On Wednesday of this past week, my roommate Claire said a phrase about me that I think may possibly be the best compliment I’ve ever gotten in my lifetime.
She said, “Leah is literally Lisa Frank”… like you’re kidding me, it doesn’t get better than that!
Now, if you’re thinking, “Hmm… I definitely don’t know who Lisa Frank is,” yes you do.
If you’ve been on TikTok in the past month and seen the “Symphony” trend with the rainbow dolphins jumping around, those dolphins are Lisa Frank! I literally have a pin of those exact dolphins that I got in the 8th grade from Hot Topic.
Anyways, while Lisa Frank was a Y2K icon, there are so many other Y2K artifacts that I integrate into my everyday life.
My pride and joy is my stereo decked out in all kinds of stickers and gems stuck all over it, along with the obscenely large but equally as impressive CD collection that goes with it. If you have seen someone literally sitting criss cross on the ground in the Bradford Goodwill scouring the CD section disc by disc, I fear it was definitely me.
Now, do I pay for a Spotify premium account? Yes. Is it slightly impractical to have a stereo in today’s day and age? Also yes. Does it make me feel connected to a part of my childhood I think about frequently and need to ground myself with all the time? Absolutely.
I think all of my “childish” Y2K artifacts bring me a sense of comfort when I feel like everything is changing at rapid speed and the child I once was is becoming a fond memory more than a reality.
As Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers said, “How can a person know everything at 18 and nothing at 22?”
Today, I am closer to the 22 side of that spectrum and feel confident in the fact that I know nothing. But 8 year old me? Man, she had it going on. She knew exactly what she was going to do when she hopped off that school bus, after her homework of course. She was going to play Just Dance on the Wii and then color in a scented Strawberry Shortcake coloring book with Lisa Frank stickers all over it, while listening to “7 things” on her MP3 player.
So, on the days I feel like I have no idea what’s going on, I come home, do my homework (probably), doodle in my color coded planner, and play real dance for the Dance Team with my roommates. Then I go, put a new Lisa Frank sticker on my water bottle and play “7 things” on my stereo.