Being and 80's teen.

Tonight I took my not so charming prince shopping for clothes. The style is changing once again. God forbid he does not look cool. I forget that's important at this age.  On our ride there we were talking about him getting his permit. We meaning Hubs and I told him he needs to maintain all A's and B's at all times. He was complaining to me. I told him that's really not much to ask for. He informs me that high school is way harder than it was for me. Cause he would know that. When we get to the store he is picking out bright colored shorts...even gets a large white belt. He complains when I come to find him in the dressing room. He is like...."Mom, I'm an adult please don't come in here". An adult who can't do laundry, cook a meal, or find his shit ever! I tell him he looks like the kids from the 80's. So as much as I thought the 80's would never resurface it looks like it just might.

When we got home I got to thinking about the 80's. For some reason that song "Shot through the heart" is ringing in my head. I start to reminisce. I think back to sitting on my bed with a friend singing "shot through the heart" over some boy. Singing most dramatically of course.  I remember rocking my side pony. At my high school there were many groups. The popular group, the jocks, the nerds, the valley girls, the stoners, and the outcast.  We walked around with our tight rolled jeans, fluorescent clothes, and walkmans. At a time when I didn't have an ounce of fat on me over sized sweaters were in fashion. Woe is me!

I went to an all girls school in the city my first year of high school. Big mistake. Everyone of us were super boy crazy because of it. We had to wear a uniform there. After school we would roll up our skirts and pull down our knee high socks. We would stop at the local store to cake on blue eyeshadow and red lipstick. We looked forward to the dances when the boys schools would come. On the weekends we would hang out at the Hub. This was the local roller rink. My moms much younger brother worked there. He was super cool. He had a girlfriend who I dreamed about looking like. He's actually married to her now. I was a bit of a star at the roller rink because of him. He could skate like nobodies business. They would turn the lights down low and us girls would skate holding hands with the catholic school boys.

We moved to the burbs the next year. I was so excited. I was finally going to go to public school. I had only known catholic school at this point. I think I was most excited about wearing real clothes and having boys in school. I remember being scared as hell to start though. My biggest fear was sitting alone at lunch. When I got there most kids had gone to school together since elementary. The clicks were already formed. It's funny when I think about my high school now. There was a smoking section in there. Can you imagine?????? The kids who smoked in the smoking section were called "the stoners". They were always dressed in concert tshirts and had a chain that went from their belt to their wallet. Then there was the popular group. It was your typical popular group. There was a core three who ruled it. There were many that followed those three around like puppy dogs. In the lunch room we had a juke box. "Take on me", played every day on that thing my first year. This was way different than catholic school. The most exciting thing in our lunch room were crazy nuns. The popular kids had their own table. When I first got there I sat from afar and watched the popular table. I thought I need to get to that table. All the popular girls and all the football players sat there. I eventually worked my way over to that table.

It took me awhile to win my place at the "it" table. I had gym with one of the popular girls. She thought I was super funny and eventually invited me to eat at the table. I think I spent a week singing a happy dance song in my head..."I'm at the popular table, yes I am...I'm at the popular table, yes I am". Eating at that table was my biggest goal back then. Eventually I met a friend named Mary. She lived in my neighborhood and dated one of the guys that us girls used to refer to as "our guys". She was younger than us. But she was dating one of "ours". We used to hate when "our guys" would date the younger classmates. Mary and I became fast friends. We were both boy crazy. One day there were "hot" guys working on the house behind mine. Since Mary and I were "hey look at me" girls we put a baby pool in my back yard. We got in our tiny bathing suits and did anything we could to get their attention. Mary and I used to take my dad's car to the "library" every night. He would check the mileage. We were really chasing boys and driving all over town. We learned quick how to set the miles back on his car.

Mary and I sounded just alike on the phone. We would go to my house and drag the cord phone into my room. We would call boys and keep switching talking to them. They never caught on. I would have her ask things I couldn't and I would do the same for her. I believe we would even break up for each other over the phone. We put my dad's car in a ditch one night. Got someone to pull us out and went to the car wash to clean the mud. All I remember about that night is lots of laughter. Since we were both boy crazy we got on this kick where we would have a boyfriend from every high school in the area. My poor dad! Some of my favorite memories are with her, Karen, and Natalie.

How many of you 80's ladies rocked out your aqua net???? Purple can?? No one who grew up in the eighties doesn't remember that can.  Hello my hair stood right the hell up. My poor parent's bathroom with all the aqua net crap on everything. We were not sexy, but we didn't know it!

The weekends we would drive around this shopping center over and over. Everyone who was anyone did this. It was Barrington square. We would seriously drive the square for hours blasting music and looking at boys driving around in other cars. The night I graduated high school my other friends and I drove around it naked on a dare. Mary was younger so she was not there for that. I rarely have not taken a dare in my life. I find dares kind of fun...at least back then. I really do miss those days. They were days filled with simple fun. Calling boys and hanging up, driving around stalking boys, swimming naked in the quarry, laughing until your stomach hurt, and just plain being young and dumb.


Then there was the famous 80's movies. Never saw a John Hugh's movie I didn't love. I6 candles, The breakfast club, Ferris, Pretty in pink, and so on. John is a torn in my side as much as I loved his movies. Us 8o's teenagers have a warped view of romance because of him. We all loved those movies but we're waiting for our eighties movie ending. What girl who grow up in the eighties didn't fantasize about the guy who showed up with a birthday cake when everyone else forgot??? How about landing the "it" guy???? The boom box outside your window??? I'm still waiting for my 80's movie ending.....thank you John for that!!!! RIP!

Now I think what would Mary and I be like in this generation????? This is what I think. We would post "Look at me pics" on Facebook. We would make duck faces and have our hand on the hip in every picture. We would totally stalk the boys we liked on Facebook and show up everywhere they checked in at. We would rock out a blinged out iPhone. We would probably text inappropriate things for each other. We might have been the girls who sent a "hey look at me" picture over the phone. I do remember when she went to collage in Florida. I came to visit. We took these bathing suit shots with sunglasses on my film camera for our boyfriends. I wish I could find those shots. They were soooo funny. We might have been "you tube" crazy girls. Facetime...I won't even go there.....Skype god help me! I would have been in big trouble with Grumps for sure. Thank God we didn't grow up in the social media world back then.

It's funny cause I watch my kids social media stuff like a hawk. Probably because I know what I would be doing with it at their age. It would not have been pretty. I see these girls and their duck faces posing like models. I think where are the awkward years???? Do you notice girls don't have those anymore??? I remember not wanting my picture taken at that age. Instead of making a duck face I put my hand up. Girls now post bathing suit shots with the caption "sexy" on it. I never and I mean never felt sexy at that age. I don't remember anyone looking "sexy" at that age. Sign of the times......as that news guy says! Anywho.....are you still singing "shot through the heart" in your head??? I know I am!

Btw, Mary and I lost touch for a while. We hooked back up thanks to Facebook. I have since then seen her in Chicago. She even stayed with me in Austin once. We picked up right where we left off. Those friends are rare as we find out much later in life. We truly morphed into our high school selves and had an amazing time! Thank God for friends who are there forever! Thank God we don't live in the same state too. Love you Mary...you are forever one of my favorite friends!