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Step into the past, where the glow of arcade screens ruled our weekends, our Trapper Keepers overflowed with doodles, and the sound of a dial-up modem was a distant future horror. The ‘80s weren’t just a decade—they were a vibe, a neon-soaked dreamland where rainbows weren’t political, cartoons had soul, and our biggest problem was trying to record our favorite song off the radio without the DJ talking over it.
If you weren’t there, you might not get it. But for those of us who were, here’s a trip down memory lane—an ‘80s kid thing. You wouldn’t understand.
🌈 1. Rainbows Were Just… Rainbows
I keep hearing, ((“You have a rainbow in your bio, so you must be gay")). But listen, in the ‘80s, rainbows had nothing to do with that. They were pure, unfiltered awesomeness.
Lisa Frank turned them into sticker gold, Rainbow Brite literally wielded one as a weapon, and My Little Pony had entire kingdoms bathed in rainbow sparkles. From our trapper keepers to our shoelaces, rainbows were everywhere, and they weren’t about making a statement—they were about having fun.
🦄 2. Unicorns and Shooting Stars Were Peak Aesthetic
Before pastel aesthetics took over Instagram, the ‘80s had already perfected the dream world. We had unicorns everywhere—on stickers, notebooks, lunchboxes, and the ultimate Lisa Frank designs.
Shooting stars streaked across Trapper Keepers, arcade cabinets, and t-shirts. If it didn’t sparkle, glow, or shimmer like some kind of cosmic synthwave fantasy, we weren’t interested.
📼 3. Saturday Mornings Were Sacred
Forget Netflix. We earned our cartoons. There was no “on-demand”—you had one shot to catch your favorite show, or you were out of luck until next week. We woke up at dawn, poured a mountain of sugary cereal, and locked into the lineup: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jem and the Holograms, The Real Ghostbusters, He-Man, Thundercats. And if you missed your favorite episode? You had to wait for a rerun. No DVR, no streaming. Just pain.
🎸 4. Our Music Was Loud, Electric, and Unapologetically Fun
Before autotune and mumble rap, we had synth-driven bangers. The ‘80s was a neon explosion of synthwave, glam rock, and pop perfection. From the mega guitar solos of Van Halen to the electric beats of A-ha’s Take On Me, every track was a journey. The music felt larger than life, like it belonged in a sci-fi movie—and a lot of it did. (Looking at you, “The NeverEnding Story” theme.)
🎮 5. Arcades Were the Place to Be
Before online gaming made it possible to trash-talk strangers from your couch, we had the arcade. This was our battleground. We stood shoulder to shoulder at the cabinets, quarters lined up on the screen, waiting for our turn to take down M. Bison, Donkey Kong, or Galaga’s endless alien swarm. If you made it to the high score list, your initials were legendary. And yeah, we absolutely blew our allowance in these neon-lit temples of sound and competition.
📟 6. Tech Was a Challenge, and We Were Warriors
Today, kids panic if the WiFi drops for ten seconds. We survived literal life-or-death tech situations. Cassette tapes unspooled? We had to surgically repair them with a pencil. Blockbuster was out of your movie? Tough luck. You recorded a song off the radio, but the DJ talked over the best part? Too bad—you had to wait days for them to play it again. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the pain of accidentally kicking the NES while playing Mario and seeing your game freeze.
🚲 7. Our Bikes Were Our Freedom
No cell phones. No GPS. Just a bike and a vague idea of when we were supposed to be home. We ruled the streets with our BMXs, banana-seat bikes, and streamers flying in the wind. We rode to the arcade, the store, our friend’s house—wherever. And when the streetlights came on, that was our signal to get back (or risk a mom-powered search party).
💾 8. The Future Was Full of Possibilities
The ‘80s were obsessed with the future. We dreamed of flying cars, space stations, and holograms in every home. Everything felt like it was leading to something big. Cartoons and movies like Tron, Back to the Future, Blade Runner, and The Jetsons made us believe that by now, we’d have robot butlers and personal hoverboards (okay, so we kinda got hoverboards—but let’s be real, they’re just self-balancing scooters).
The ‘80s weren’t just a decade—they were a mood, a vibe, a neon-tinted explosion of creativity. If you weren’t there, you wouldn’t get it. But for those of us who were? The memories are still glowing, still pulsing like a killer synthwave beat.
So, for those who keep dissing me for having a Rainbow in my bio:
Oh man, the shade is real with these Gen Z kids. They just don’t get it. We rocked rainbows, unicorns, and shooting stars way before they were a statement—back when they were just rad symbols of pure 80s magic. Lisa Frank? She was the queen of neon-drenched wonder, turning school supplies into technicolor daydreams.
But now? You flash a rainbow, and suddenly you’re getting side-eyed and slapped with a label. Like, excuse me—have you seen a Trapper Keeper from back in the day? Or a Rainbow Brite lunchbox? We weren’t making a statement; we were just living loud. The ‘80s were all about bold colors, big dreams, and zero chill when it came to looking totally tubular.
So yeah, Gen Z, keep throwing shade if you want. But if you weren’t riding your BMX down the block with a neon windbreaker, a pocket full of Lisa Frank stickers, and a My Little Pony in your backpack, did you even childhood?
So, for the love of all things neon, lay off my unicorns, rainbows, and shooting stars, ok. I'll sport them, post them, slap them on my YouTube videos, and wear them whenever I want. You do you, and I'll do me. Cowabunga baby!
So, to all my fellow ‘80s kids still rocking the neon, blasting the real classics, and chasing the OG rainbow aesthetic—stay rad. 🤘🌈✨
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