It seems like many of my friends and online buddies are reminiscing about the 1990’s or writing blogs about their favorite memories from that decade. Being someone who spent his tween, teen, and early adult years in the 1990’s, I can’t help but not feel nostalgic about that past decade and write about my own memories of the 1990’s and how things have changed since then.
1) College & Computers- I didn’t get my first computer until 2000 and I remember not needing one for the first half of my college career. Back then some professors accepted handwritten papers or a person would just type his or her term paper on a typewriter or if you were lucky you’d have a nice word processor. I remember many nights pounding away a 20 plus page term paper with my word processor and then having to go over it with whiteout correcting my many typos. Also, with the Internet in its infancy, professors didn’t post notes/lectures online and it was crucial that you came to class each day. With the Internet not being common on the college campuses, e-mail wasn’t available either. If you had a specific question for a professor you had to meet him/her during their office hours and you didn’t have the privilege of e-mailing your paper if you were late/couldn’t make it to class. Maybe if you were lucky you could drop it off in his or her mailbox. I’ll admit things definitely were easier for me when I got that computer in 2000 because my papers looked better (spell check), I didn’t necessarily have to go to every class, and if I was running late I could always e-mail my paper to the professor.
2) My Style- back in the 1990’s among my social network of friends, it wasn’t cool to be preppy/conform to trends and my friends and I would pride ourselves as being “different”. To us different meant black/freaky clothing and lots of spiked and chained jewelry and then later to “Raver” type clothing. Before stores like “Hot Topic” came along, my friends and I had to make our own freaky clothing by going to the local Goodwill and buying clothing that looked different/cool. I remember buying something and then modifying it with safety pins or cutting holes etc… Also, for really cool clothes, we’d save up our money and plan shopping trips to Georgetown and hit up all the cool stores like “Smash” or “Commander Salamander” and even “Urban Outfitters” for the latest in freaky fashion. As for spiked jewelry, if we didn’t get it at one of the listed stores, we’d wait until October and buy some cheap stuff at the local Halloween store. As for Raver clothing, I didn’t necessarily have to go to Georgetown as it was starting to become the trend in mid 1990’s, but I just remember how silly I looked with those wide legged jeans. It was just so much material and on my little body I seemed to swim in all that extra fabric. Also, those pants weren’t too practical on rainy days as they’d drag on the ground and get wet. It was very nasty going to a public restroom and noticing your pants dragging in a puddle of piss water on the floor.
3) Pen Pals- before online personals took over; back in the 1990’s you’d post a personal in your favorite magazine/newspaper with the hopes of meeting someone of like interests. You’d pay how ever much $ and you’d be allowed so many words and many people resorted to acronyms or key phrases like “GWM looking 4 Str8 acting sk8er boi” etc. Sadly, with only so much space and not being able to post a picture, you’d never really know who or what you’re talking to. For the most part I met some cool people responding those types of personals and still talk to a few of them on occasion via e-mail, but it’s not the same like when we used to write “snail-mail” letters back and forth. Although it took longer, it seemed a bit more intimate/personal and it allowed me the freedom to doodle in each letter or spray the letter with cologne etc… That sounds so cheesy LOL.
4) The Gay Scene- back in the 1990’s there still wasn’t a lot of positive images of gays on television and the gay scene was still very much underground. Many people (myself included) didn’t make a point to announce their homosexuality out of fear of rejection or fear for your life. In MD the anti-discrimination laws didn’t come into effect until around 1999 or so and there was constant fear of being fired from a job, denied employment, or denied housing for being gay. Also, before the Matthew Sheppard incident back in 1998, gay bashing was a rather common thing and even tolerated by the police/school systems. I remember being fired from my job at Screen Designs because the workers/boss thought I was gay or how in school I was harassed and bullied for being gay while the teachers/staff didn’t do anything, but say something along the lines of “that’s what happens when you chose to be different”. As for television, I remember the uproar about Ellen’s “Coming out Episode” and how shows like MTV’s “Real World” started to challenge people’s stereotypes of gays by casting relatively normal people who happened to be gay, but still Gays on TV were few and far between. As for meeting other gays, it was hard and you literally had to know someone who knew someone or know the secret hangout spots to meet someone, but again there was that fear of being found out/bashed.
5) Anime- although anime/Japanese animation has seemed to explode in recent years, back in the 1990’s it was still an underground thing. Japanese cartoons were few and far between on television and were usually reserved for crappy time slots such as 5:30 or 6:00am. Also, you never knew how long the show would remain on the air so you had to make sure to set your VCR because again that could be the last time you’d see that show. I remember faithfully getting up at 5:30am and setting my VCR to see the latest episode of “Sailor Moon” or “Dragon Ball”. If you were lucky, your local video store would have an anime section that was more than just one or two shelves and you could get the latest in anime. Also, back then “Otakon”(What is now the biggest anime convention on the east coast and takes up the entire convention center in Baltimore) was nothing more than a dealer’s closet and two ballrooms rented out and converted into movie theaters at the Hunt Valley Inn. Also, if you knew the right people/went to “Pandora’s Cube” you could have access to the bootleg anime tapes and see the unedited versions of Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball Z. Although it’s great that Anime has exploded, I’m kind of annoyed at the same time as well. Back then it felt more like my “own” and the conventions (although smaller) were a lot more intimate. I could really enjoy myself as opposed to waiting in line for hours or pushing through crowds as has been the case with Otakon in recent years and why I stopped going.
6) Rap Music-although I’ve never been a fan of rap music, I’ll at least say that in the 1990’s it was a LOT better than the crap now. Back then rap songs seemed to have a message and talked about the real struggles of living in the hood, discrimination, and distrust with the police. I remember the whole controversy of Ice T’s “Cop Killer” song, but back then that was a major issue people dealt with. Now it seems like Rappers just want to brag about their money and sell an image.
Ok, I think I’ve said enough about the 1990’s I really could go on forever about this subject and as one can see this blog has gone many different directions. All in all, the 1990’s were an interesting time for me and it’s amazing the things I did/wore/how things were, but those days are over and now it’s time to focus on the present and who knows maybe in 10 years I’ll be writing about the 2000’s I wonder how much things will change and what I’ll think about it?
