You: Then and Now

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: You: Then and Now

I wish every decade were like the 90s though.

Those were the days when my dad made money, my mom was able to stay at home and raise 5 kids, and we were actually able to take vacations in Hawaii.

I really find it hard to believe that that many people could have enjoyed this decade considering how terrible it was for most Americans. The 2000s were absolutely horrible compared to the 1990s.

EDIT: I guess it's sort of a NIMBY effect, sort of like how most people will acknowledge that the economy is poor, but will continue to believe that their own economic standing is fairly good.

Agreed. September 2005-June 2008 was a pretty decent stretch for me, but other than that the 2000's sucked.

It seems like nearly everything was better in the 90's. TV shows, music, everything. Sprinkle in the technological advances of this decade and everything else about the 90's and you have a perfect place to be.

[jeremym480]

Re: You: Then and Now

.
And the poor economy doesn't affect everyone.

I agree. In 2000 I was a 20 year old working as a grunt for a drilling and blasting company in Birmingham. I decided to move back home and figure out what I really wanted to do and within five year's I was a manager at a major furniture chain. In fact, my earning's actually increased every year up until this year. However, the decrease was my decision because I decided that I wanted out of retail because I would rather have a job working M-F, 8-5 even though it meant less $$ but, it also means less stress so, that's positive

So the 2000s were actually very good to me.

[TimmeH]

Re: You: Then and Now

Am I the only person who would actually want to go back to 2000?

The 2000s were a decade of hell for me...and the country. Life before 9/11 and the economic downturn was so amazingly simple and bliss for me.

I would like to go back to 2000, just so I could redo some things differently. I don't necessarily live with regrets, I believe in learning from your past and such, which I've done, but now knowing what I know, I'd like to try it again. I guarantee I could have done better. But I guess that's what this next decade is for.

[BatsareBugs]

Re: You: Then and Now

2000 - Started with a lot of "promise". I had made friends with a bunch of people back in middle school after completing sixth grade and was fine with everything. I was friendly and didn't mind company at all. Seventh grade however held a lot of negatives for me, ranging from misunderstanding relationships, ruining friendships unintentional, becoming the target of eighth grade bullies who liked someone related to me but that person hated them back. Just about a bunch of crap that led me to become pessimistic for the first half of the decade started then. This year I also started a three-year run in Tae Kwon Do and was getting into playing sports, baseball in particular. I had the choice between Little League and Tae Kwon Do and chose the latter.

2001 - Transition to seventh grade and eighth grade, I was hopeful for change but nothing really did anything, as now I had people in the same grade level turning on me for no reason... maybe because of "popularity." This was the year I'd really start following the Padres and Chargers closely. Nothing significant that I can remember, except for 9/11.

2002 - Finally finished with middle school and had many regrets and questions, but had carefully planned out my path in high school with the help of my older siblings. I had turned up my baseball training up a notch in hopes of trying out the following spring. I also had plans to try out for football and roller hockey in high school but because of bad time management and inconvenience I was unable to do both. High school started off decent, but I found freshmen year challenging.

2003 - Miserable start. Car accident in the Philippines, I get my tooth knocked out in a practice in baseball which causes all kinds of panic which would lead to me missing out that year and missing out on baseball. This was probably the worst point for me of the decade. Academics were not going well in for me in my first year of high school. Enough was enough and things finally started changing. I finally was able to stop and mend bad blood between people who I went to middle school with and also achieved 1st degree black belt. I also started being more carefree towards the end of the year, but was still pessimistic. This was the year I signed up here and on other forums (hence my name, which now doesn't really apply, but I like being called Rags).

2004 - Had high hopes, came away with a decent year. Still tried to get back in baseball, training hard, but finally gave up before tryouts. I decided to then focus on art and music. Every year since then high school and life got better.

2005 - Probably the best time of my life in high school, hanging out with friends, doing well in my academics, and having things bounce in my favor. However, once senior year started, it would be stressful every month with certain deadlines (application, SATs, APs, senior exhibition, etc.)

