Top Ten Tuesday-Ten Ways You Amazingly Survived the 80's

Okay, let’s face it. The 1980’s were an interesting time for history, music, movies, and culture. It’s the only time when Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Weird Al Yankovic could all have number one hits, when robots, Gremlins, Ewoks, and the Smurfs were considered super cool, when the best movies were about confused, misunderstood teens, when our nightmares were about clowns or the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, and when everyone knew the phrase “I want my MTV.” (If you know everything that I’m talking about, then you were a child of the 80’s. And if you’re smiling about everything that I’m talking about, then this top ten is for you 80’s lovers at heart.)

Here are the top ten ways you (and me included) amazingly survived the 80’s.
10. Your best friend accidently hit you over the head with her metal Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox. Thankfully, it only caused a lump the size of a goose egg but no concussion.

9. You spent ten years in the girl’s bathroom inhaling the toxic fumes of Aqua Net’s aerosol hairspray. The smell made you gag, but it did wonders for your incredibly high mall hair.

8. You scorched your tush and the back of your legs on that blasted vinyl car seat again. Luckily, it just singed your skin a little, but it didn’t leave a third degree burn. (If only you had remembered to place your Star Wars towel down first.)

7. You almost snapped your neck after trying to impress all your friends with your break-dance moves—you’re especially gifted at doing the worm, popping, and spinning on your head and back.

6. Your school playground—with its tall, narrow, metal slides, its cracked plastic swings, and super high, metal monkey bars—was an emergency room visit waiting to happen; fortunately, you only had to get stitches twice.

5. You surprising didn’t suffer any hearing loss even though you carried around a boom box the size of a large crate and placed it on your shoulder directly near your ear. (You’re also quite surprised you didn’t suffer from any back injuries either.)

4. Somehow you dodged getting Carpal Tunnel from all those years of playing Pac Man, Donkey Kong, and Pitfall using the Atari Joystick.

3. After all these years, you only have a few emotional scars left over from those old Polaroid pictures of you sporting your 80's wardrobe. (You still don't know why it was the rave to wear banana clips, plastic bangle bracelets, parachute pants, vinyl/pleather miniskirts, Members Only jackets, high top sneakers with fat, fluorescent shoe laces, and skinny ties.)

2. There were multiple times that you almost suffered a major injury because you didn’t own helmets, knee pads, shin guards, or wrist guards. When you fell off your bike or collided into a tree on roller skates, it was simply you against the elements.

1. Even though you binged on Cool Ranch Doritos, Oreo Cookies, gummy bears, Pixy Stix, Nerds (candy), and effervescent Cherry Coca-Cola everyday, you still kept your weight down because you were kicked outside to play all day long in the neighborhood with other kids.

And finally, I have one more bonus to offer:

After playing all day in the neighborhood without parental supervision, you still managed to make it home for dinner (even without a cell phone or GPS tracking device).

For more Top Ten Tuesday Fun, please feel free to check out my other posts: Top Ten Ways You've been Abducted by Clutter or Ten Clues Your Life Has Been Overrun by a Toddler.