Do You Remember...

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm on my way to Florida today for my 10 Year High School Reunion this weekend. I'm pretty excited about it. I didn't do a very good job of keeping in contact with my high school friends, although Facebook helps a little bit. So, I'm excited to see people I haven't seen in so long and get caught up!

In light of my impending reunion, I have been thinking back to my high school years - both the changes I went through personally, and also what the world was like at that time. I thought in honor of this anniversary, I would do a little look back at the world during my high school years: 1996 through 2000. I wanted to reminisce about news events, popular culture, fashion, music, etc. I hope that you'll read through these lists and have some "oh, yeah! I remember that!" moments. Are you ready? Let's see how times have changed!

During my freshman year, 1996-97...

• Bill Clinton defeated Bob Dole in the 1996 Presidential Election to win his second term.
• The JonBenet Ramsey murder dominated the headlines.
• Madeline Albright became the first female Secretary of State.
• Scientists successfully cloned a sheep named Dolly.
• A jury sentenced Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing.
• Life was discovered on Mars.
• There were race riots in my hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida.
• A civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
• Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. were murdered.
• Tiger Woods turned professional at the age of 20.
• Tickle-Me-Elmo was the must-have toy.
• At the Grammy Awards, Album of the Year was awarded to Celine Dion's Falling Into You, and Eric Clapton's "Change the World" was the Song of the Year. Leann Rimes was the year's Best New Artist.
• Alanis Morrissette's Jagged Little Pill was the #1 selling album in 1996.
• Other popular songs included Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart," Keith Sweat's "Twisted," Blackstreet's "No Diggity," the Spice Girls' "Wannabe," and the classic "Macarena."
• Rent won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1996 (and is still one of my favorites today!).
• The English Patient won the Oscar for Best Picture. 
• Other popular movies included Romeo & Juliet (starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who I had a major crush on), Independence Day, Jerry Maguire, Mission: Impossible, The Nutty Professor, The Preacher's Wife, and Twister.
• Madonna's performance in Evita won her a Golden Globe.
• Popular television shows included Rosie O'Donnell's talk show, Friends, X-Files, Seinfeld, Third Rock From The Sun, ER, and MTV's Singled Out. 
• Quote of the year: "Show me the money!" - Jerry Maguire 

 
During my sophomore year, 1997-98...

• Princess Diana died in a car crash.
• The Monica Lewinsky scandal broke.
• Mother Theresa died of heart failure.
• Ramzi Youssef was found guilty of the 1993 World Trade Center Bombings.
• British nanny Louise Woodward was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after shaking eight-month-old Matthew Eappen.
• Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski pled guilty and accepted a sentence of life in prison without parole.
• The 1998 Winter Olympics were held in Nagano, Japan, where Tara Lipinski won the gold in figure skating.
• Viagra was approved by the FDA.
• El Niño began wreaking havoc on the weather.
• Chris Farley died of cardiac arrest caused by a drug overdose.
• Kids cared for their Tamagotchi Nano puppies (yup, I had one).
• Beanie Babies were the must-have toy.
• At the Academy Awards, Titanic won a record 11 Oscars, including Best Picture.
• Other popular movies included I Know What You Did Last Summer, Men In Black, Scream 2, Amistad, Seven Years in Tibet, and Austin Powers.
• The Lion King won Best Musical at the Tony Awards.
• At the Grammy Awards, Album of the Year was awarded to Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, and Shawn Colvin's "Sunny Came Home" was Song of the Year. Paula Cole was the year's Best New Artist.
• Other popular songs included Elton John's "Candle in the Wind," Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply," Usher's "Nice and Slow," Will Smith's "Gettin' Jiggy With It," K-Ci & JoJo's "All My Life," Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time," and Cher's "Believe."
• Other popular musicians included Jamiroqui, Hanson, Fiona Apple, Mariah Carey and the Spice Girls.
• Popular television shows included Party of Five, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ally McBeal, and Touched By An Angel.
• Quote of the year: "Oh my god, they killed Kenny!" - South Park

 
During my junior year, 1998-99...

