Just last week I wrote a little bit about my time in high school, but I didn’t want to miss out on this fun link-up from my blog pals!
This time I’m bringing you all the way back to 1993, when I started 9th grade. This is my yearbook photo.
I woke up around 5:30 to shower and get ready for school before my brother and sister got up and pushed me out of our one and only bathroom. I don’t know why I needed so much time though, my beauty routine was really easy. Noxzema was my favorite thing ever. It was refreshing and moisturizing and the scent totally brings me back. I loved using Sun-In to get my brunette hair that perfect shade of orange and Aussie hairspray was the best way to get that little wave above my bangs. That’s another nostalgic scent. It was like rubbing alcohol and grape. The only makeup I used was neutral eye shadow, mascara, and LOTS of black eyeliner for my lower water line. Oh, the ’90s. I wish someone would have told me how it made my small eyes look even smaller! Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers was my signature scent. My mom was allergic to it, so I had to keep it in the mail box and spritz it on the front porch before walking to school.
This was the year my fashion transitioned from being a little bit preppy to a whole lot (poser) skater. I basically dressed like a dude. In the fall, when it was still warm and sunny, I wore my jellies, but a few weeks into the school year I traded them in for Vans or Converse. I had about five Champion zip-up hoodies, wore Levi 501s, and too big Stussy, Mossimo, and Quicksilver tees. What. A. Loser.
I painted my nails with metallic Hard Candy nail polish and wore a yin yang necklace often. I slapped a scrunchie on one wrist and my Burger King Nightmare Before Christmas watch on the other. I packed my generic Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses into my JanSport backpack just in case the sun made an appearance. I ended up with four of those backpacks because I wanted a new color every year.
I used a Sanrio Keroppi tin pail as my purse with a change pouch for my ABS card and money. I kept a CoverGirl compact, a mini brush, an eyeliner pencil to touch that sh*t up a few times a day, and a whole lot of lip options in it. My favorites were Rolly Lip Smackers lip gloss, Candy Kisses watermelon lip balm, and Lip Lix in some shade of brown or burgundy that smelled like baked goods or coffee.
I lived about four blocks from my junior high so after school my friends and I would take a detour to 7-Eleven to grab a nutritious afternoon snack of sugary drinks and candy, then head to my house. We’d watch reruns of Saved by the Bell on TBS, hang out in my bedroom listening to CDs on my CD player, and use my see-through phone to call friends and probably prank call boys. Tough life.
I had always listened to Top 40, but thanks to the new alternative station (107.7 The End), my taste in music was also evolving. My favorite songs were Weak by SWV, Cryin’ by Aerosmith, If I Had No Loot by Tony Toni Tone, What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes, If I Ever Fall In Love by Shai, and Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms.
I got my first CD player in 1992. It was a large boombox with detachable speakers so I felt really fancy. My very first CD was the Aladdin soundtrack, but I quickly bought more: janet. by Janet Jackson, Everybody Else is Doing It… by The Cranberries, The Chronic by Dr. Dre, Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins, Very Necessary by Salt-n-Pepa, and The Bodygaurd soundtrack. I still love each of these albums!
I had a 13-inch TV in my room, though I don’t remember watching it very often. The only show I was addicted to was Beverly Hills, 90210. In 1993, Melrose Place became another show I watched every single week. Otherwise I caught episodes of Roseanne, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Full House, and American Gladiators with my family in the living room every once in a while.
I was into YA horror fiction books. Christopher Pike, R.L. Stein’s Fear Street series, and the Point Horror series were my favorites to read. I’d stock up on these little paperbacks during our school’s book fair and trade with my friends. I feel like I should go back and read a few.
I also subscribed to a ton of magazines. My absolutely favorite was Sassy. It just didn’t feel like a typical preppy, glossy teen magazine. But I also got YM and Teen magazines. Love those quizzes!
Movies were my jam. There was really nothing else to do with your friends in junior high besides have your parents drop you off at the mall, eat a crappy snack in the food court, check out the new Sanrio stuff at the Hallmark store, then walk two blocks up to the movie theater. My favorite movies that year were What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Sandlot, Addams Family Values, Rudy, Free Willy, Benny and Joon, The Good Son, Son In Law, Matinee, and Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park is still one of my all-time favorites and I’m embarrassed to admit how much I currently quote some of these! They must have left an impact.
So, that’s what I was like back in my day. Please tell me I’m not alone in all this nerdiness!
