'Pen15' Cast Ages: The 2000s Nostalgic Hulu Show Where Adult Women Play Their Teen Selves
Pen15 is a Hulu show where 33-year-olds Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle play seventh-grade versions of themselves... while surrounded by a cast of kids who are actually seventh-grade age. (Don't worry - anything romantic is shot with appropriately-aged stand-ins.) It's a strange concept, but pays off handsomely in laughs, as well as some major deja vu for anyone who was an awkward teen in the early 2000s. Pen15 cast ages aside, below are some of the items and moments that give nostalgia overload.
From butterfly clips and chokers to dial-up internet, the items on this list were organized by votes on Ranker.com.
1. Gel pens, and asking out your crush via note
Stationery supplies were all the rage - including those glittery, gel pens that would run out of ink in the middle of writing with them. Yes, in grade school we would ask each other out via notes, or via our friends.
2. Caboodles, the Millennial makeup catchall
You either had a Caboodle for all of your Lip Smackers and Bath and Body works body glitter, or you desperately wanted one. Right up there with Lisa Frank binders.
3. Butterfly clips
Butterfly clips actually seem to be back in style, which is great, because I stand by the fact that they are adorable. This is also nineties vibes.
4. Playing M.A.S.H.
M.A.S.H., the tried and true way to kill time while also finding out a bunch of major details about your future adult life. Mansion, apartment, shack, or house? Who will your husband be? What kind of car will you drive? How many kids will you have?
5. The coveted see-through phone (bonus if you have your own phone line)
We had a real obsession with being able to see the inside of all of our devices - phones, computers, furniture, backpacks, Game Boys. I had a purple see-through Game Boy, and yes, I miss it sometimes.
6. Those two tiny pieces of hair we wanted in our face for some reason
We would separate two, thin pieces of hair, straighten them, and let them limply fall right on our faces. That was the look.
7. Chokers and handmade friendship necklaces
Like the butterfly clips, it seems that chokers are back en vogue. And there has also been a resurgence of friendship bracelets, thanks to Taylor Swift.
8. A discman for when you needed to vibe out
They were so temperamental, and would skip if the car hit a bump. But when it worked, man, could you listen to The Writing's on the Wall from Destiny's Child over and over again.
9. Dial-up internet
"You've Got Mail." You couldn't be on the internet if anyone in your house wanted to use the phone at the same time. America Online (AOL) was everything.
10. Burning mix cds for your crush, or your friends
When you couldn't just make a playlist on Spotify and listen to it on your iPhone. If you wanted certain songs in a certain arrangement, you had to "burn" yourself a CD. The hours spent on Napster and Limewire, ruining the family's computer to download free songs.
11. That weird 'S' everyone was always doodling in their notebooks
I don't really know what to say about this one. We would doodle that "S" on everything.
12. Gushers, Kool-Aid Bursts, & Ring Pops
That one friend whose mom always bought everything they wanted, and so visiting them was like being given access to the holy grail of childhood snacks.
13. Dramatic away messages
You couldn't just say you were away, and you usually weren't going somewhere interesting enough to write about that (probably your mom wanted to use the telephone). Song quotes, and other cryptic messages were key - especially if they were written in that AnNoYiNg WaY.
14. Parties that revolved around renting movies from Blockbuster
The hours spent wandering the aisles of Blockbuster, on the hunt for the exact PERFECT movie selection. Now that looks like scrolling Netflix for hours.
15. Those stretchy comb headbands
Notice the two pieces pulled out of the headband. #ThingsWeJustDidIDK
16. AIM, & the importance of choosing the right screen name
My first one was KCCanter28, my initials + my hobby at the time - horseback riding - and my birthday. Then, I moved onto prettypnk628 during my 80s movie phase. Pretty in Pink was taken, so pretty pnk it is.
17. Sneaking into adult chat rooms with your friends
A/S/L - age/sex/location. Giggling, screaming, and quickly logging out if someone said anything spicy.
18. Getting creeped out by Are You Afraid of the Dark?
As a spooky kid in the early 2000s, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps were some of the top tier TV choices. Honorable mention to So Weird, Eerie, Indiana, and Courage the Cowardly Dog.
19. That unforgettable Bagel Bites jingle
When pizza's on a bagel, you can eat pizza ANYTIME. THE definitive snack for sleepovers and other hangs.
20. Coordinating camo
So much money spent at Aéropostale.
21. BOP posters of teen heartthrobs, like J.T.T.
Jonathan Taylor Thomas WAS the Nineties, at least according to BOP and Tiger Beat (and me). Other heartthrobs include Devon Sawa, of course, Andrew Keegan, Freddie Prinze Jr., Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Rider Strong.
22. Bucket hats (which are coming back btw)
Bucket hats - another example of the cyclical nature of fashion.
23. Wanting to match with your friends
Best friends share everything - secrets, clothes, fashion sense.
This was originally published on Ranker.com.
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