Nostalgia is an odd feeling: it creeps up to you, making you think of the best things of the past, whilst the memory of the unpleasant things slowly goes away. Also, as time passes by, the distance of over 20 years can really idealize a decade’s cultural reputation. And this can happen both to young people and the ones that have a firm memory of that timeframe. The 80s were, to me, that time when I made the transition from a child to a teenager and from a teenager to a young adult. And while I may be predisposed to idealize and romanticize the past, there were definitely some things I really hated in the 80s – I still do.
- Toxic Makeup
Without a doubt, the 80s have been the decade of experimental trends. It was widely common for girls to wear flashy, tacky colors such as blue, purple and blue – at the same time, without drawing too much attention towards them. Plus, the eye shadow would go as up as the eyebrow went, for a boost of style (yeah, right).
I almost forgot about the dark lip-liner, the trend that was started by Madonna. Oh dear – those were the days of horrific makeup indeed.
- Wearing Sunglasses at Night
Even Melania Trump has been judged for wearing sunglasses at night. So you can understand my sheer frustration with this horrible trend. Of course, back in my days, this was a big deal – wearing sunglasses after dark portrayed you as a cool individual, who was defiant of everything surrounding him/her, including dark or light.
- Rat Tails
Man how I used to hate rat tails. In fact, when I think of the 80s, one of the first things that pop in to my mind is this much-dreaded hairstyle that was all over the place back then. To be frank, roughly 80 to 85 percent of the boys that were walking the halls of the junior high and high school would rock this look. Essentially, it was a thin chunk of hair that went down the back of the boy’s neck – exactly like a rattail.
The hairstyle varied in length – some had baby tails, whereas others had actual sized rat tails. In fact, in order to make the hairstyle even more stylish (if that was possible – sense the irony), sometimes, that chunk of hair was braided.
- Spandex
Spandex reached its highest popularity level in the 80s, as we would see it in a wide range of clothing items, ranging from bikinis to tops. Not only that the material had an awful stretch to it that made everything look horrible unless you weighed 80 lbs., but the colors were just as horrific, as most spandex items came in neon colors. So, you couldn’t possible attempt to sneak out of the house whilst wearing something spandex – you can see why.
- Smoking Indoors Was Allowed
Apparently, back in the 80s, the detrimental effects of passive smoking were either unknown or willfully ignored. Therefore, smoking indoors was permitted – which might seem appealing to smokers, but, to non-smokers, not so much. When I think of the way in which our clothes used to smell – UGH. It was, by far, unpleasant. Of course, smokers might feel reminiscent of that time, but me – not so much. I don’t miss walking around with a trace of smoke behind me.
- Getting Anywhere Was a Hassle
You know what I’m talking about – the maps. I don’t know about you, but I’m really bad with directions. Until the invention of the GPS, I used to get lost all the time. And when I say all the time, I mean it. Whenever I wanted to go anywhere, I had to decipher a huge map, which was such a hassle to fold back in place. Not once did I manage to fold it right. I am curious about how other people would have neat, perfectly folded maps. Plus, not managing to follow directions often led to arguments. Oh, those were the days, indeed.
- Having to Share One Phone
Remember how it was like to share one phone? Now that I think about it, it seems that I’m talking about the middle ages or something. Also, whenever I expected a call, I had to let everyone in the house know, so that they won’t answer for me. And, of course, getting to talk on the phone alone was a luxury – everybody in the room would hear your conversation, which made it really difficult to score.
- Tapes Getting Ruined
While I do miss mixed tapes, what I certainly don’t miss is that they were ruined, most of the cases. It was a huge challenge to rewind a tape successfully.
- Queuing for Everything
Remember those never-ending queues? Whenever there was an important cinema release, you had to stay in a queue for hours in order to get a seat. Oh – the hours I’ve wasted in a queue, if only I could have them back.
So, these are the things I’ve hated most about my youth. While the 80s have been a great time for me, I don’t want to fall into the trap of idealizing it – which is why I’ve made this list. If you’re a 80s kid yourself, what else would you add to it?