Author: Emily Clance

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Piedmont’s campus seems to be full of “90s kids.” Before you stop me and say “well yeah, of course we’re all 90s kids, anyone born in the 90s is,” let me clarify. There’s a difference between a “90s kid” and being born in a year between 1990 and 1999.  

The typical “90s kid” is one who proudly proclaims everything from his or her childhood to be the absolute greatest form of entertainment there is. I’m not trying to bring anyone down or hate on people who like these things. Hey, I still watch movies like Toy Story and The Hunchback of Notre Dame when I’m sad. I’m just confused about why people my age are so obsessed with their childhoods. Many of these things didn’t age well at all. In some cases, you can almost literally feel the 90s cheese and corniness coming off them in waves.

A lot of the “greatness” attributed to the 90s and our childhoods in general comes from nostalgia. We remember enjoying these shows, games and movies as kids, so they bring back fond memories for us, and I totally get that. What I don’t get is people proclaiming this videogame to be the best just because they played it a lot when they were little, or this movie to be the best because they’ve had it memorized since they were six. 

I’m probably just being cynical here. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying things from your childhood. The problem comes when you’re so obsessed with reliving your past that you shut out everything else. You can hold on to what you used to love while still being open to new things, too.

Balance out your daily dose of nostalgia with other media and you just might find something new to love.