When I thought about “back in my day”, I thought about some of the amazing pieces of advice that I’ve received over the years. You know the kind – “uphill both ways to school” or “I would have never gotten away with that” or the illustrious “that kind of thing never used to fly”. So, I thought I would try a little survey, scientifically, of course.
I sent a group of women, representing the decades of life from 4 to 76, a simple survey; questions that mark the silly, the zany, the stages of life.
Many things about “our day” are influenced by where we live, who raises us and when we “grew up”, but yet so many things are the same about the human experience.
Eva | 4 | 2004 | Evabelle
- Favorite toy: my bear
- Favorite school lunch: chicken nuggets
- Do you remember your first computer? Leap Pad for Christmas
- What car did you want when you turn 16? I want a light blue car with a pink steering wheel
- What do you want for a prom dress? I want one with blue on one side and pink on the other with blue and pink in the middle and a yellow tiara
- Favorite thing in mom’s kitchen? The toaster
- Best thing about being a grown-up? Can’t wait to knit stuff together
- From mom – advice to your daughter? “I want you to always look to God for guidance. He is there in all that you do, even when Daddy and I fail you, He never will.”
Millie | 8 | 2006|2nd grade | Mil-mil
- Favorite toy: my blankie
- Favorite school lunch: pizza
- Do you remember your first computer? Tablet – Christmas 2013
- What car did you want when you turn 16? A jeep
- What do you want for a prom dress? Pink with white polka dots – sparkles at the top
- Favorite thing in mom’s kitchen? The mixer
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? Learning the secrets that kids don’t know
- From mom – advice to your daughter? I want her to have self confidence and know her worth is in God’s eyes
Chloie |14 | 2000 | 9th grader | CD
- Favorite toy: plastic toys
- Favorite school lunch: chicken nuggets
- Do you remember your first computer? DSI – 2008
- What car do you want when you turned 16? A mustang
- What color do you want your prom dress? blue
- Favorite thing in mom’s kitchen? Mom’s fancy knives
- Thing you look forward to most about being a grown up? Living with puppies
- Advice you would give your “younger” self? Think before you speak
Abby | 22 | 1992 | college senior | Abby-dabby (thanks, Dad!)
- Favorite toy: Barbies, duh!
- Favorite school lunch: Lunchables or chicken nugget day in the cafeteria
- Do you remember your first computer? 2nd grade, we got one at home
- What car did you want when you turned 16? Black Nissan X-terra
- What color was your prom dress? Red (I’ll add that she looks amazing in red!!!)
- Favorite wedding present? Never been married, but a Ninja blender would be nice!
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? Accept responsibility, but don’t forget how to enjoy life through all the craziness
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? (that was last year for her!) take summer classes so you don’t have to take 21 hours the fall semester of your senior year of college
Maresa | 29 | 1985 | Resa or Pitt | my favorite sister!
- Favorite toy: soccer ball
- Favorite school lunch: Salisbury Steak in Preschool and Pizza in Elementary
- Do you remember your first computer? yes, I remember typing DOS codes to play snake and gorilla throwing bananas to knock down buildings with my estimated trajectory coordinates
- What car did you want when you turned 16? the FREE one I got, but I always wanted an Explorer – sporty but practical!
- What color was your prom dress? my dress was of course turquoise, but lots of pink and orange iridescent
- Favorite wedding present? Money – to use as needed (she just got married, I’m sure something else will be more sentimental later!)
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? as a teacher – prepare your students for jobs that do not exist yet; in life – don’t let anyone stop you!
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? Let go, and Let God take it; Clean out old stuff you don’t
Emily | 35 | 1979 | Shorty – like before it was a rap lyric
- Favorite toy: Etch-a-sketch and Samantha, my American Girl doll
- Favorite school lunch: chili with cinnamon rolls and the stick of processed cheese
- Do you remember your first computer? It was a Tandy 1000 and we got it early on because of my dad. I think I was 8.
- What car did you want when you turned 16? Bubble Gum Pink, Austin Healy convertible – “I was crazy”
- What color was your prom dress? blue, red and black were popular
- Favorite wedding present? Kitchen Aid stand-up mixer, cherry red
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? 1. its not about you. At all. 2. It’s gonna be okay.
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? You are beautiful. And, its not going to get any better so go ahead and put on that bathing suit or get naked or something. Quick. Also, he’s going to marry you. So, enjoy being single for a little bit. Quit worrying.
Laura | 48 | 1966 | no nickname
- Favorite toy: Growing Skipper
- Favorite school lunch: ???
- Do you remember your first computer? 1996 was the year
- What car did you want when you turned 16? Any car, just as long as it could drive
- What color was your prom dress? white with pink sashes (she left this out, but I’m guessing there was lots of hair product used!)