2006 - Having been accepted at Cal Poly Pomona, CSU San Marcos, and San Diego State, I started planning my path in college much like I did for high school. I had originally planned to go to Cal Poly Pomona to pursue a bachelors degree in architecture, but had a change of heart and decided to stay in San Diego (a decision I do not regret). I had planned to take business and minor in art here at SDSU. I also had a nice paying side job of taking care of dogs. Anyways, my first semester at SDSU was memorable, only because I stepped out of my bounds and wasn't intimdated by professors. Doing so paid off when one of them messed up my grade because my scantron for our final was "missing" only to be found later stuck with another person's scantron. Awesome.

2007 - My best year academically in SDSU, I also decided that I'll take up Accounting, but I had no idea what was in store for me. I enjoyed all my classes. The only blemish was the fact that the economic **** the bed and I foolhardedly tried getting job during the toughest times.

2008 - Worst year academically at SDSU, I became discouraged because of a class where people stopped showing up and another class where professor had our heads in clouds the whole semester. This semester alone would cause me to start keeping things myself and start developing bad studying habits. I also stopped keeping in touch with high school and early college friends. Just bad and it was compounded by a very difficult Accounting 321 course at SDSU that I was obviously not prepared for. I still passed that class, but that class along with my next intermediate accounting class would leave me with a chip in my shoulder for my last year of college.

2009 - I got off to a decent start but had a big collapse in the middle of the semester for most of my classes, mainly due to neglect, indifference, and bad study habits. However, I was able to make more friends that would help me carry through this difficult major. I also decided to drop Art as a minor seeing as to how I would not have time. Things started to become clear to me after summer, as I started thinking about life after college. There are many possibilities for me, so around this time I start weighing my options and started applying, but soon I realized my 2008 disaster damaged my potential in public accounting more than I had realized. However, undeterred I took it upon myself to prove that I can do well in these intermediate courses. However late it may be, I can say I achieved that goal getting a B+ in this last intermediate course.

Now - I still am planning what I should do immediately after college, but I have a good idea of what I want to do two years from now (business school, specifically masters in accountancy). The future holds nothing other than uncertainty, but I'm sure I can make the right decisions.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: You: Then and Now

The end of the 90s were awful economy-wise for my family, but from 2002 to 2007, things were pretty nice economically. Of course, I look back on my childhood more fondly.

[jvalverde88]

Re: You: Then and Now

2000- Athletic nerd in the 8th grade

2009- nerdy and jobless college sophomore

[elgreazy1]

Re: You: Then and Now

2000 - A completely unconfident, awkward & quiet kid in high school (senior) who was stressed about going to college, affording it, moving away from everyone he's ever known, etc. I weighed 300+ pounds & had never had a g/f, let alone seen a real boob.

2009 - A 27 year old confident & well-spoken man who knows of life and has found complete peace with the person he has become. I'm in the best physical & athletic shape of my life. I've transformed my life from the horribleness that was only 2 years ago (unemployed, never finished college, foreclosure, lost relationship) to make myself the happiest I have ever been: back in college & dominating with a 4.0, bought a beautiful 2nd home I can actually afford and about to propose next week to my beautiful lady... the 31st, actually.


As much as the advice of "things will work out in the end" may have irked me, it's always true. Just keep your head up, your heart positive, & never dwell in the past.

Not that anyone will care but:

She said, "YES!" Couldn't have gone any better... all alone on the beach while a brilliant full moon radiated across the vast black ocean and a massive battleship (USS Lexington) in the background. HELL EFFIN' YEAH!!!!!!

I feel like a champ!

[Hammerhunker]

Re: You: Then and Now

Not that anyone will care but:

She said, "YES!" Couldn't have gone any better... all alone on the beach while a brilliant full moon radiated across the vast black ocean and a massive battleship (USS Lexington) in the background. HELL EFFIN' YEAH!!!!!!

I feel like a champ!

Congratulations