Waukegan East - Class of 1980

Are You Feeling Old?

Well this might not make you feel any better...actually, it might make you feel worse! :) But you should get a few chuckles out of it! The following list was created by staff at the Beloit College in Wisconsin a few years ago when the incoming freshman were kids born in the year 1980 - something they do every year to give faculty a sense of the mindset of the incoming students. Yes, that's right...BORN in the year we graduated. (Our kids will also apply to many of the things on this list as well.) Man.....I DO feel old!!

____________________________________________________________

Kids born in 1980:

have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and probably did not know he had ever been shot;
were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged;
Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression;
they were 11 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and do not remember the Cold War;
they may not remember the space shuttle blowing up;
their lifetime has always included AIDS;
bottle tops have always been screw off, and plastic;
Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums;
the expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them;
most have never owned a record player;
they have likely never played PacMan, and never heard of Pong;
they may have never heard of an 8-track;
the Compact Disc was introduced when they were 1 year old;
as far as they know, stamps have always cost around 32 cents;
they have always had an answering machine;
most have never seen a tv set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black & white tv;
they have always had cable;
there has always been VCR's, but they have no idea what BETA is;
they cannot fathom not having a remote control;
they were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony;
roller skating has always meant inline for them;
Jay Leno has always been on the tonight show;
they have no idea when, or why, Jordache jeans were cool;
popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave;
they never took a swim and thought about Jaws;
the Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII and the Civil War;
they have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran;
they can't imagine what hard contact lenses are;
they don't know who Mork was, or where he was from;
they never heard: "where's the beef", "I'd walk a mile for a camel", or "de plane, de plane";
they do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is;
...the Titanic was found? they thought we always knew where it was;
Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America and Alabama are places, not music groups;
McDonald's never came in styrofoam containers;
there has always been MTV;
and they don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Myspace Quotes, Inspiration Quotes at WishAFriend.com

___________________________________________________________________
(The following was taken from a circulating email)

FOR KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because,

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day… . And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play Stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.......

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!