Throwback Madness

Ellie, Larry, Leslie, Ronnie, Erwin, and Erica gathered at a restaurant one Sunday afternoon. They’re childhood friends who reunited 10 years after their high school graduation. As they were catching up with one another, a familiar song was played.

“It’s been a while since I last heard this song!!!”, Ellie said.

She hummed along to the tune and felt the vibe coming from it. She then remembered her younger days. She remembered how life was simple and happy, with nothing to worry about.

As the song finished, another familiar tune was heard. Everyone took a trip down memory lane as the music of the ’90s was played, the era of their childhood years.

Ellie recalled the simple and catchy beats and lyrics of songs then. She loved listening to girl groups like the Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, and M2M. She also loved jamming to boy bands like the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Westlife, A1, and 98 Degrees. But Ellie loved listening to The Corrs, Michael Learns to Rock, and Blue, her influences to become an award-winning singer and composer.

Then, there was a dance tune. With its catchy beat and vocals, it reminded Larry about his childhood.

“This is the beat.”, said Larry.

He loved the songs Get Ready For This, Saturday Night, Barbie Girl, and We Like To Party. Songs like these grew his love for dance music.

So Larry started listening to Eurodance, the dance music of his childhood. It developed on with disco, house, trance, Eurobeat, happy hardcore, and recently EDM. This made him open to different music genres. His passion as a musician developed, and it made him become an award-winning electronic dance artist.

“I would dance again back in the days.”, said Leslie.

She recalled how dance music made her interested in gaming. It started with the popularity of the game Dance Dance Revolution, her first game experience that interested her with rhythm games. She loved games like Dance Maniax, Para Para Paradise, and Pump It Up.

So Leslie decided to learn music from Larry. From there, she became a well-known composer in a game company. A few years later, she became one of the leading sound directors in the music game industry.

“Games!!! Oh, good times.”, said Ronnie.

He remembered how he loved fighting games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Soul Calibur, The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown, and Marvel v.s. Capcom. He also loved games like Time Crisis, Silent Scope, Police 911, The House of the Dead, and Virtua Cop.

This made Ronnie interested to be a game programmer. It wasn’t that long that he became a game story consultant, until such time that he became a famous game director.

“Well, you must never forget the TV shows we watched then.”, said Erwin.

They talked about the cartoon shows from Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon.
Erwin remembered enjoying TV shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Cow & Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, ChalkZone, and Danny Phantom.

They also took the time to talk about anime shows like Pokemon, Digimon, and Doraemon. Erwin liked Astroboy, Lupin, Detective Conan, Bey Blade, and Samurai X. It was these shows that made up Erwin's childhood. These inspired him to become a great story writer. And he was able to write successful ones for famous animated and live-action shows.

“Talk about good plots.”, said Erica.

They also talked about Disney movies that impacted them as kids. Erica liked The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Aladdin, Mulan, and Tarzan in her childhood years. She also loved the Pixar movies Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles.

But what interested her were movies of fantasy, adventure, and science fiction. Among her favorite movies were Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Chronicles of Narnia. She was curious about the cinematography and visual effects. So she studied them and became a successful graphic artist and film producer years after.

Everyone was nostalgic as they recalled the music, games, TV shows, and movies they loved. They were happy to realize how these shaped them to become the successful career people they are now.

These six friends also realized how these have brought them stronger together. They recalled the times when they were able to see the world outside their homes. They were able to experience life at its fullest.

“We’re lucky to have that childhood in our generation.”, Ellie said.

“Too bad we can’t see that now.”, Erwin said.

“Yeah. Those times won’t be like any other.”, Larry said.

“How I wish we can be stuck there forever. But life has to go on.”, Erica said.

“I’m thankful to be back there, even for just a few minutes.”, Ronnie said.

“The memories will forever be treasured inside us.”, Leslie said.

They agreed, and these friends continued their conversation until it was time to go. As they parted ways, each went home with a refreshed spirit. The best memories were celebrated, and it was time to face today as memories will be made and cherished soon.