Believe it or not, we actually lived this way. If we were obsessed with our own vintage take on Doctor Who (which, let’s be real, was something else entirely), our only option was to chat about it face-to-face with real friends. But honestly, I can hardly recall having in-depth conversations about TV shows with my pals. It was just part of being a teenager—something we did constantly but rarely discussed.
Music, on the other hand, was a different story. We listened to it non-stop and had plenty to say about our favorite bands. Understanding what music your friends enjoyed was essential. I still vividly remember the first music video I ever saw (Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”) at a friend’s gathering, despite having heard whispers about MTV for an entire year prior. Talk about a long anticipation!
Communication Through Notes
So, what did we do back then? We communicated through notes. Yes, you read that right! We passed notes during class, in between classes, and sometimes even scribbled them at home to share the next day. One year, I began exchanging notes with a boy in my class simply because he reminded me of someone I knew. We wrote to each other every single day for a whole year, with the girl in between us begrudgingly passing the notes back and forth, while we barely spoke in person. As time went on, our notes became more intimate; I’m pretty sure we declared love for each other at some point, but I thought of it as just playful banter back then.
Years later, as an adult, I stumbled upon those notes and it hit me—he had genuinely cared for me, and I was completely oblivious. I still remember the sinking feeling when I saw him the following year in the hall, hand in hand with another girl, but at the time, I didn’t think much of it. Reading those notes again made me feel nostalgic and a bit sad, prompting me to toss them away. I couldn’t stand the reminder of the carefree girl I used to be.
Long Phone Calls
We also spent countless hours on the phone, so much so that I can still recall the sensation of my ear feeling hot and ringing afterward. I’m convinced this is why I struggle to hear out of my right ear, my designated phone ear, all these years later. We discussed everything that had happened at school just hours before, desperate to keep that connection alive.
In-Person Connections
And of course, we met up in person. We watched movies together, slept over at each other’s homes (sometimes fibbing about where we were staying), attended parties, and stood on street corners for hours, engrossed in conversations about our plans for the night. The city would darken around us as we continued to talk, lost in the moment.
We craved each other’s words. We understood each other, just as teenagers have for generations, perhaps even before the term “teenager” was coined.
Exploring Related Topics
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In summary, reflecting on life before the internet brings a wave of nostalgia, showcasing the importance of direct communication and personal connections in a time when technology was not at our fingertips.