10 Agonizing Struggles We All Went Through That Kids Today Just Won't Understand
When we were kids, there were a lot of situations that frustrated us. We were young, our hormones were going up, down, and all over the place, and we just couldn't keep our angst in line.
However there were certain things that seemed to set it off more than others. Whether it was a minor inconvenience or a major struggle, there were just some things that were absolutely painful to us.
Looking back, they seem trivial and minute, but you know what, we were entitled to feel what we felt... Right?
1. The agony of realizing there is no tape behind the box at Blockbuster
It all happened so fast. You'd walk into the local video store, see the wall of new releases and then there it was, whatever movie you had been waiting for.
You try to act cool, but you're basically bolting down the aisle and grabbing at the empty box in the front. It's just the display to show they have the movies, you know this. The real copies are behind in plastic cases. But there's nothing there.
There's no snappy case holding the movie you had been looking forward to all day. No slightly dirty and scratched up enclosure containing the one thing that got you through math class. Just an empty shelf, and a whole lot of disappointment.
2. Your mom saying you can't use the internet because she needs to make a call
Our mom didn't care that our Neopets were starving. She didn't care that our crush was going to be on MSN. She needed to talk about something totally boring like insurance or electricity or something that totally didn't affect us in the least.
We were just learning the glorious secrets that the internet held for us. It was all so new and exciting. We all could make our own websites and they were absolutely wonderful, I guarantee it.
But not if we couldn't get on the internet!
3. Your sister is taping something already so you can't record your favorite show
She doesn't care that it's the finale of your favorite show, because her favorite show that is totally lame is on at the same time and no, you can't use the TV.
Even though some VCRs had the ability to tape one channel and watch another, for some reason it was always our siblings who got to chose what was being recorded and watched...
4. The VCR gobbled up your favorite movie
How this happened is beyond me, but you know what, it was absolutely horrifying to see.
You put in your very favorite movie because you think you're going to have a nice relaxing afternoon, but when you go to rewind it before watching (because obviously you never rewind it after, that's a future you problem) it starts to make this horrific noise.
Then, it stops... no sound. You open it up to take a look inside, maybe even hit the eject button but what happens? The plastic cassette part comes out BUT THEN FILM STARTS COMING OUT TOO!
It's a moment of pure panic as you see all that precious, precious film get completely destroyed as you frantically try to stop it. It's almost impossible to fix it. It's just not as easy as it was to wind back up the cassettes. Even if you got all the film back on it's absolutely going to have some spots that are warped.
5. Or when the copy of your favorite movie would get worn out
Sometimes it didn't matter how much you adjusted that tracking, there was no going back. The movie was worn out, and you were left depressed and bored.
You could add the movie to your Christmas list again, but you know your grandparents are going to be confused because they just bought you that movie last year.
6. You tried to use the Skip-It, and now you need new ankles
Whoever invented this toy is very cruel. They make it look so fun, "Hop around, it's like jump rope but more exciting because it's new," they would lie. When really they should have just told us the truth.
"Please enjoy this solid plastic mace that will shatter your heel bones into a billion pieces and leave you temporarily unable to stand while other kids laugh at you!"
That's how it really went down.
7. Your little sibling touched your Beanie Baby and now the tag is bent
After all of the money you invested in these little bears and animals, and all the extra money you spent on the protective cases, you'd think your sibling would be able to be cool for like... a second.
But no. The second you left the room they were in their with their greasy little fingers, playing with them like they were regular toys! Didn't they know that these were an investment?!
You'd come back to find a stain on the back or a bend in the tag and I swear, a part of your soul would die.
8. You have a paper on volcanoes due, but someone else already took out the 'V' Encylopedia
You might think that doing a quick report was easy, but that's because now Wikipedia exists. Back in the day we'd have to go down to the library and frantically copy all the notes from the single set of encyclopedias they had.
What happens if someone else has a topic from the same letter of the alphabet? Well, you wait. And you wait. And you wait.
It was the worst.
9. You wanted to see the pictures you took at your friend's birthday party on a disposable camera but you don't have the money to get them developed
First of all, you needed to buy the camera. That was expensive enough.
Second, you needed to remember to grab it before the party.
Third, you had to try and take pictures without covering the lens with your entire finger, which somehow was impossible.
Fourth, you needed to wait until you saved up enough money to develop them.
THEN and only then could you go and get them developed, only to find out that half of them are too dark, a quarter of them are completely washed out, twenty percent have your finger in them, so you have like... four pictures that are actually good.
10. You want to listen to a certain song on your new tape, but when you fast forward to get there you keep missing the first half of it
You think it'll be easy, you want the third song so you'll just fast forward for a few seconds and then push play. Nope, not far enough.
Fast forward for another few seconds, nope, still more.
Then you fast forward just a millisecond more and suddenly you've gone completely by it! Then you have to flip the tape over and rewind it and try again. Such a hassle.