In 2006, most of us were in our last years of elementary school or early years of middle school. Our biggest worries were getting a first place ribbon at Field Day or becoming the president when we grew up. Fast forward to 2016, where watching Netflix and scrolling through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are our favorite pastimes. We’re gearing up for elections that have polls claiming Donald Trump is bound to win and the hashtag OscarsSoWhite is popular for a second year in a row, due to no actors of color receiving nominations. During the last 10 years, there was a lot of school, friends, fun and growing up that happened. We are finally close enough to being “real adults” that being an adult does not sound like so much fun anymore. Yet, there are a lot of things that make us feel old to imagine that they happened a decade ago.
High School Musical aired for the first time 10 years ago, and if you don’t recall, it was a hit! Pre-teens had their parents rush to buy the movie, the CDs (regular and karaoke edition) and any HSM paraphernalia they could get their hands on. This included trading with friends to make sure everyone got posters of all the cast members from popular teen magazines, like J-14, M and Pop Star. Everyone learned the dance to “We’re All in This Together” and wished going into high school would result in something just as fabulous.
Disney also brought us the start of Hanna Montana, which launched Miley Cyrus’s career in 2006. Back then, being part of the show and being Billy Ray Cyrus’s daughter was what brought her the most news publicity. Although today she is still a well-known name, it is for vastly different reasons.
Taylor Swift should be a familiar name to most people, but 10 years ago she was just releasing her first album. This was back when her music had a country twang to it and “Our Song” was played multiple times during middle school dances. While her music was still being played at high school dances recently and has followed us to college room parties, it is hard to believe she has been writing break up songs for so long.
One other thing not to forget about is that in 2006 you were named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Yes, I meant you. Thanks to technology, social media and the contributions everyone makes with them, Time magazine decided that everyone deserved the award. Did you realize as a 7 to 12-year-old that you had already been so successful?
All of these things seem so recent, yet also are forever part of our distant childhood. It is hard to imagine that a decade from now we’ll be looking back on Netflix shows like Making a Murderer, or artists like Fetty Wap and reminisce about college. Instead, 10 years from now we may be coming home from our careers to watch new childhood defining shows with our own kids.
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