there was nothing else to occupy our time.
When it came to pizza, our choice was Domino’s. Cheese or pepperoni were the only options, and if it took longer than 30 minutes, it was on the house!
Making popcorn was a bit of an adventure. You’d heat up kernels in a pot with oil or, if you were lucky, use a Jiffy Pop. And yes, you might end up with a burn or two on your fingers from the stovetop.
Want to see a movie? You had to wait all year for that one summer blockbuster and then squeeze into a flat-floored theater, balancing a bag of popcorn and a tiny cup of soda between your knees—cup holders were a luxury back then! Oh, and sitting next to a chain smoker? Just part of the experience.
When you wanted to own that movie? You waited for a year until it hit VHS or Betamax, forked over $80, and prayed it wouldn’t snap while rewinding. If it did, you’d grab a pencil to fix it, manually turning the spool to save your beloved copy of Grease 2.
Music on the go? That was a walkman the size of a brick—good luck riding your bike with that! If you really loved a song, you had to beg your mom to take you to the mall to buy the record or cassette. Or you could sit by the radio, hoping to hit record at just the right moment, only to have the DJ ruin it with chatter.
Frozen yogurt? You simply put Yoplait in the freezer.
Cereal prizes? They were actually IN the box, not hidden in a separate plastic compartment. Good ol’ days when you could dig right in!
Selling candy for school meant trudging through the neighborhood with a wagon, door-to-door, without a care in the world. We didn’t worry about kidnappers back then!
Watching TV meant choosing from three channels and crossing your fingers for a good signal.
Want to play video games? You’d shove quarters into an old sock and plead with your mom to take you to the arcade, waiting for your turn while watching everyone else have fun.
At home, if you were lucky enough to have a gaming console, it was likely an Atari or Intellivision connected to a tiny black-and-white TV that your grandmother handed down.
Communication was simple too—if you were lucky, you had a cordless phone, but most of us were stuck with walkie-talkies that barely worked.
Need info for a school report? Your mom would drive you to the library, where you’d dig through the Dewey Decimal system to find your book, wasting hours in the process.
A trip to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal was a treat—no other places offered kids’ meals back then! You got a tiny burger, some fries, a toy that probably contained lead, and they didn’t care about gender for the toy!
And when your mom wanted a diet soda, she settled for the awful Tab, which tasted like it had been mixed with WD-40.
Shoes? You had two options: sneakers or flip-flops, worn until they fell apart, even in the pool!
Oh, and if you needed to take a picture, clip a coupon, look up a word, or find directions? You pulled out your camera, scissors, dictionary, or a map. Because, guess what? THERE WERE NO APPS!
So, toughen up, kids—you really have it pretty good. If we could survive those times, so can you!
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Summary:
Reflecting on childhood experiences reveals how much has changed, from communication methods to entertainment. Kids today have conveniences we could only dream of, and it’s important to acknowledge that while sharing our nostalgic tales.