Millennials... we're the generation of entrepreneurship and perpetual nostalgia. It seems like we are always looking back to the 90s and saying, "man, what a time to be alive!" 2016, so far, has been the year to give us all that we've been asking for. Between, old cartoons making a comeback and Birkenstock sandals gracing the runways once again, it seems that we have a lot to celebrate.
Powerpuff Girls 2016 Reboot
Now usually I have no problem with celebrating certain trends of the past making a reappearance but I can't help but feel bitter about generation Z and millennials now enjoying the very trends that so many of us millennials got made fun of for. It's kind of a double bind because it makes me so happy to see the things that I enjoyed in my youth make a return, but I can't help but remember all of the taunting and teasing. So we can stroll down memory lane together, I've put together a list of the trends that I'm most upset at going mainstream.
1. Pokemon (Go)
Pokemon has made a return in 2016 with the release of the greatly anticipated app "Pokemon Go" this July. I was more excited than imaginable because I remember playing Pokemon, the card game, in elementary (and middle school). Watching the show was part of my daily schedule. Let's be honest, can you call yourself a Pokemon fan if you don't remember crying your eyes out during this scene in the Pokemon movie?
Don't get me wrong, I love that Pokemon is back but I'm upset that it's mainstream- typical millennial, right?
2. Non-Traditional Hair Colors
Non-Traditional hair color in the past used to only be attributed to counter-culture or scene/emo kids. I remember going through an identity crisis in high school and dyeing my hair green... we all make mistakes. After that "moment" my hair went through different phases of blonde, ginger and brown.
For me, like a lot of other teens at the time, coloring and/or bleaching your hair was a form of self expression and wanting to discover where you fit in society. I got so much backlash from my school and my peers for, not only coloring/bleaching my hair, but also being black and coloring my hair. It's like there were different standards of masculinity for white kids versus black kids.
As things in life usually go not much is fair but at least now kids and adults won't have to fear self expression as much as I did in my youth.
Now that it's mainstream- everyone's doing it!
3. Comic Culture
Okay- I can ring your ear off telling you about how much I love comic books and that Batman is my favorite hero ever and as an adult I own a Batman onesie... but I'll save myself the embarrassment. Marvel and DC have brought comic culture to the big screen and simultaneously made superheroes and the "love" of super heroes mainstream. Big movies such as Deadpool, Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad have warmed my heart and the hearts of comic geeks from future, present and past. I almost feel better about wearing my Batman cape in middle school and getting food thrown at me...
Can I Be Selfish?
I understand that trends come and go and that culture recycles itself throughout history but it's just those three things that really have gotten under my skin when I realized how much I had to go through just to be accepted. These are new times and we should really appreciate that 2016 has just been the year of acceptance and loving you for who you are!
