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I'm a child of the 90s,
And you don't know what that means
But I've gotta make impression
Before I get into my teens


The music flowed out of the small radio/alarm clock Otera used most often, with the clicks and crinkles that would confuse her younger sister, the second one.  Otera understood the song on a level her little sister never would be able to.  Otera was a child of the 90s, but her younger sister wasn’t.  The thudding of little elephant steps on the stairs up to Otera’s room warned Otera of her younger sister’s oh-so-stealthy approach, so she hit the stop button on the clock-radio, turning off the music.  Tigre, Otera’s sister, came you with a small scowl because the computer wasn’t working, one that almost made Otera laugh, as the computer was: a) turned off, b) unplugged, and c) disconnected from the internet.  “Otera, the computer won’t work!  I can’t play!” Tigre complained.  Otera frowned, what was the world coming to?

“You know, Tigre,” Otera said, knowing she was going to regret what she was about to say, “When I was your age, I didn’t need to go on the computer all the time.  When I had friends over, I played with them, outside most of the time, not with a box.  We’d us our imaginations, you do know what that means, right?” Otera felt far older than her 16 years as she spoke to her little sister.

Tigre seemed the most confused by Otera’s comment on playing “Outside” and the comment about “imagination”.  “What?” Tigre asked snarkily, utterly confused but utterly rude.

“It means that I’m not going to deal with the comp, chica!  You need to learn what it means to be a kid, you and the Little Dude both!  You only know what that Box provides for you, not what you should experience!  I’m not that much older than you, but I’m out of your world, and it’s a good thing, Tigre!  I don’t want to be a part of the world that churns out impatient, rude people who are dependent upon a computer!  My childhood was one that was spent outdoors on sunny days, and indoors only when it was rainy or dark!  We would chase fireflies through the night, not pretend to be virtual penguins!  Tigre, you have to live your life, not a virtual one!” Otera raved.  Before Otera could finish her rant, Tigre darted out of the room.

Otera rolled her eyes at her sisters retreating back and switched the cassette tape back on so that the music would come back, perfect with all its imperfections. She thought back to what she had when she was Tigre’s age....  Otera had watched Wishbone, Clarissa Explains it All, Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, and once Are You Afraid of the Dark, but it had terrified her and she had not been able to watch it ever again.  She remembered when the Spice Girls were popular and when she couldn’t get enough of Hanson of the Backstreet Boys.  She smiled slightly.  She was a child of the 90s, no matter how much time passed.  She would always be a child of the 90s, and only other children of the 90s could understand that.  The song ended and Otera hit the stop button again, shunning her CD player, she grabbed her iPod Shuffle and decided to go for a walk.  Outside.  After all, it was spring, the weather was warm, and she was a child of the 90s, someone who was equally comfortable in the out of doors as the virtual world, a generation that adopted quickly and were more techno-savvy than other generations before them, but without the perpetual impatience and virtual mindedness of the children of the new millennium.  Otera allowed a smile to plant itself on her face and grow.  She was a child of the 90s, and only she could decide what that meant.  She knew she had made an impression, and she was still in her teens.
©2007-2009 ~Gatemage
:icongatemage:

Author's Comments

The lyrics are from a song I used to listen to, before the tape was kaputt. Based vaguely on my life, but not entirely true. I got the idea after a message my other sister (a fellow child of the 90s, while still younger than I) put up on myspace.

