With 2008 being a special anniversary year of my high school graduation, I've been thinking about the good things that I experienced around that time. And shortly thereafter. Heady years of young adulthood, full of bravado. The time when you think you know everything, but in reality know not much of anything. So in honour of all that, here were some good things that I experienced in that decade:
- Ditched the braces.
- Got contact lenses.
- Got rid of the pimples (for a while, anyway). Yes, I was a bit of a trainwreck in those early years. And it was helpful that Dad had a great health insurance plan.
- Irreplaceable, irrepressible 80's music. Awesome period of music, still hooked, don't know if that's a good thing? I attended some amazing concerts : Madonna, Paul Young, Tears for Fears (lined up in the rain at 3 AM for those tickets and thought it was FUN!), the Eurythmics, Howard Jones, Blue Rodeo.
- Started dating. And practiced a fair bit, practice makes perfect after all. Even dated a guy who drove a Porsche. I was impressed with that...the car, I mean. Not so much the guy. And another who was a kickboxer/ hunter. Not too much my type either.
- Graduated from high school. High school was actually quite fun, and even though I was in the band, so were a lot of other kids who came from all groups- cool, not so cool, smart types, not-so-smart. With the exception of the stone-heads. But maybe they were there too and I was just too naive to know. I made some lifelong friends in high school.
- Graduated from university. University wasn't so much fun for me, at least not the first couple of years. Once I found a smaller program it got much better.
- Visited China, Japan and Hawaii. In one fell swoop, over a period of six weeks. With the parents. They figured after I graduated from high school, the opportunities for the family to go on such trips would be few and far between. And they were right. We didn't do another family trip (ie. all the kids and the parents) until the cruise almost four years ago!
- Worked at a brewery as a student. Got a free two-four with every pay cheque. Dream summer employment you say? You bet.
- John Hughes movies and St. Elmo’s Fire. Despite the fact that I found Molly Ringwald a tad annoying, I still very much enjoyed the movies she was in. I still get a kick out of watching "The Breakfast Club", "Sixteen Candles", "Pretty in Pink". And then graduated to St. Elmo's Fire. I had a bit of a thing for Andrew McCarthy. And when I first met Ian, thought he sort of looked like him from certain angles. Maybe at about 20 feet away without my contacts on ...you see what you want to see, sometimes.
- Travelled to Europe for the first time. Without the parents.
- Got my first fulltime job. Crazy busy job, but it allowed me to buy my first car all on my own.
- And right in the middle of that period... met the man who would be Husband. And that would be THE best thing of the 80s for me.
20 comments:
What a great list. I'm glad I stopped by late on this Thursday evening.
I got married and also became a mom in the 80's. It was a pretty cool decade even with the huge shoulder pads.
We have so much in common.
'Cept I've never worked at a brewery.
Off to get an application for one right now, whistling, "Sweet dreams are made of thiiiiiiisssss" the whole way.
Love it! The 80s...such an amazing time. The music, the movies...everything about the 80s was memorable!
Gosh! After reading Jocelyn's comment, I've got that song in my head! LOL!
Now I feel like going out and buying "Trivial Pursuit, the 80s version"!
I loved those movies, too. But my serious 'coming of age' movie was Before sunrise - which I saw just before I met Mike. At that point, you were probably already married. Caught up with you, though, didn't I?! :)
Heidi
Wow. I would never be able to post an entire decade in one post. That's awesome.
Ah, yes - the 80s. Good times. I still listen to 80s tunes all the time and I was absolutely SHOCKED to hear some of them on the oldies station the other day.
Great list! Thinking about all those John Hughes movies brings back memories and I too, found Molly Ringwald extremely annoying. I think it was her pouty lips!
Loved the 80's music. I also love that a lot of it is on Guitar Hero 3, so that my 8 year old is now talking about classic rock songs... Heh, heh...
That is a great list. I would have to add "rocked a bikini" in the 80s. Sadly the 80s were a while ago!
Howard Jones just played a show around here and I missed it. I'm such an 80's-aholic, completely addicted to the music and pop culture from that time. I was born in 1971 so during the 80's I was age 9-19...the formative years...I should start posting pictures on my blog...you'd get a kick out of what I looked like and what I used to wear.
You had a great time in the 80's - great list. I love St. Elmo's Fire! Hope you have a good weekend - see you soon. Kellan
Great list! I love the 80's, too. I graduated from high school in '83 (25 years!) and from college in '87. There was nothing like the fashions and music from that era. (I still love neon!)
Thanks for sharing your memories and reminding me of my own.
Happy TT
Jessica The Rock Chick
I loved the 80's. The music. The bangs. The clothes.
Everybody was having a good time. Yes? Sounds like you were. :) Nice list!
1, 3, and 4.
Me too.
A decade is bound to be eventful when you start it at the age of thirteen and end it at twenty-three...
I love your list! I also had a thing for Andrew! But my husband doesn't look anything like him. And we met in the 80s, too. :)
The music and the TV shows are the things I remember the most. What a fun list.
I'll tell you what creeped me out about the 80s:
Mare Winningham.
You got to see Madonna in concert? Wow. I would go in a heartbeat still.
My hubby would still be dressing like it was the 80's if I hadn't intervened.
:-)
A free two-four with every cheque? Damn, I am NOT telling hubby of this job.... ;)
I got married in 1980... it was a decade of all our friend's marriages.
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