10 years makes SUCH a difference!

The last week or so has been quite interesting... I've learned a lot about myself (and the person I was at 14) through watching my cousin, Ali. Last night I was thinking about how different things were when I was 14, both in my life and in the world.

The difference between being 14 now and 14 then (1999):

• There was no texting. I had to call my friends on the phone and make plans by actually speaking to them. The phone I used was the house phone; a line I shared with everyone else. I didn't even get my first cell phone until I was 16! (Good ole Motorola Star-Tac flip phone with 2 rows of digital display that showed numbers only... no letters. Oh- and it was a pre-pay phone.)
• We FINALLY got dial-up internet at my mom's house, soon to be upgraded to cable internet. And we thought it was fast.
• Myspace, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter did not exist. Google was JUST launched, Gchat was not an option. We used MSN Messenger, ICQ, and AIM to communicate online.
• When we wanted to transport music we burned CDs with songs we downloaded illegally off of Napster or Ares. MP3 players were a thing of the future, and nobody knew what an iPod was. (and I also downloaded a shitload of viruses with my music). We had to play our CDs in our car with a portable CD player and cassette tape adapter.
• Only rich people had laptops. And they were ugly.

Obviously there are a ton of differences between being 14 and being 24. When I was 14...

• I used a shit ton of disposable cameras - I'm not sure if digital cameras were around then, but if they were, they were SUPER expensive and I definitely didn't own one.
• I was in LOVE with Lance Bass of N*SYNC
• I was blissfully ignorant of the pain of losing a loved one
• I knew my friends and I would never drift apart (this is probably the one thing that is still true, to a certain extent)
• My only worries were what I was going to wear to school, how I was going to get to the next football game, and whether I should do my homework or not.
• I got my money from babysitting. And never had to pay taxes.
• I was planning on a full-ride scholarship to a prestigious out of state university, becoming an amazing interior designer, living in a big city, going to a job I love every day, falling in love and getting married at 24 or 25 (which seems soooo old when you're 14)

However, there are many things that I've watched Ali do that I KNOW I did when I was 14. I should probably call my mom and apologize for being so ridiculous at that age (I knew the day would come when I realized how shallow and self-centered I was as a teenager, however I thought it would be when I have my own kids, not at the ripe old age of 24). As a teenager I had no concept of time. I didn't care if I was going to be late or make someone else late. If my hair wasn't doing what I wanted, I took the time needed to fix it. If my clothes were wrinkled, I waited until they were done tumbling in the dryer (because ironing my clothes was SO beneath me). I know my mom was late because of me more than once (sorry mom!!). I thought my parents were stupid and were out to ruin my fun. Now that I'm having to make decisions on what Ali does with her friends, I can definitely see where my parents were coming from. (Sorry again, mom!) I was fortunate enough to earn a lot of money through babysitting so I could pay for a lot of the stuff I wanted myself. However, my mom footed the bill for a lot more than I ever realized. And, since I work for the same company she worked for when I was 14, I know she did not make a lot of money - especially for the amount of work she did. (Once again, sorry mother!! But thanks for the fashionable clothes!)

Anyways, I thought it was interesting to think about all of the things that have changed over the last 10 years. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but these are what popped into my head last night and this morning...