Yesterday Tales of an Educated Debutante posted a top 10 list of why it was better to attend college in the 1990s. OMG, I could relate to every single one of them! Here are some personal stories from my experiences in college from in the 90s. It was an amazing time to be doing things you didn’t necessarily want to be with you forever. But it also provided some good life skills we are lacking now with all of our technology. I am sharing her entire list with my stories mixed in.
1. Phones were attached to cords or in bags. Phone numbers were written on elaborate lists and when we were out, we were talking, not staring at phones. There was no trying to figure out who was where as we got off our asses and looked.
This meant if you said you were going to meet someone somewhere, you HAD to go. No flaking at the last minute via text. Our world would definitely be better with this way of life.
2. Social media did not exist. Many of us would have been rendered unemployable.
We did very, very stupid things but unlike now, no one except the people you were with that night knew the stupid things you did (and there was a good chance they also did not remember).
3. Gas was cheap. Like 99 cents a gallon. My college bestie and I could fill up her Mazda 323 and make it to the not nearby beach and back two weekends in a row for about ten bucks.
I was a nanny most summers. I worked M-Th, did my summer school classes, then drove to the beach. Every. Single. Weekend. I thought I was living the dream making enough money to cover my rent, gas AND a trip to the beach each weekend.
4. People did not wear tight clothes. The baggier the better, the collegiate gypsy ensemble and my only regret is that my days of thinness were disguised by copious amounts of linen and babydoll dresses.
Jesus. Those babydoll dresses were HORRIBLE. Why did we hide our skinny frames with acid washed denim and too many layers of clothes?
5. Answering machines provided cheap entertainment. If one was willing to leave the phone unattended, you were rewarded with tiny filled tapes. The good and the bad to be laughed and cried over, rewind, rewind, rewind.
This was true entertainment in the 90s. Some of my favorites…. pausing like you truly answered the phone and waiting to see how long it took the person to figure out you actually didn’t answer. We also played long songs as intros . James Taylor’s Going to Carolina in my Mind was one of our favorites in Chapel Hill.
6. Life was less competitive. College wasn’t about internships and experience. No, I babysat and spent free time making mix-tapes and drinking Icehouse.
Babysitting was the best way to earn cash. I only got an actual internship the spring semester of my senior year. I made money while rollerblading with Chapel Hill kiddos and eating their snacks with them after school.
7. We got organic exercise. An occasional step aerobics class, but we largely walked in those days before Uber, stopping only for a late night pizza.
I loved, loved, love step aerobics at the SRC. I always used two steps, which probably contributes to my current knee and feet issues. But we also walked everywhere. I tried to bike, but it was not for me. I also walked home late night solo, which I would die if I knew my girl did that in college. So many true crime podcasts could have been made from choices I made.
8. No one was fancy. Designer shoes, bags, sunglasses? Nope, all considered silly accoutrements and excess in the days of fraternity t-shirts and my dad’s old rainbow flip flops.
My basic outfit was a fraternity event t -shirt, hat to cover my greasy smoke smelling hair, jean shorts and mules. It was literally the college girl uniform.
9. The unknown was a grand mystery. I mean, not knowing where you may end up, who you might see, unplanned late night antics a wonderful and terrible mystery.
The biggest excitement of a night out was seeing The Everywhere Man. Some guy who showed up to all the parties but no one knew him. Jesus, as I typed that I considered that he could be a future school shooter or serial killer.
10. Evidence of nonsensical behavior does not exist. It was a major commitment to buy film, haul a big ass camera, take photos and develop a dozen terrible pictures for ten dollars, making official documentation very unlikely.
Ok, so this was not totally true. You could also pose for some event photographer and check out those pics a few weeks later and decide whether or not you wanted to purchase. But unlike now, if you declined creepy photo guy’s pics, they disappeared. Forever.
I wish for many reasons my kiddos could have a 1990s college experience. But I also love Life360 and the ability to reach them anytime I want. The struggle is real.