• The 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania (linked to Osama bin Laden) killed 224 people and injured over 4,500.
• The U.S. Congress passed the Iraq Liberation Act, which stated that the U.S. wanted to remove Sadam Hussein from power and set up a democratic government.
• Google, Inc. was founded.
• President Clinton was impeached.
• The Euro was established.
• Dr. Jack Kevorkian was found guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.
• Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold opened fire on their classmates at Columbine High School, killing 12 students, one teacher and themselves.
• Music downloading service Napster debuted (and boy, did I love me some Napster in college).
• Apple Computer released the iBook, the first laptop computer designed for the average consumer (and man, do I love me some MacBook nowadays).
• Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs.
• Michael Jordan announced his retirement (for the second time).
• Furbies became the must-have toy (yup, had one of those, too).
• WWJD ("What Would Jesus Do") bracelets became popular.
• Shakespeare in Love won the Oscar for Best Picture.
• Other popular movies included Enemy of the State, Waterboy, Saving Private Ryan, Armageddon, There's Something About Mary, and Dr. Doolittle.
• At the Grammy Awards, Album of the Year was awarded to Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" (from the Titanic Soundtrack) was Song of the Year. Lauryn Hill was the year's Best New Artist.
• Other popular songs included Brandy & Monica's "The Boy Is Mine," Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing," and Barenaked Ladies' "One Week."
• Other popular musicians included the Beastie Boys, the Dixie Chicks, Dave Matthews Band, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Shania Twain and Mariah Carey.
• Popular television shows included Dawson's Creek, Felicity, Spin City, The Drew Carey Show and Friends.
• Quote of the year: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." - President Bill Clinton

 
During my senior year, 1999-2000...

• People freaked out over Y2K.
• John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and her sister Lauren were killed in a plane crash.
• The first version of MSN Messenger was released (another thing I got lots of use out of in college).
• Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France.
• The world population reached 6 billion.
• The ExxonMobile merger created the largest corporation in the world.
• The final original Peanuts comic strip was published, following the death of Charles Schultz.
• George W. Bush and Al Gore won the Republican and Democratic primaries.
• Elian Gonzales was returned to his father after a very long, very public custody battle.
• MP3 players began to be popular, and personal DVD players and mobile phones were becoming much more accessible. (Remember that Nokia phone that everybody had, with the snap-on covers? Yup, had one. Gators cover, of course.)
• Power/karma beads were popular.
• At the Grammy Awards, Album of the Year was awarded to Santana's Supernatural, and "Smooth" (Santana featuring Rob Thomas) was Song of the Year. Christina Aguilera was the year's Best New Artist.
• Other popular songs included Ricky Martin's "La Vida Loca," TLC's "No Scrubs," Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle," Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You," Lonestar's "Amazed,"  Destiny Child's "Say My Name," and Jennifer Lopez's "If You Had My Love."
• American Beauty won the Oscar for Best Picture.
• Other popular movies included Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Matrix, Runaway Bride, The Sixth Sense, 10 Things I Hate About You and Big Daddy.
• Popular television shows included Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, ER, Friends, and Seventh Heaven.
• Quote of the year: "I see dead people." - The Sixth Sense 

And that was what happening in the world while I was in high school! It's hard to picture what life was like when I started my freshman year, especially as I sit here typing on my beloved MacBook, charging up my iPod for my trip this afternoon, with my cell phone beside me, using Google to put this post together (seriously, how did people live before Google? How did you like, know stuff?). Back then, I had little knowledge of the world around me, aside from stories that really dominated the headlines. Things have certainly changed. Did anything in these lists bring back memories for you?

Now that I've covered what was going on in the world during my high school years, I think it's time to look back at what happened in my personal life in those four years. Stay tuned!