Liana Star, Grade 12
UWC Mostar
I was born in 2005, an era of the beginning of the Internet and various political events. I would like to travel back to my birth year to learn of the conditions under which my parents decided to have children. Was the world still a place in which hope felt possible and having children wasn’t so selfish? Or was it similar to 2022, where a large portion of people believe the world is too cruel and failing to bring children into at this point? I was alive in 2005, but I have no memories of the introduction to my life. I'm very curious what life was like when I was brought into this world. 2005 was a year of great contrast. Amazing events such as the Avatar: The Last Airbender premiering on Nickelodeon, were combated by events such as the capture of serial killer Dennis Rader.
One thing I would love to do in 2005 is explore Reddit, as it was a new platform at the time. The reputation of Reddit is well known as being a place of inappropriate and hateful comments, rather than an uplifting or helpful social media platform. Seeing it in its newborn state would be extremely interesting in order to compare how it has progressed since 2005. In general I would like to see how the uses and purposes of the Internet have changed since their creation to modern day. My mother and I often discuss how inaccessible information was during her childhood and young adulthood. I am interested to see in 2005 how much informational and entertainment content was available via the Internet and other forms of media.
Something interesting I’d also like to do is meet my parents in their 20’s. I’ve heard various stories about what they were like as people and what their lives consisted of, but to be able to truly see and experience them as young adults would be extremely and simply, cool. I’d also like to ask them why they were willing to have a child in the US at the peak of a war, an event which shook the international community. I questioned my mother about this prior to writing this article, and her answer was that the inaccessibility to information meant lots of people weren’t aware of what was going on in the world, unless they specifically sought out information to answer international related questions.
A more trivial reason I’d like to travel to 2005 is because of The Office. I grew up watching The Office with both of my parents, but being able to watch it weekly as it was released seems like a much more authentic experience. The pilot for the TV show was released in 2005, so I would’ve been able to watch it from the very beginning and see the interactions it made with the public. A show as beloved as The Office I’m sure inspired a reaction from audiences around the world, and I’m very curious to see how this truly played out.
Image Courtesy: https://oldcalendars.com/2005-calendar/
One thing I would love to do in 2005 is explore Reddit, as it was a new platform at the time. The reputation of Reddit is well known as being a place of inappropriate and hateful comments, rather than an uplifting or helpful social media platform. Seeing it in its newborn state would be extremely interesting in order to compare how it has progressed since 2005. In general I would like to see how the uses and purposes of the Internet have changed since their creation to modern day. My mother and I often discuss how inaccessible information was during her childhood and young adulthood. I am interested to see in 2005 how much informational and entertainment content was available via the Internet and other forms of media.
Something interesting I’d also like to do is meet my parents in their 20’s. I’ve heard various stories about what they were like as people and what their lives consisted of, but to be able to truly see and experience them as young adults would be extremely and simply, cool. I’d also like to ask them why they were willing to have a child in the US at the peak of a war, an event which shook the international community. I questioned my mother about this prior to writing this article, and her answer was that the inaccessibility to information meant lots of people weren’t aware of what was going on in the world, unless they specifically sought out information to answer international related questions.
A more trivial reason I’d like to travel to 2005 is because of The Office. I grew up watching The Office with both of my parents, but being able to watch it weekly as it was released seems like a much more authentic experience. The pilot for the TV show was released in 2005, so I would’ve been able to watch it from the very beginning and see the interactions it made with the public. A show as beloved as The Office I’m sure inspired a reaction from audiences around the world, and I’m very curious to see how this truly played out.
Image Courtesy: https://oldcalendars.com/2005-calendar/
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