You're a 90's kid if:
You can finish this [ice ice _ _ _ _ ]
You remember watching:
-Doug
-Ren & Stimpy
-Pinky and the Brain
-AAAAAAAH Real Monsters!
-Rockos modern Life.
You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
You just cant resist finishing this . . . "Iiiiiiin west philidelphia born and raised . . ."
You remember:
-TGIF
-Step by Step
-Family Matters
-Dinosaurs
-Boy Meets World.
You remember when it was actually worth getting up early
on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
You remember reading "Goosebumps"
You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence . . . not
when everyting was settled by:
-rock paper scissors or
-bubble gum bubble gum in a dish or
-daddy had a donkey inky binky bonky.
when cops and robbers was a daily activity.
when we played Hide and go seek until our legs grew numb.
when we used to obey our parents
You used to listen to the radio all day long just to record your FAVORITE song of ALL time.
"Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" was both a game and a TV game show.
Captain Planet. He's a Hero.
You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green ranger, were meant to be together.
You remember when Super Nintendos and Sega Genisis became popular.
You always wanted to send in a tape to America's Funniest Home Videos . . . but never taped anything funny.
You remember watching Home Alone 1, 2 , and 3 . . . and tried to pull the pranks on "intruders"
You remember watching:
-The Magic School Bus
-Wishbone
-Reading Rainbow on PBS.
-Kablam!
You remember when Yo-Yos were cool.
You remember those Where's Waldo books.
You remember eating Warheads.
You remember watching:
-the 1st Batman
-Aladdin
-Ninja Turtles
-3 Ninjas movies.
You remember Ring Pops.
You remember drinking Surge, and Tang.
If you remember when every thing was "da BOMB!"
When they made the new lunchables so that you could make pizza AND tacos.
You remember boom boxes vs. cd players.
Making those little paper fortune cookie things, and then predicting your life with them.
You played and/or collected "Pogs" :)
You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet, or Nano and brought it everywhere.
. . . Furbies.
You haven't always had a computer, and it was cool to have the internet.
And Windows 95 was the best.
You watched the original cartoons of Rugrats, Power Rangers, and Ninja Turtles.
Michael Jordan was a king.
YIKES pencils and erasers were the stuff!
All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.
You remember when the new Beanie Babies and Talking Elmo were always sold out
You collected those Beanie Babies.
Carebears
Gak was the coolest stuff invented.
Lambchop's song never ended.
The old dollar bills.
Silver dollars, which were cool to have.
You remember a time before the WB.
You collected all the Troll dolls
If you even know what an original walkman is.
You remember wanting to sit on the orange Nickelodeon couch.
You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
You know the Macarena by heart.
"Talk to the hand" . . . enough said
You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
You went to McDonald's to play in the playplace.
You remember playing on merry go rounds at the playground.
You remember Yak Backs, those little voice recorders
You always wanted the giant ear of corn from the original "All that"
You remember the boy band explosion (N*sync, Backstreet Boys, 98 degrees, LFO, etc)
You always wanted to go on Guts!, Legend of the Hidden Temple, What Would You Do?, Double Dare, or Figure it out!
One word: Pokemon
Before the MySpace frenzy . . .
Before the Internet & text messaging . . .
Before Sidekicks & iPods . . .
Before MIKE JONES . . .
Before PlayStation2 or X-BOX . . .
Before Spongebob . . .
Back when you put off the 5 hours of homework you had every night.
When light up sneakers were cool.
When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
When gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.
When we recorded
stuff on VCRs.
When we called the radio station to request songs to hear off of our walkman.
When checking out drawing books and that one book about the rainbow fish from the library was THE cool thing to do.
You had slap braclets!
Way back.
Before we realized all this would eventually disappear.
Who would have thought you'd miss the 90's so much!!!!!

Comments


love 1 1 joy 4 4 wow 0 0 mad 0 0 sad 2 2 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:icondjracinggirl:
That's awesome! It tells exactly what a child of the 90s is like. I remember being outside everyday and all day when I was little. :)

--
*Micky 'n Ricky*

...And I thought I was tough...

:wave: [link]
FREE COMMISSIONS! ANYTHING YOU WANT, FOR ANYONE! :wave:
:iconlykaios-garou:
*is now going to read a book outside and pretend to be a dragon* silly Tigre (feels like calling here that now) go outside and do something productive

--
"Forget science and politics and religion. Hope comes from one place, and that's the human heart when it shares with other hearts its dreams and its pain and its refusal to give up."
-Bedlam: A Year if the Life of a Mental Hospital
:icongatemage:
I don't actually know where that sister of mine is right now... she's someplace....

