Have you ever talked to anyone younger than you and felt like things in your life were ancient to them? Uh, Blink-182 is unknown to my students. My students were not alive when 9/11 happened. I am now — I went to college 18 years ago. So when I stand in front of parents at orientation today, they were having babies the same year I graduated high school. Some of them could have graduated high school when I graduated high school, I could be their children’s parent.
And so, a lot of the things that I listen to, my students have never heard, because they are babies. But I remember when I was going to the Blink-182 concert, I took the day off, I was so geeked. And when I came back, my student, who ironically just hugged me goodbye today ’cause she’s graduating next weekend, she was like — she was the one student that’s like, “I’ve never heard of them,” and I was like “All the Small Things? What’s My Age Again? Like, what? Adam’s Song?” She’d heard none of it. Um, and I had to play it for her and she was like, “Oh, it kinda sounds familiar,” and I just remember being absolutely horrified.
Um, and while they know what 9/11 is, none of them lived through that day. They don’t remember where they were. They don’t remember the days after. They don’t remember the flags everywhere, the patriotism, they don’t remember us going to war in April. Like, those things are ingrained in my brain. My brother and his buddies were graduating high school that year, and many of them — my brother’s the only one of his friend group who didn’t enlist, and that is just wild. So yeah, a lot of the things in my life, they’re like “What? Huh?” and make me feel hella, hella old.