QUEZON City, Philippines (February 20) – A decade when Family Computer conquered almost every home and Michael Jordan’s posters were a never-to-miss item in a room, not LeBron’s.
The 90’s is one of the headiest eras of our time, recognizable because of the fusion of manual sources of joy and the technological innovations that signal the advent of 2000’s. Presently, with the fame of Facebook and social media, a sudden surge of nostalgia hit a random former kid of the already-done decade and posted a thing that only a youngster back then would remember. Fortunately, it worked! And that’s why we have the batang 90’s meme and phrase roaming today.
So who are these batang 90’s? They’re the ones who spent their childhood during 1990 to its late fade in the millennials. Kids who were lucky enough to play outside with their kababata and exhaust their energies in piko, patintero, agawan base, luksongbakaand other traditional—and purely manual—games, situated in a nearby street or alley. The fun would only stop when your parents shout your name, a bitter sign of going back home and doing the usual hilamos to remove dirt and the undeniable “choker” on the neck.
Wounds and scars? The more, the better. They were a sign of reputation of playing on the streets. Climbing trees and picking up bayabas and caimito are for the adventurers, always ready to face the scolding of tree-owners or the painful bites of red ants.If not spending time outside, the television is the king! Ghost fighter, Dragonball Z, SlamDunk and the like influenced a lot of role-playing, with a lot of kick-butt moves along side with their kick-butt names.
It was also a time when even a mere chichirya or bubblegum had a freebie or collectible inside. Be it a mini action figure, stickers or a comic strip printed inside the wrapper, it is a thing worthy to reach a state of satisfaction for a kid.
PS4? Xbox One? PSVita? We didn’t have those during the 90’s. Brick Game and Tamagotchi are the ones responsible to the worn-out thumbs of the kiddies who are into electronic games. Additional to that is the Family Computer, treated as God-given by all. One can play a lot of 8-bit classic games with just one cartridge, how cool was that?
If given a title, the 90’s would be one of the most kid-friendly decades of our time. It is a moment when childhood is what supposed to be. However, time is a thing everybody and everything won’t escape. When it walks, everything changes; time’s most powerful trait. Good thing we always have our memories with us. Bittersweet to recollect, yes, but what’s important is that, we were there.
(written by Rex Felix C. Salvador I, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)
