As we enter the month of February and I start thinking about my upcoming birthday (11 days from now), I can’t help but feel a little, well… old. Not that I think I’m old old… just kind of amazed that I’m going to be 33 soon. For the record, I’m kind of excited about turning 33. This year is going to hold some big changes in my life and I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens! Plus, 33 has always been my lucky number. Don’t ask me why, it just has.
As I think back to when I was in high school- half the age I am now, it still just doesn’t seem that long ago. Isn’t it strange how some memories are still so clear after decades have gone by? I can still remember so many conversations, routines and events that I thought were such a big deal when I was in high school. In old to nostalgia, this version of 5×5 is dedicated to that wonderful time that I was in high school, circa 1994-1998. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. My generation may not have had the best fashion or the coolest technology- but we definitely had the best music of any genre (as in grunge/alt rock) and I will firmly stand behind that statement. Music was what really and truly defined my high school years, but it’s just a part of this survey today.
Just to give you an idea of high school Lauren, I’ll paint a little picture for you. I was an artsy kid (both visual and performing). I was in school plays, president of the Art Club and played guitar. My friends and I even tried to start a girl band. I had an awesome, fun group of friends and we’d spend our weekends going to concerts, parties or otherwise just barely staying out of trouble. Life was pretty good and I had few cares in the world. {i will insert a photo of me circa mid 90s here when i can find one…..}
5×5: The Generation X Edition
Five fashion trends that I rocked (now matter how silly they seem now!)
1. JNCO jeans
(Source) Yup- mine were just like these, with the fray at the bottom!
2. Visors (shudder!!)
3. Huge hoodie sweatshirts (mainly with an Adidas logo)
4. Old Skool Vans (ahh… these were my FAVORITE!)
5. A fake nosering (that I told everyone was real)
Five movies that define my high school years (and I watched over and over and over again)
1. Reality Bites
2. Clueless (ahhh… the beginning of my Paul Rudd crush…)
3. Singles
4. Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion
5. Pulp Fiction
(Honorable mentions here would include Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy and Billy Madison)
Five things that I did for fun:
1. Drive around in my huge station wagon, which was covered with different stickers. I thought it was quite awesome.
2. Make mix tapes and trade with friends
3. Go to a lot of parties and not always use my best judgment
4. Go to Denny’s with friends at midnight (we thought we were SO cool)
5. Go to a lot of really good concerts. Man, I saw some great bands play! Ahhhh…..
Five bands that were constantly playing in my car, bedroom, on my walkman….:
1. Pearl Jam
2. Smashing Pumpkins
3. Radiohead
4. Mighty Mighty Bosstones
5. The Beatles
Five things I thought would happen in the future:
1. I’d be married by 25 and start having kids (ha!)
2. I’d be a successful art director at a major magazine and live in a big city
3. I would have traveled to Australia several times (always wanted to see the Great Barrier Reef)
4. I might have a short gig with the Spice Girls (this was even my senior prediction!)
5. I would be famous. Some how, some way.
(Yup- I seriously thought all of those things would happen!)
Obviously, the future didn’t work out exactly like I thought it would- but it turned out to be pretty good anyway! It’s crazy to think about how much I have changed over the years, and how much my priorities have changed. I did a lot of dumb things when I was a teenager, but I had a lot of fun doing them. And hey, it got me to where I am today!
Be sure t come back on Monday for a big, fat, juicy, AWESOME announcement! (And hopefully I’ll be celebrating a Ravens win!)
What were you like in high school? What “defines” your generation?
Haha, cute post. Great music choices!
I’ll be 32 in April, and a lot of this hits home. I was a huge fan of Smashing Pumpkins and Mighty Mighty Bosstones (they were my first concert!), and I had those old school Vans, too. My friend and I were obsessed with “Romy and MIchelle’s High School Reunion.” Her real name was Michelle so I became Romy. And yeah. Miss those days.
Ahhh I love it!! My friends and I were obsessed with Romy and Michelle. I need to buy the DVD sometime! I had it on VHS, and actually JUST donated all of my VHS tapes to a used bookstore. I’m pretty sure that I’d still remember all the words. “Do you have a business women’s special?”
I love this post. Have you seen that internet explorer 90s commercial? Google it if you haven’t.
I definitely had those Vans (in burgundy). And you are forgetting the best high school movie ever, Dazed and Confused.
