The nineties are a big deal to me. I grow older and see so many try to relive them and try to grasp that spark of wonder and childhood if only for a moment. So I think it would be a good idea to take things out of the normal reviews and give you guys a look in my head when it comes to what the nineties mean to me as an adult looking back. Even though most of my experiences are the mid to late nineties where I usually try to keep my material to that part of the decade. But I do research to fill in the blanks and what I usually see is that the nineties were more of a relaxed and creative time. What do I mean? Well consider the following.


     The thing that has always stuck with me looking back to the nineties is how creative everything was. I mean we had large places like Discovery Zone and Funscape with them being a Mcdonalds Play Place on steroids, along with small things like the TV ads, the shows, the music and how diverse they all were from one another in style and energy. Products like toys, video games and films were outlandish with new ideas with things such as 3D video games thanks to the Nintendo 64 and the Playstation and a full movie made from digital animation which happened to be my first movie in a theater. Malls were full of stores as the economy was booming and everything felt fresh, new, and different as styles changed and new fads made their way into trends before fading away. I can remember when plaid was a thing as well as flannel and denim and the buzz around all the fashions based from those.
 


Yes this was a fad for a long while.


     Things were more in a different mindset that gave something that truly was a once in a generation experience. After the early two thousands was when I felt things started changing and I noticed it slowly. After I turned seventeen I noticed the change more. While that's normal as an adult to feel that change since you're getting older, as an adult I still don't find what most people do for fun all that fun. To me, a fun night as a kid was with an N64, A bunch of friends, pizza, a bottle of Surge and a copy of Mario Party or Smash Bros and I still consider it fun. The mindset in the nineties was more chilled and involved with enjoying the small thing, from my experiences with my mom taking me to Mcdonalds and eating lunch by Lake Ontario, or spending whole days at the mall. Not to mention all the random road trips I went on as a kid.



Who wouldn't like this view while eating lunch?

    Even though things will always change as someone grows up and I see beauty in both past and present,  there's something about the nineties that sticks with me. I was a bit wiser as a kid as in I caught on quickly if something was out of place. Even though I didn't pay much attention to a lot current events, as an adult I caught on to probably why the feeling of the decade was what it was. Seeing ideas and designs that were much more creative and free spirited with odd shapes, Designs and colors and the use of all three. The way odd things looked and some were popular for a time like the before mentioned plaid as well as all the fads that were going around throughout that time.



This was a mascot for Nabisco and yet for his odd look it is an interesting design.


     Television had it's own spark as well back then with the introduction of reality shows as well as the wave of anime hitting western stations. The anime craze was in full swing then and it was glorious. You had a whole block every day dedicated to it called Toonami. I can remember the excitement of coming home from school and watching Toonami. Or waking up each Saturday morning to watch Pokemon. It also spawned the era of kids game shows like Legends of the Hidden Temple, Guts, and Figure It Out to name a few shows. I can remember getting up really early and even watching Mr.Wizard to watch Legends of the Hidden Temple. These are memories I will always keep in mind. Whenever I look back and watch those old game shows I can see the creativity of those shows with how the show progresses and the setting. There were also shows that actually made learning fun like Reading Rainbow, Bill Nye the Science Guy and Beakman's World. These shows helped me not only with learning, but when I got older I could appreciate it as edutainment done right. The science shows took the subject and found creative ways to explain complex things that happen within that subject. Reading Rainbow and Wishbone made reading fun by making them into adventures. But what we did with those adventures is what I really feel sets the nineties apart from the past decade and a half.



Who didn't tune into Kids' WB every Saturday to catch Pokemon?

    Playing outside is something all kids did at one point or another. As a kid I played outside with friends and we'd use our imaginations and what we watched for inspiration unless we were playing some kind of backyard sport. We used to play most days unless it was raining or in my case in the Winter. Spring, Fall, and Summer were when I'd be playing or doing something outside. Playing outside was an adventure in itself. I still go out and play a bit of backyard baseball with friends every once in a while and I'm glad I do. It sparks a bit of the kid in me and makes me happy.

    All in all what sets the nineties apart are many. But at the same time can vary from person to person. While it's fun to relive things you did as a kid while being an adult, just remember that even the smallest joys can spark the best reactions. So with that I would love to see what you guys think about the nineties. As always Live Life and Live Nostalgic.