--
"CHOCOLATE in heaven is hearing MY CHILDREN'S LAUGHTER" ~ Robin Metzger 1965- July 6, 2006
"If I ever see anyone half so endearing as you are, I will have to discount it as blasphemy" ~ My darling boyfriend
:iconlykaios-garou:
in the bermuda triangle

--
"Forget science and politics and religion. Hope comes from one place, and that's the human heart when it shares with other hearts its dreams and its pain and its refusal to give up."
-Bedlam: A Year if the Life of a Mental Hospital
:iconinvaderkagome:
I agree with you...The 90s were the best.....And I've always wanted the giant ear of corn from the original "All that" Lol!=)
--
Remy: "I can't help myself....I like good food, Okay!? ...And good food....Is hard for a rat to find.

Django: "It wouldn't be so hard to find, If you weren't so Picky!"

Remy: "I don't want to eat garbage Dad!!!"
:icondeerfieldgirl:
I am such a child of the 90's...
I remember when it was getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
I LOVE OREGON TRAIL!!!!!!!! I used a plastic cartoon lunch box at school. Fights were settled with rock paper scissors or bubble gum bubble gum in a dish (heck, we still do that!)
Good old hide and seek...we played Hide and go seek until our legs grew numb (and we used to obey our parents). Once, I listened to the radio all day long just to record your FAVORITE song of ALL time, and my dad came in and sang along. I was so mad. I watched The Magic School Bus, Wishbone, and Reading Rainbow on PBS. I always wished I could do yo-yo tricks. I collected Where's Waldo books. Aladdin was pretty much my favorite movie (and I still love "Brand New World", but that's another story...). My mom never let me have Ring Pops (though I begged), but I did get Tang.
I remember when every thing was "da BOMB!"
I ate the new lunchables so that you could make pizza AND tacos.
I had both: a boom boxes and then a cd player.
I was so popular whenever I made those little paper fortune cookie things, and then predicted people's lives for them (but no, I didn't kiss Joe in 2 days). All my school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.
I have 130 Beanie Babies. I just couldn't ever get rid of them.
Carebears...don't get me started!
I had an original walkman! I know the Macarena by heart. "Talk to the hand" . . . enough said, and I always said, "Then why don't you marry it!" I went to McDonald's to play in the playplace. I remember playing on merry go rounds at the playground. All my friends loved Backstreet Boys (but I like country).
I always wanted light up sneakers. I remember when we rented VHS tapes, not DVDs, when gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing, when we recorded stuff on VCRs.
We called our friends, we didn't post messages on their MySpace or Facebook...we told them they were our friends, we didn't "friend" them...
I checked out so many drawing books and checking out that one book about the rainbow fish from the library was THE cool thing to do.
I had slap braclets!
I never knew I missed the 90's so much...

--
If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.
-Juan Ramon Ramirez
:iconariteir:
Aww damn I used to love all that stuff! well the ones that were available in New Zealand any way! I used to get up every saterday to watch Sonic the hedgehog Satam and the windows 95 was the first computer my family owned and all you could play on it was car racing! and VHS ahh gold I miss the 90's

--
It's you and me against the world
We attack at dawn!
:iconchickensurprise:
Yes, I do understand. I was there, I remember. Does anyone remember Pete & Pete?? I used to love that show and Are You Afraid Of The Dark, and that show about some wacky summer camp with a guy named Ugg Lee. I was 7 years old when the first Free Willy movie came to theatres, I really loved that, it was the only good one in my opinion. Hell, I can even recall early weekend mornings watching Ringo Star play "Mister Conductor" on Shining Time Station. But most of all, I remember that it was the end of old-time suburbia as we used to know it, because practically as the clock struck 12 and ushered in 2000, the big developers decended on us like an invasion, since then taxes, gas prices, and property values have gone through the roof!! with no end in site, but then, we kinda knew this was coming, the big corporate machine had this planned out since the 80's.
:icondoomy-san:
Damn...I remember all of that!

...on the playground is where I spend most of my days...

--
Milk + Eggs + Blender = Woman

I am Tobin Bell in dA's Celebrities Crew!
*REPO-Army
~Bloody-Sanctuary
:iconlillianalyse:
SO real.
God knows I'm sixteen and have had that same conversation with kids. Priceless when they can't grasp that there was a time when we weren't all instantly connected.

(And don't forget Popular Mechanics for Kids! That show kicked ass: educational TV that wasn't patronizing)

--
:blackrose:

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April 30, 2007
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