I was born November 28th 2000, which makes me 5 years old for most of 2006. And lately, I’ve been wishing I had a time machine to take me back. Everyday lately I’ve been thinking, “How can I make my life feel more like it’s 2006”? I don’t know why and I don’t know if it’s just me but I’ve been so unbelievably nostalgic lately. Maybe it’s because it seems as though the state of the world and the U.S government is in shambles. Maybe it’s because I’m turning 25 next month. Maybe it’s both. But I’ve been plagued with a nostalgic longing for the past two weeks now, so much so that I’m thinking of getting a BlackBerry and ditching my iPhone for a while. (I feel like I need less constant stimulation. You get so many meaningless notifications on your iPhone, which leads to scrolling and staring at blue light for far longer than necessary.)

Picture this. It’s a Saturday in 2006. You’re watching cartoons in the morning. Your day is filled with playing games, running around outside, a cosmic brownie and a bug juice from the gas station, and if it’s a really fun day, maybe a trip to the mall. I can see and feel the feeling so clearly but in a vague sort of way at the same time, if that makes any sense. The feeling of being young, of times being simpler. The world being different. Less blue light, more yellowed lights.

And it’s not 2006 specifically. I feel the ages of 5 through 10 smushing together like a sparkly, glittery, purple slime or Neapolitan ice cream melting, swirling into itself. I remember my favorite Barbie movie being The Princess and the Pauper, I remember playing tag outside. Playing my D.S.

Going to Blockbuster or Family Video (Honorable mention, Hollywood Video. I don’t remember going there much but it was another popular movie rental place!) to get a movie to watch at home, which was one of my favorite things to do. Getting snacks and of course, putting a quarter in that big gumball machine filled with gumballs of every color, guessing which color I’d get this time, watching it spiral down or either closing my eyes until I grab it from the bottom to see if I guessed right. Maybe getting pizza too because movie stores were seemingly always next to a pizza place. ( Truly a genius business model.) Driving home and listening to Delilah on the radio with my mom while I sat in the back of the car.

Does anyone remember getting a free movie from Family Video if you got A’s on your report card or the free kid movies section?

I see this time in magical haze in my mind. Seeing it with rose-colored glasses.

And although the world obviously wasn’t perfect then, I still sometimes wish I could spend time back then. With old problems we know how to solve now. I know this romanticized version of the past isn’t all there was, but it feels like all that matters. Box Tops and silly bandz. The Scholastic Book Fair and High School Musical.

Less beige, more color. Less minimalism, more homey clutter.

This is why shows like Gilmore Girls feel so comforting to watch, even though I didn’t start watching it till I was about 19 or 20. The town, their house, the clothes, the world; it feels like what it use to feel like.

I also have a longing to experience these years as an young adult. The coolest cellphone to have was the Motorola Razr, The Office and Psych are new show, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is in theaters, and Since U Been Gone is a new banger.

I miss the 90’s not being so far away.

In 2020 I read a post that said “2000 is as far away now as the 80’s were in 2000.” That made me want to throw up.

Why does time keep on passing? How is it 2025 now? I guess maybe it’s not so much the passing of the time but the changing of the world as the time passes. Things keep changing. Upgrading. Bigger. Better. Brighter. And I wish they wouldn’t.

Of course, you never know what you have until it’s gone and someday I might be nostalgic for these days here and now. And we all know the past always seems better than it probably was. But every now and then I wish I could wake up in 2006 and stay there for a while.

Has anyone else been feeling this way lately? Has nostalgia gripped you the way it has me? What’s in your memories of 20 years ago?

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All pictures (except The Office picture) here are on my Pinterest board ‘early 2000’s childhood’ which you can take a look through if you’re in the mood to reminisce.

And if you remember listening to 90’s music as a kid, I made a 90’s comfort playlist that I’ve been listening to quite often lately. Give it a listen for some nostalgic vibes.

I’ll update on whether I get a BlackBerry. I’m really wanting to so we’ll see. It sounds like a fun experiment to me. Maybe a lifestyle change? Who knows. We’ll see.