When I Was Just a Little Girl

By Celia Maria de Souza

Life is getting more boring and depressing in all of the ways adults enjoy their lives in this fast-paced and achievement-obsessed society. None are looking back as fondly at those that took place before the age of 11 or 12 years old—the most beautiful stage in all of the life—as it could provide short breaks in this worst stage.

Take a seat, grab a can of your favorite drink and prepare to exclaim the words “God! I remember that!” as I am going to take a relaxing trip down memory lane of the post-80s, recalling your simple and wonderful moments as a child.

Candy-land

Do you still remember the days we clamored our moms for candies along the way back home from school? How often we wandered in and out those candy stores with our little buddies? The simplest and smallest of things, candies, had been one of the treasures that each child of the post-80s was eager for. They brought no other benefits to the children, but added sweetness to their simple life.

1.         Chocolate Cigarettes

”Chocolate cigarettes” were definitely one of the most representative candies in my childhood. All children who wanted to be grown-ups and look cool must have one in their hands. When I got my box of chocolate cigarettes, I would first pull one from the box, then hold it in my hand in the way I had seen the grown-ups do. It was hard for me to resist the smell of the chocolate inside the wrapper, so my pretend cigarettes were devoured in a jiffy.

2.         Cola Candy

This “cola candy” was a perfect substitute to fulfill the desire of a child like me who did not have enough money to buy a real can of coke. It was designed as a real coke: can-like cylindrical appearance, covered with snap-on lid and cola-flavored. In addition, since it was so tiny and easy to carry and hide, it was always the best choice of candy to eat in class.

3.         Chocolate Glasses

This was the “chocolate glasses”. I remember when I was five, I loved to pretend being the superwoman by wearing a mask made of this pair of “chocolate glasses” with a rubber band attached on it. Very often, right after the play of superwoman attacking monsters, imitated by my brothers, three of us would battle for those chocolates on the glasses.

4.         Candy Ring

Concerning the most adorable and elegant candy in the world, I was confident to say, it was the “candy ring”. It was designed like a real glamorous ring, with a plastic ring holder and a big transparent diamond-like candy on the top. Every little girl like me loved them badly and would put several of them on our fingers and started behaving and talking as if we were princesses.

Playground

There was nothing that played upon our heartstrings more than games, toys and dolls we used to play in our childhood. Do you still remember how to play them?

1.         Rubber Ball

I experienced many happy hours of throwing this “rubber ball” at various things to see how much it would bounce back. Although simply dropping the ball from a reasonable height was fun in itself, it was even more fun if you threw the ball at the ground as hard as you could, hoping that it might bounce off the floor and hit the ceiling. I tried once, and I never wanted the second time as I was seriously scolded by my parents for having broken the lamp on the ceiling.

2.         Rubik’s Cube

I guess nobody could forget these frustrating gadgets that became a worldwide craze. The “Rubik’s Cube” really gave me the hardest time and I never cracked competing more than two sides until I bought a book with the solution and spent a whole night working it out: what a frustrating toy…

3.         Game Boy

How could “Game Boy” not appear in this list? It was the dream toy of each post-80s child. I still remember the time we carried our own machines to every place we went. We were never willing to put down from our hands: we played when we ate, we played when we bathed and we even played when we had a “poo”. Each one of us was just addicted to this incredible toy!

4.         Racing Car

Do you still remember how we commanded and chatted with our toy cars during a race as if they understood our language? Recalling that time, it was unbelievable that every one of us was influenced by the Japanese cartoons and we did believe these “racing cars” actually understood what we were saying; and we did not hesitate to talk to them.

Wry Smile

After all, how was the journey back to the post-80s childhood? I hope you could find something that brought back a wry smile. These simple but wonderful moments, that you had no idea you would miss so much later, could be a “rest area” in this hasty society. Despite the fact that people are inescapable from progression and frustration, don’t hesitate to stop yourself at these “rest areas” as they are your recess times keeping you away from any annoyance.