- Favorite wedding present? My dishes
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? Not everyone is going to like you
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? Seek God above all else. It will protect you from making so many mistakes and having so many consequences.
Sue Ann | 59 | 1955 |SAP (but her fav nickname is “Muh-ther”)
- Favorite toy: Jacko – the yellow and black monkey
- Favorite school lunch: vegetable soup with pimento cheese sandwich
- Do you remember your first computer? My mom doesn’t use the computer – she has lots of secretaries! But, they gave us one for Christmas – there are pictures and I have big glasses and really bad hair. My sister had a pillow in her shirt like Santa and brought it in the house, joke was on her that the present was for us!
- What car did you want when you turned 16? Didn’t really think about it
- What color was your prom dress? teal
- Favorite wedding present? The pink glasses that matched my china
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? Be Yourself
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? Enjoy the here and now because it will be gone.
Bekah | 62 | 1952 | Becky
- Favorite toy: baby doll
- Favorite school lunch: tuna salad sandwiches, potato chips and homemade cookies (were there any other kind?)
- Do you remember your first computer? 1992 (age 40)
- What car did you want when you turned 16? Who even dreamed of having a car?? I was happy to get to drive the old coffin-pink Cadillac that our grandfather handed down to my mom.
- What color was your prom dress? A pale pastel color
- Favorite wedding present? any necessities for setting up our first apartment – especially our dishes & kitchen things
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? I cant remember getting any advice about being a grown up – all the advice I got for my growing-up years seemed to work in adulthood as well.
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? “Quit seeking to be perfect and instead see the Perfect One. In relationships seek to be patient, gracious (grace-giving) and truth-telling.”
Mary | 76 |1938 | Mamie of Mame or Miss Priss (but we all just call her Nammy!)
- Favorite toy: paper dolls
- Favorite school lunch: we didn’t have a school cafeteria until I was in the 5th grade and I lived 1/2 block from school so I just walked home for lunch. Don’t remember what I ate, but it was probably healthy because my mom fixed it for me.
- Do you remember your first computer? Black Apple – I was and Elementary Library Media Specialist and they brought one in one day. I don’t remember the year but it was some time after 1980. Then as the years passed I became the computer person in our building and had a lab and then each classroom got a computer and they “computerized” the library. They were mine to take care of and I never had formal training
- What car did you want when you turned 16? The car! I never even thought about having a car when I turned 16. In fact, none of my friends had a car. You just didn’t think about spending money on a thing like that. We did a lot of walking.
- What color was your prom dress? I didn’t go to the prom but we had a nice banquet at church and most of the dresses were pastel colors.
- Favorite wedding present? I really did want and electric skillet and got one. One thing you got a lot of in 1959 were sheets and pillow cases.
- Best piece of advice you got about being a grown-up? I don’t remember getting any specific piece of advice. My parents raised me in a loving home and made sure I had an education which is still one of the best things a woman can have today.
- Advice you would give your 21 year old self? I believe that as a young woman you should be out on your own for at least a year or two and find out that you can really take care of yourself before you are married. I believe that is one mistake I made but because of being strong and trusting the Lord I was able to use my strength to overcome adversity in my life.
Somewhere along the way, I hope you can relate to one of these. Maybe its “chicken nugget day” at school or the fact that having a car was a luxury. Some things change like the wind (or should I say the color of our prom dress). But more things stay the same.
I’ll leave you with this – the one thing I expect to tell my grandchildren – “Back in my day women started standing up for themselves. They realized girls could do anything boys could do. The world may not have fully seen their worth, but they came together. They learned that encouraging was better than comparing. They found that the real meaning of life happens in a local coffee shop over a favorite beverage. They learned that saying “yes” was way more productive than being worried what others thought about them. They didn’t take themselves quite so seriously and in turn discovered an array of strong qualities that they already possessed.”
Life’s habits are generational. Let’s expose ourselves to vulnerability. The next generation will be more empowered by seeing the expose of our souls
Keisha Pittman is learning to dance in the rain and glory in the rainbows. She started a blog, bigpittstop.blogspot.com, to tell the story of her walk through cancer. Five years later, she’s kicked cancer’s butt, and learned to navigate life a little differently. A self-proclaimed nerd, there’s nothing she won’t try, no side road she won’t take and no recipe she won’t improve. Lucky for us, she likes to talk about her adventures with a healthy dose of self-deprecation humor, and always looks for the good in every situation and person. Come follow along.
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What a great idea – advice from 4 years old on up! I especially love the wisdom that grows with age. It’s hard-earned, that’s for sure!