Bring me back to my teenagehood with these pop songs! No potions or spell allowed.

"Hit me baby one more time!", I always loved Britney Spears because of how she dances gracefully despite her Tweety bird-like voice. And I'd imagine myself dancing with her. Anyways, I haven't discovered that time that I was a witch, if I did, god knows what I'd do only just to look like Britney.

The 90's music brings back a lot of nostalgic memories for me. I could only daydream and wish to relive every moment.

I remember those days I'd run home and go to my neighbor's house and watch MTV because I'd see Britney, A1, NSync, and the rest of the popular groups' music videos.

Do you know that some of these songs have relevance to my teenagehood? My life has been chaotic but has been also colorful. Despite growing up in a broken family, I had an adventure-filled teenage life. So today, I am gonna share with you the pop music songs and how they related to my experiences.

"Keep on Moving" by Five

I remember between the summer of 98 and 99. I already went back to Iligan City and studied in a different public school, away from my childhood friends. I went for a summer vacation with my cousins where we used to be neighbors in Kiwalan. Our "purok", the Solid Dos, as they call it always had this Summer Olympics where different sports activities were organized. I tried joining volleyball but I wasn't that competitive. We practiced a dance called, "Keep on Moving", which my childhood friends, including my cousins, were going to present during the closing ceremony. The instructor was my former best friend. I was just sad realizing that we used to be so closed and we weren't able to maintain our friendship. She treated me like a stranger and she didn't know that I could dance as well. She was surprised when she saw me dancing. We didn't really talk even until the presentation day.

So Diza, my former best friend, I will "keep on moving" and I am thankful that you were a part of my colorful childhood.

Here is the music video of the song:

"Keep on Moving".

"Sometimes" by Britney Spears

I was in my third year of high school when I had my first relationship. Despite our theme song "Love Me For What I am" by the Carpenters, I always remember Rene and the times that we've shared through the song, "Sometimes" by Britney Spears. If you are familiar with the lyrics, the girl has doubts about her boyfriend's feelings because he didn't know everything about her yet. And I can totally relate to the song.

Rene came from a middle-class family while I was from a poor one and he didn't really know everything about me. I was afraid that he won't accept it and that I will fall short of his expectations. He saw me selling bananas on the street but he didn't know how poor we were. Yeah, we used to sell bananas before we finally ventured into selling vegetables. Rene only knew that I was smart and popular at school and I didn't want to break his admiration. Sigh, I guess it was an immature kind of love.

Sing "Sometimes" with me.

"My Love" by Westlife

This song reminded me of my adventures with my classmates. From the moment I transferred when I was in my second year in high school, most of my classmates were retained so formed that strong bond. Whenever there were no classes and we were on the campus, we'd have a lot of fun together. Climbing a coconut tree to get a coconut wasn't an exemption. There was a time when "My Love" was played. It hit me. My emotion fit with the song. It gave me a sudden rush of happiness being with my friends and classmates. And it always gives me nostalgia whenever I hear it until now. It brings back a smile to my face. My classmates were "My Love".

"My Love".

"It's Gonna Be Me" by NSync

Before my parents broke up in 1996, I was having a great time in my childhood because of my friends and cousins. And despite coming back to my father's place in 1998, I felt like a stranger. My cousins weren't used to being close with our other friends and relatives but when I returned, everything has changed. I felt like I missed a lot of happenings. I was lost.

I remember "It's Gonna Be Me" when my cousin danced to it. I have never seen her so happy with her group and I was so proud of her at that moment. My other close cousin, April, was a beauty pageant contestant at that time. It was their school's event which was open to everyone. I witnessed the event, went there right after our classes, and was still in uniform. My aunt was happy to see me and I slept in their house and woke up early to go home.

I know I am no longer in the picture of my cousins' adventures and friendship but it was okay if there was someone who can deal with that kind of experience, "It's Gonna Be Me".

"Candyman" by Ken

This song reminds me of my great friends and school in Calamba, Misamis Occidental. It is where I transferred school when my parents were separated. "Candyman" was the dance song we used to enter a competition. I became a part of an elite group in the class- the top-performing students' group. And we had a lot of adventures together. We went to a studio and had our photos taken and each one of us has a copy of it as a remembrance of our friendship. Then, my classmates would go to my grandma's house to pick me up and we'd go to school or dance practices. We would play street games like "shatong" . We also watched the movie, "Titanic" on VHS. I'd go to my classmates' houses for snacks. I did have fun while I was in Calamba and I will forever cherish those sweet as a "Candyman" memories.

Wrapping Up

There are songs that are deeply associated with our emotions because of our experiences- good and bad. And whenever we hear them, we can't avoid reminiscing those memories, they might open old wounds again or make us happy. One thing I know for sure is that those happy memories give us something to look back to and those bad ones served as lessons that we should remember.

I chose the happy part of my teenagehood because I don't wanna wallow in my gloomy past. I wanna relive those moments that made me feel alive, loved, and wanted. I prefer to feel human emotions despite knowing the spells on how to vanquish them.

What songs can you remember that give you happy memories?

Can't wait to read your comments!

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All content is mine unless stated otherwise. The lead image was from Unsplash.com
The video sources have been properly credited.

Thank you everyone for your support.

April 26, 2022

©️HermaniGinger