Walkmans, Flannels, And Other Essential Parts Of Being A '90s Teen

If you were a child of the ’90s, I know you look back and think about the things you did with your friends with fondness. Sure, you’re probably also wondering how in the hell you are still alive, but let’s face it, being a kid in the ’90s was amazeballs and we feel lucky we were there for it.

Sometimes I wish I could have a chunk of my ’90s childhood back — two weeks would be perfect — because if you had the pleasure of growing up during that decade, you probably did most of the following at least once and loved it:

1. Used Sun In and tanning magnifier when you went to the beach. (Side note: don’t do this.)

2. Brought a Walkman with you everywhere you went.

3. Traded one sneaker with each other.

4. Wrote long notes to each other at night using glitter pens and folded them just so.

5. Got together to watch My So Called Life, Beverly Hills 90210, and Melrose Place.

6. Went shopping for Girbaud jeans, while wearing your LA Gear high-top sneakers.

7. Had a closet full of flannels.

8. Went together to get the epic Rachel-from-Friends hair cut.

9. Made each other mixed tapes.

10. Borrowed each other’s Laura Ashley floral dresses and did each other’s hair for dances.

11. Slurped back ramen noodles after school while talking on a phone that had a telephone cord.

12. Waited with bated breath for the new MTV videos to come out.

13. Spent Saturday afternoons walking to the drug store to try on perfume and get some clear Pepsi.

14. Super-sized your fast food order when you could afford it.

15. Spent Friday nights at the local fro-yo joint hoping to run into your crush.

16. Drove around town aimlessly on the weekends looking for something to do.

17. Drank Sunny Delight together while playing sports.

18. Felt classy trying your first Zima– probably in the back of someone’s car.

19. Took pride in your growing collections of butterfly clips, velvet scrunchies, and clip-on bows.

20. Got really freaking excited to go to Bath and Body Works and smother yourself in glitter lotion that smelled liked fruit or moonlight.

21. Got together on Friday nights to watch TGIF with Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Boy Meets World on ABC.

22. Had a collection of Teen Beat magazines to peruse while listening to the weekly top 40 hits with Casey Kasem.

23. Talked about your Furby and Beanie Baby collection and spent quality time organizing and setting them up in your bedroom.

24. Had a thing for guys who dowsed themselves in Obsession or Drakkar cologne.

25. Celebrated your first email address.

26. Got an older friend or family member to add your to their blockbuster account so you could rent R-rated movies on your own.

27. Wore violet and turquoise eyeshadow together.

28. Went rollerblading together around your neighborhood without a helmet.

29. Spent your money on cassettes that only had one song on them and played them over and over until your parents threatened you.

30. Traded CDs regularly.

31. Talked about how you would marry one of the singers from The Backstreet Boys or N*SYNC.

32. Drooled over Britney Spears’ first video — Baby One More Time — and started dressing like her.

33. Spent hours playing with your Tamagotchi.

34. Danced together to Hansen’s song “MMMBop.”

35. Got CB radios to communicate with each other.

36. Had PlayStation marathons while eating Cool Ranch Doritos.

37. Made each other plastic woven key chains.

38. Mastered the Macarena.

39. Played Nintendo while eating Dunkaroos.

40. Watched all the Disney movies while eating Warheads.

I don’t know about you, but I’m craving some ramen and a good mixed tape-listening session. And what would really be the cherry on top would be to have some of my friends from the ’90s join me and talk about who we used to be back in the days when we pegged our pants and had raging crushes on Leonardo DiCaprio.