Every decade has a personality, the ethos that marks the people living together during that time, giving us shared experience that shapes our day-to-day. It bonds us and reminds us we belong to a specific time, place and group, that we are a part of something larger than ourselves.
Here, Velencia Morris helps us wander through the 1990s and explore items that mattered to her when she was growing up during that decade. Remember your own experiences with these cultural touchstones; maybe they’re artifacts that mattered to you, too.
Here’s to recalling what has been good.
Curated by Velencia Morris
TalkBoy
I remember getting this gift for Christmas in 1992. I was around 10 years old, and I thought I was the coolest kid alive. I would record myself singing or recording my siblings without their permission and play it back to them. As a 10-year-old, this made me popular and unstoppable!
Sega Genesis
This was my first game console. Oh, how I loved to play “Sonic the Hedgehog!” I couldn’t wait to get home from school to play. It would put me in an exciting place, sitting on the edge of my seat; taking on challenges and figuring out secret codes to the games was everything. I was so good, the word got out, and other kids would come to our home just to see me play.
Teddy Ruxpin
When I was a little girl around the age of 5 years old, I loved stuffed animals — particularly teddy bears. But to have a teddy bear that would actually read me stories as if it was talking back to me, blink his eyes and move his mouth was beyond my wildest dreams. Teddy Ruxpin was like my best friend that was able to sleep over every night; I remember it giving me such joy and laughter.
Barbie
I loved Barbie because she was beautiful and flawless. I could dress her how I wanted and use my imagination to create a life for her that I actually wanted.
Red bunk bed
I had three sisters, and I was the oldest. I will never forget when my mom bought a shiny red bunk bed! I slept at the top, and two of my sisters slept at the bottom. When we would have company over, we would swing on the bunk bed like it was a playground!
