N O S T A L G I A

ZONE!!!

This page is an ode to my childhood. I grew up with media from a variety of time periods, typically from the late '80s to mid '00s. I had very early computer access, spending a lot of my time as a kid on the bulky ViewSonic monitor of our family computer. The first OS I can recall using was Windows XP, which I still hold dear to my heart due to its charming style and ease of use.

I'm told I was an easy kid. I didn't cry a lot as a baby, and generally stayed out of trouble. I went to a very small school in a backwoods town. I spent a lot of my free time drawing, playing pretend, collecting chestnuts and digging for fool's gold, and renting out all the school library's books on animals and dinosaurs that I could. I liked collecting worms, slugs, snails, and wood bugs, much to my mother's dismay.

When I got home, I spent most of my time looking at some kind of screen. (I was ahead of my time, really) Whether it be the giant blocky television that I swore took up 3/4 of the living room, the portable DVD player, or the family computer, I was addicted to those things. I still feel warm inside booting up an old CRT and hearing the incessant whining noise it makes, or the scattered clunking and beeping of an old PC. I played SNES and DOS games that my dad would run for us on the TV, and flash games I found on the internet.

I can remember downloading programs that promised free screensavers or custom cursors, only to flood the computer with useless toolbars and malware. I also used MSN messenger to roleplay as the Ghostbusters characters with my siblings. (I was always Ray, for some reason)