I've always felt like I related to kids older than me. I always wanted to hang out with my sister and our cousins her age who are 10 years older than me. I never liked playing with cousins my age and I never really had any friends my age.
Most people I relate to are 25-30+. I don't like the idea of going out or parting or clubbing like people my age seem to love doing. I'd much rather stay in and have a geek movie marathon or play board games or video games.
I was finally able to see Guardians of the Galaxy last year and related to Peter so much! From the music he loves to the references he makes. I felt a real bond with him. And that's when I realized I always like hanging out with older kids and bonding with Peter because, while I was born in '98 I was raised in the 80s.
My parents were 35 and 47 when I was born. So their most influential years were the 70s and the 80s. I grew up listening to every song from both Guardians movies with my dad. My dad and I would watch Back to the Future all the time. We watched the original Star Trek and I Love Lucy. and when I was between the ages of 3-8 I would watch Tom & Jerry and the original Scooby-doo every day.
In a way, I grew up in the 70s too. Which is why I also relate so much to Peter. His mom played almost 70s music exclusively.
My sister showed me the original Star Wars. My first horror movies where Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. My mom listens to Bon Jovi and Guns and Roses repeatedly. I saw The Breakfast Club when I was 14 and Ghostbusters too.
My typical day growing up was watching Back to the Future 1 & 2, then watching Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry. If I went somewhere with my mom we'd listen to Lynard Skynard, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith and Gun and Roses. My dad was always playing songs like Spirit In the Sky and Hooked on a Feeling. My mom also loved Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie.
I didn't listen to music that wasn't influenced by my parents until I was 9 or 10. Which was when Gaga and Rhianna started to blow up. Still, though I had CD mixtapes of the Beach Boys and Elvis and Lynard Skynard and Fleetwood Mac and Jackson 5 and David Bowie.
I also relate to Peter so much because I didn't have an iPod until 2011. I carried around a CD player with mixed CDs my dad burnt for me on our computer. I used to pop one in and dance around just like Peter. I would sing along so loud my family would tell me to stop.
The only TV I watched that was actually new when I was growing up that was "kid content" was the Crocodile Hunter and old art style cartoons like Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom. I never watched much of the new stuff "for kids" because we didn't have cable. I mostly watched Back to the Future every day. It was my favourite film and we had it on DVD.
I grew up watching NBC shows mostly. My Aunt, who was more like a grandma, had an antenna and got NBC, CBS, and ABC. We went to her house almost every day. I grew up watching Lost and My Name is Earl every week with my dad and watching Law and Order SVU with my mom and Aunt. And after the news every day I'd watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Jeopardy is probably the reason I have so many random facts floating around in my head.
When I finally did get more into new age stuff when I was around 12 or 13 it was all "adult" TV and movies. Like "adult" cartoons like Family Guy, Futurama, and South Park. And lots of sci-fi like Doctor Who, The X-Files, and Bones. I also really got into things like Sons of Anarchy and the Walking Dead.
In my early years I never really watched or listened to anything made after 1988. With the exception of a few movies here and there, like 101 and 102 Dalmatians. And a few TV show exceptions.
I may have been born in the late 90s but I grew up in the 80s. It makes a lot more sense now that I tend to relate more to people who are 25-30+. I grew up much more an 80s kid. And I'm actually really happy about it.
I always wanted to be in the adults' conversions growing up rather than playing with kids my age. I've always been a bit mature for my age. So growing up with more of an 80s vibe makes it easier for me to relate to the "older kids" I always wanted to hang around as a kid.
I love that I can watch Guardians and not only appreciate the story and wonderful sets and thing like that but I can really relate to Peter. I love that I get the same nostalgia feels that he does when he listens to the Awesome mix. I love that I get all of his references.
And that goes for a lot of things that I watch. Like on Parks and Rec, I can appreciate all of Bens references and I love that! It made the show so much better for me. Instead of laughing with everyone thinking "oh that's nerdy Ben" I was laughing with Ben because I got all his cute little jokes.
I can't tell you how much I love that I a bit of the Stranger Things nostalgia. I grew up with a lot of the same pop culture they bring to the show and it makes me so happy that I can appreciate so much of it even though I'm only 20.
I was born 8 years too late to actually be born in the '80s but I still got the experience of growing up in the 80s. I would probably have very different favourite shows and movies list if I wasn't influenced by the shows I watched as a kid. I love Parks and Rec and Guardians so much because I'm in on all the little references and jokes and I love that!
I may never be able to say I'm an 80s kid but I grew up like one and I've really grateful for that.
Thanks so much for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a like if you did, it's much appreciated!
Photo Credit: Photo taken by me with a Canon EOS Rebel T5 with an 18-55mm lens and edited by me in Photoshop. **This post was not sponsored**
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