You run in through the door, drop your Lisa Frank backpack on the floor, count the new Pogs you won at recess, turn on “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?” and tell your little brother to turn the radio off and stop doing the Macarena.
That was the ‘90s alright.
Junior Brian Seckel said he believes that the ‘90s molded his character.
“Since it was the first 10 years of my life, I believe that the ‘90s set the base for the rest of my life,” Seckel said.
Drama teacher Rebecca Rhinehart agrees.
“I basically grew up during the ‘90s, so the popular culture of the time really shaped my life,” Rhinehart said.
“Of course, then I didn’t think of it as a thing of the ‘90s. I thought it was just life. Now I realize ‘Ice Ice Baby’ and living at the Gap is no longer a normal teenage thing.”
Seckel said he thinks that teenagers’ morals have deteriorated since the ‘90s.
“I think that the values of teenagers have slightly changed from the ‘90s for the worse,” Seckel said.
Sophomore Erin Lusignolo disagrees.
“I don’t think teenagers’ morals have really changed much since the ‘90s,” Lusignolo said. “I think, no matter what, we’re going to have the same motives.”
Rhinehart said musical role models were more prevalent in the ‘90s.
“Today it seems like there are more role models from TV than music, but maybe I’m wrong,” Rhinehart said. “New Kids on the Block, Nirvana, Alice in Chains [and] Pearl Jam were huge,” Rhinehart added. “My friends and I were really into grunge rock,” Rhinehart added. “Grunge rock was all about expressing your ideas and being yourself—even though it came with a look all its own.”
Freshman Liz Harriman said she was also inspired by musicians.
“Tupac and Biggie: they were straight up hood,” Harriman said.
Lusignolo said the media has changed since the ‘90s.
“Media now has a lot more [to do] with celebrities,” Lusignolo said. “It’s kind of gotten to a point where there’s too much of it.”
Senior Taylor Fulton thinks the media has become more daring since the ‘90s.
“I think that TV is much more raw than it was,” Fulton said. Now you have primetime cartoons that are as vulgar as ‘Ren and Stimpy’ was [but] on children’s channels. ‘All That,’ ‘Keenan and Kel’— those shows, those were good,” Fulton added.
Harriman said ‘90s TV shows were more realistic than those today.
“TV shows were better then,” Harriman said. “They were more real and less stupid.”
Rhinehart said ‘90s teenage dramas were popular.
“I loved ‘90210,’” Rhinehart said. “I think it’s the quintessential ‘90s show. Their lives were just better than normal ones.”
“(I) also liked ‘Blossom,’ ‘Hey Dude,’ ‘Salute Your Shorts’ [and] ‘Party of Five;’ all shows about teens, all angsty [and] some darker than others.”
Senior Sarah Lamar remembers cartoons being popular in the ‘90s.
“I was into ‘Pinky and the Brain’ and ‘The Animaniacs,’” Lamar said. “Saturday morning cartoons were a big thing.”
Rhinehart added that the media has become more intrusive.
“Probably the most major change in the media is how invasive they are,” Rhinehart said.
“They aren’t afraid to show anything at anytime, and a lot of it seems to exploit people and situations. Things like YouTube weren’t around in the ‘90s, so if you were videotaped doing something, you weren’t an immediate Internet star,” Rhinehart added.
Seckel agrees with Rhinehart.
“The media seems to have become more vicious,” Seckel said.
Lamar said she feels that the media has become more redundant in their coverage since the ‘90s.
“I think there’s a lot more 24-hour news,” Lamar said. “[There is] a lot more repetition of the same thingsor things that aren’t as important— just to fill time.”
Lamar also said she feels technology has made a lot of improvements since the ‘90s.
“I remember when I used to go to the library, and they had the old, old computers with black screens and only orange letters,” Lamar said. “I remember getting our first computer: a [Windows] 95. Obviously, technology has gotten really good since then.”
Harriman agrees.
“Things are more developed and faster—better,” Harriman said.
Lamar added that because newer technology wasn’t available, kids mostly played with toys.
“Skip-its, man, it was all about the Skip-its,” Lamar said. “I really liked jump-roping, too. Jump-roping and pogo sticks.”
Fulton said Pokémon was also popular.
“I was a Pokémon fiend in the ‘90s,” Fulton said. “I got in trouble so many times playing Gameboy up late when I wasn’t supposed to be.”
Fulton also said the ‘90s were more of a transitional period than a distinct decade.
“It wasn’t really its own— except for the music,” Fulton said.
Rhinehart said bands such as The Counting Crows were extremely popular in the ‘90s.
“I loved them,” Rhinehart said. “Even though Adam Duritz was a tool. Why did I love them? Counting Crows just has good music.”
Lusignolo preferred pop bands over grunge rock.
“I hate to admit it, but I loved N’Sync and Britney Spears,” Lusignolo said. “It’s all I ever listened to.”
Lamar said her favorite band was the Spice Girls.
“My friend and I would dress up, and I’d always be Baby Spice,” Lamar said.
Rhinehart said national issues have also changed.
“So seriously, the economy was booming,” Rhinehart said. “Clinton was president. Life was good. There was a lot of talk about the environment but not as much as I feel there is now.”
Lamar also remembered the economy being a sizeable issue.
“I remember economy was always a really big issue and people were always like ‘Bill Clinton is saving our economy,’” Lamar said.
Lamar said the ‘90s had different fashion trends, like biker shorts, baggy t-shirts and odd footwear.
“Shoeswise, it was definitely my pink slip-on shoes and my gellies,” Lamar said.
Rhinehart said ‘90s grunge music inspired the clothing style.
“There were flannel shirts and Converse high tops,” Rhinehart said. “Holey jeans were a must. [And] the mullet. Especially the permed mullet. Where did that go?”
Rhinehart said she feels that the ‘90s will always be a memorable decade to her.
“The ‘90s rock but so do the 2000s,” Rhinehart said. “I think people will always hold a dear place in their heart for the [period] they grew up in.”
Lamar agrees that she will never forget the ‘90s.
“Those were the days,” Lamar said.
