Life was simpler in the 90s. It was a slower time, and there was less of everything — less choice, less complications, less drama. But having less meant we actually had more, and there was something intrinsically satisfying about it all, especially looking back. In the prehistoric days before the internet, we had to create our own fun — and so we did.
Here I’ve curated a list of the top 5 things I’m nostalgic about from the 90s. Feel free to jump on board and add some of your own!
1. Commander Keen
Growing up in the 90s, my family owned a grey, chunky computer that randomly had to be restarted because nothing else worked. In the early 90s, many of my friends families didn’t own a computer, so when they’d come over they’d use that as their trump card. We had a Simpson’s game, a Home Alone game, a BMX racing game, but my favourite was Commander Keen. It was an action game with moving elevators and food you could eat for energy. It had monsters, pogo sticks and enough levels to keep you busy for hours. It was a total escape, and I loved it. There was comfort in its consistency, in the backing music, the visuals. There was always the same route to follow, and the same obstacles to tackle, and there was a quiet assurance in it.
2. Video stores
We’d spend hours in them sometimes, wandering between the ‘New Releases’ and ‘Weekly’s.’ In the fluorescent lighting unique to video stores, we’d make some of the most important decisions we had at that time: which VHS tapes to hire. We’d sometimes ask the person working there for recommendations, and they generally proved to be valuable assets in the decision making. No matter what the situation, the decisions always felt weighty with importance.
3. Library outings
We’d make a family trip to the library usually once a week in the good, old days. After school, we’d pack into my family’s white station wagon, and collect our individual piles of books. Beep, beep, beep, and they were ours for the week. Sometimes we’d score big, with a selection of books we just knew would provide excellent reading material. Other times, not as much. Back home, we’d seperate and settle on our individual couches, and just read, read, read. I used to go through a book a week on average, sometimes staying up into the middle of the night to finish a really good one. I’m ashamed to say that now I don’t read much at all, because the internet that ate up the last of the 90s also stole my attention span.
4. Sunday rollerskating sessions
In the 90s, roller skating was a thing. There used to be rollerskating parties, that were held in little sectioned off party rooms next to the rollerskating rink. And, without trying to boast, I used to be pretty good at it, even being brave enough to skate on the rink during the dedicated ‘fast skating’ times. We would skate in the Jam Factory, mostly, in the rink above the arcade games, and go around and around while the Spice Girls beamed out through the overhead speakers.
5. Disposable cameras
Can this even be a 90s list without mentioning real film cameras? Oh, the joy of getting one of these developed, only to discover countless moments and memories, caught on film, and then forgotten about. Sure, lots of those photos came out blurry, or even completely black, but there was an element of fun and surprise that we got each and every time the prints came back. It wasn’t instant — in fact, it was quite the opposite, but that was the beauty of them. Even just the motion of winding the disposable cameras up after each photo was a process. We may not have realised it at the time, but these cameras were little bits of joy, wrapped up in small cardboard boxes. I know I miss them — do you?
