Nostalgia for a 90s kid

The year was 1990-something. I could be found listening to Hanson, Spice Girls, or a number of other popular bands of the time. Slap bracelets were in no short supply, Surge soda had kids bouncing off of walls, and dial-up Internet was all the rage. To this day, even the sound of dial-up Internet (though seldom heard) brings back a flood of memories of my childhood. Memories of rushing home from the school bus to catch the latest episode of the "Aladdin" animated TV series; play a game of Mario Kart or Golden Eye on the Nintendo 64; or beg my dad to let me use his ICQ chat account to talk to my friend, who was on her parent's account.

Isn't that a wonderful feeling? To be going about your adult life, with all the stressors and realities of being grown up, and suddenly remember a time not so long ago when everything was different. Easier. When your biggest worry was whether you could properly sneak your Tamagotchi digital pet to school without getting into trouble. Those were the days... (Cue sentimental montage here).

Nostalgia has been crossing my mind a lot lately. The Merriam-Webster definition of nostalgia is simply, "pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again." We all have moments of nostalgia -- driving in the car when a song from our youth comes on; coming across an old Super Nintendo console at a flea market; or running into a friend from our childhood. That little twinge of longing for something old and familiar plucks at our heart strings and we find ourselves longing for yesteryear.

Recently, a new game app for your electronic devices was released called, "Pokémon GO." While I was never into Pokémon growing up, the franchise was created in 1995 and I remember lots of kids my age being entranced by it. Pokémon, meaning "Pocket Monsters," has been in the news recently with hordes of youth and adults alike taking part in the Pokémon GO craze. To some it is seen as a nuisance -- I see it as a wonderful opportunity for individuals to not only revisit their childhood, but actively participate in something they held so dear all of those years ago.

Can you imagine going back to 1995 and telling a kid that adores Pokémon that one day there will be a thing called "augmented reality" in which they can go outdoors and track their favorite Pokémon and catch them? That would have been mind boggling! Keeping that in mind, I completely understand the adoration that today's youth (and even those my age) have for this new technology. Parents want to introduce their kids to the cool game from their childhood, and what better way than with this new opportunity. For some, it's a cool new game -- for others, it's a trip down memory lane.

Also, there is a movie coming out this weekend that takes me back to my childhood as well -- "Ghostbusters." While the original movies originally came out in the 1980s, they were still a big part of my childhood. It's no wonder I've been feeling a sense of nostalgia recently -- my childhood has been slowly resurfacing in the form of movie remakes and game innovation. While some might claim this is due to a lack of originality, I must admit that it's nice to be reminded of my youth.

Why is it that we envision our childhoods as this elusive happy time that we can't ever go back to? Sure, we certainly can't forgo our adulthood responsibilities and slip back into our old routine of being a 10-year-old. Can we, though, find that happiness that was so care-free and uninhibited? Definitely. How? We could start by introducing the children in our lives to the things we loved the most from our own childhoods. I recently introducted my niece to the Spice Girls and while I seemed to enjoy listening to the songs a lot more than she did, I still felt like the "cool" aunt. By bridging the gap between our adult life and the kids in our lives, we can treasure these moments in time for generations to come.

To my fellow 90s kids: If you find some free time this weekend, dust off that old VCR and dig out those old VHS tapes; download that favorite album of yours from your youth; play an old game you had forgotten about; drink some Surge (it's back!); or learn about some new craze with your child, nephew, or niece. Those moments you share with them will be remembered for years to come. Encourage the little ones in your life to enjoy their childhood years because, as Hanson so eloquently put it back in 1997 -- "In an MMMbop, they're gone."

All Of The Above is a column by Lifestyles Editor Sarah Haney. A wide range of topics are covered in the column and primarily deal with lifestyles or society subject matters.