Hey you, you’re probably like me, and by that I mean about to graduate high school, eek, scary right? But in all seriousness, the closer the end of senior year approaches, the more I think about being a kid. And how this is a big deal for a lot of people, it’s like the first major checkpoint in life. And I’m living it, freaky.
So, in honor of all those weird feelings, I’d like to talk about an even ickier one, nostalgia. When I found it, people associate nostalgia with a positive emotion, I was befuddled, it’s always made me feel uneasy. I never kept any pictures of myself from middle school or anything, which I now regret. But I just thought looking into the past from the future was weird and unsettling. It felt more like mourning something to me, and it made me sad. That could be a product of society, burrowing the idea that women are only as valuable as they are young or something. I don’t know.
That being said, as I get older, I feel less bad about nostalgia and more generally unsettled, but it has sometimes been pleasant. So in honor of that “growth,” I will be listening to things that make me feel nostalgic about my childhood. Its going to be in two sections: Little Kid, eeeh, and Middle School.
Little Kid:
– Trailers
A lot of my family members lived in trailers when I was little; trailer parks especially make me nostalgic. My granny on my dad’s side had the best Christmases in her old trailer. We used to play my cousin’s Wii U in her trailer and argue. And we all would wait for the bus in my auntie’s trailer. I think of them as a testament to a little goes a long way. A happy kid living in a trailer park can be as happy as any kid in a 3 story house.
- The Wii
Let me tell you something about Wii Sports: Bowling, I get down and I dominate. Hours of playing Just Dance with my older sisters, watching them play Super Mario, and only getting to replay the easy levels. Getting DESTROYED in Mario Kart. And almost passing out during the Michael Jackson Experience. Very fond memories of the Wii.
-LeapFrog
My memories of actually playing games on this thing are pretty much none existent. But the way the buttons and the little pen on this thing feel is such a specific feeling that I can feel when I think about it. I used to just love to hold it I think.
-Nabi
Now this one, I remember these games vividly. Lots of Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds, Kung Fu Panda Kart Racing, and Riptide. I remember chewing ravenously on the little humps on the side as well. And we could watch Curious George on here too, so that was dope.
-Silly little tablet’s name I couldn’t remember
Much like the Leapfrog, I can’t really remember games on this one, upon googling examples, all I could remember was that stepping on them hurt a lot, and I might have had a Hello Kitty one. The movable camera was a blast, though I remember that.
-Reading Eggs and/or Reading Eggs Jr.
I attended school in Brookhaven at Mamie Martin for first and second grade, and they would have us play these interactive educational games. There’s one other website whose name I can’t make myself remember. But what I remember most about reading eggs is the character customization.
-This Clock
Mainly from I wanna say Head start to first grade we used these and they were my favorite ever. I loved working on times, finishing early and just twisting the hands around over and over again.
-Tire Swings
Me and my cousins would play on this a tire swing right outside one of there houses. I remember not really enjoying it cause I would have these shorts on and the tire was rough and hurt my legs. I was also scared there could be a snake or bugs in there. Pretty sure there was once.
-Bug Juice
These things are God awful now, but when I was little, I used to throw these back like crazy. It was a staple for my father to pick me up one of these before dropping me off at home with my mom.
-Kid’s Kingdom
The superior playground, I never had fun here. Except the one time I saw a lizard, got scared, ran, and lost my brand new shoe. I refused to go back for it, so my dad was mad. I remember finding out they closed it here and being devastated.
I have begun to find things that I have now or in recent years that I know will be things to make me nostalgic in years to come.
Nostalgia is an uncomfortable emotion for me, so this was fun to write, and it even became fun discussing with other people my age. I would like to know what makes you nostalgic. I could literally talk about this for hours.
Ohhh, that tablet no one knows the name of really brought me back. Like I remember this one game on it, that had penguins, and you were somewhat building their home. Or something like that, I think it was a counting game. But something that really gives me nostalgia is this type of candy spray. It was in a snake shaped container. I loved those things! My favorite flavor was the sour apple.
If there will be one thing I’m gonna miss about msa, it’s listening to you talk about anything that makes room in your head.
Dude, bug juice still goes hard now I don’t know what you’re talking about, and those clocks use to haunt my dreams because I was just that bad at telling time in first and second grade.