I actually am one of the rare people that had a great time in high school. HFStival, Tibetan Freedom Festival, skipping school to see the Cranberries play on the mall (who only played one song), etc, etc.
Totally Dazed and Confused!! We were obsessed.
I had those vans too, but in green.
Manic panic anyone?
AHHHH how did I forget Dazed and Confused? I’ve seen it 100000 times!! Totally have it memorized!
And I used purple Manic Panic a time or two.
I used green manic and for a week or so it was pretty and then it faded and was pretty ugly. Thank goodness I did what the semi-cool kids did and just did the under portion of my hair.
just watched the commerical.. LOVED IT!!!!!
I went to the HFStival every year from 1996-2000… I still remember seeing Everclear there in 96 and everyone singing “Santa Monica,” and getting kicked in the head in a moshpit during the Presidents of the USA… and skanking to Goldfinger… sigh. I never made it to Tibetan or Lollapalooza. I did go to the WARPED tour and was at the 930 club almost every weekend. I saw Reel Big Fish about 100 times and even hung out with them at a diner once. SUCH a good time.
Oh- and I didn’t see Cranberries on the mall, but saw them play with Collective Soul one time and it was EPIC.
I’m not sure what year this was (but I remember not being 21) but I went to Lollapolooza in WVA with some friends and one of my friends had a salsa jar full of vodka and there was a police checkpoint and I was freaking out. Fortunately, we did not get stopped. Salsa bottle full of vodka, oh those were the days.
Such a fun post!! I was totally the music, speech team, math nerd in high school. And I don’t think anyone would EVER expect I’d pursue anything fitness related. I wasn’t a big kid but I was far from coordinated or sporty. ha!
Oh I love this! I will have to get a little nostalgic and reminisce a little bit. One thing that is hilarious to me is how I had two *NSYNC CDs (one was the Christmas album) and I saw them in concert multiple times, but I hid the CDs when people would come over to my house. Boy bands and Britney. Maybe not the BEST music, but there it is.
I think I know what that announcement is…
my birthday is in 11 days too! or are we counting today as a day? regardless, hooray for february birthdays. all i want to do is go out for a delicious meal and see the new diehard–do you have fun plans?
and i totally agree with you on the music of our generation–best ever.
For some reason this post leaves me so embarrassed. I pretty much felt the same way about everything you did. Ha!
I was apparently so out of the loop in high school! I’ve only heard about these JNCO jeans this year. I’m only like a year and a half older than you so I should have known about these, right?!? Then again high school was my goth phase where I employed copious amount of black (licorice-flavored) lipstick from Spencer’s and listened to a lot of Norwegian death metal. So… yeah.
I need to finish reading this post, but I had to say AMEN, sista, to the 90s having the BEST music ever. I love grunge.
Not sure if you’re on spotify, but my friend Steph made a playlist for every year of the 90s. If you’re not, you should download spotify and use it. I’ll get you hooked up w/ her so you can listen to the list. She’s got good music taste too (and there are some randoms like Ace of Base in there!).
Also, I’m stealing this and doing a 90s flavored 5×5. You’re only a couple years older than me, after all.
PS Billy Corgan with long (or any) hair looks weird.
and we would have been friends in high school. i definitely had that fake nose-ring and a fake belly-button ring too. that’s it. done commenting.
OH AND BIG FAT JUICY ANNOUNCEMENTS FTW. (sorry. I can’t help myself). And we need to catch up!
Um…I don’t have to tell you how super cool I was in high school, lol!!! The music was the best though, for sure! And I totally had those shoes:-)
fun post!!! Haha. I LOVE clueless. still love it
OH MY, i had all those things! and vans. scary.
OMG loved this so much. JNCOS! yesss! PS I nominated you for the sunshine award- if you want, repost the survey on my blog
xoxo
Flashback!
lol
I remember wearing those jeans in middle school and everyone called me MC Hammer the whole day
Also – Clueless!! I think I knew every word to that movie.
Wow, we are the same person! I am the same age as you so I loved pretty much all of these things growing up (how weird is it to see BIlly Corgan with hair??) And JNCO’s were not legit unless they had the frayed bottoms.
Oh wow!! I just took a trip down memory lane. I’m not too far behind you, and I remember all of these! BTW… you are KILLING me with you big huge announcement!