I wore a Livestrong bracelet to a 2000s dance party
No one else can feel it for you.
I’m trying to remember if there were ever people in their 30s and 40s at the 80s nights I went to as a 21 year old, and I don’t remember seeing any — but that could have been because anyone over the age of 25 aside from my parents might as well have been invisible to me. Or it could have been because I was too busy trying to perfect the “Footloose” line dance, a thing I spent so much time and energy on that sadly hasn’t come up in decades.
Related thoughts:
The song at this 2000s night that people went the hardest for: “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield which really drove home that these were not my peers. You learned about this song on tiktok, I learned about this song on TRL. We are not the same!!1
What did I wear? I’m so glad you asked. I based my outfit off something I wore practically every day in 2005: a white ribbed mens tank top2, black wide leg cropped jeans (a stand-in for my beloved Forever 21 gaucho pants), and a Livestrong bracelet that’s been sitting in its original package in an old scrapbook for 20 years (which, helpfully, looked like a wristband).3
Right now I’m reading “Deep Cuts” by Holly Brickley and I love it. I’ve seen it described as “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” meets Sally Rooney, through a deeply specific lens of early 2000s indie music. It’s a love story, so far, but I have no idea if the characters end up together (and I just saw that it’s being adapted by A24 starring Saoirse4 Ronan and Austin Butler, so now I have to redrawthe characters in my mind.)
On the Monday morning after I realized my license was expired, I went to the DMV to get a new one. The idea of spending two hours at the DMV felt like it was supposed to fill me with dread — like the parts of my brain that facilitate the process of Filling With Dread started up their motors, but I couldn’t fully commit to the dread. In reality, I knew that it would be the perfect dead zone to deal with tasks I’d been putting off: I figured out dinner for that night, I made a grocery list and ordered groceries, I engaged in some light eavesdropping, I responded to all the texts I’d been meaning to respond to5, and I finished the book I’ve been reading since the beginning of February. It was The Antidote, by Karen Russel, and the last page made me cry — which of course, was the moment they called me up to get my picture taken.
when this song originally came out, i don’t remember anyone ever being that excited about it. it just kind of…existed.
the term we used for them did not age well
i was very on board with the livestrong movement for a minute (i am a great judge of character) and i think it was simply because a) in 2005 i happened to be in paris as the tour de france finished and actually caught a glimpse of [a blur that i’m pretty sure was] lance armstrong, and b) i really liked the movie dodgeball (???) which lance armstrong appeared in for a good 12 seconds.
i spelled this right on the first try!!!
if my texts were a word cloud “lol i totally forgot to respond to this” would be the biggest and i’m 100% sincere when i send it 😭
I have so many thoughts!
1. My mind is routinely blown when I equate the distance of events from 2025 compared to things when we were growing up. I hadn't made the 80s night/2000s night connection yet. Though I did recently realized that me listening to the Beatles as a kid is the same time difference as my daughter listening to the Spice Girls.
2. Have you heard of The Earlybirds Club? This is my dream, and I need it to come to my city.
3. My husband and I broke into the Footloose dance at his work Christmas party last year and blew everyone's Midwestern mind. Apparently learning that dance is not universal!
4. Has The Hills made a resurgence in popular culture I'm unaware of?? That show immediately comes to mind when I hear the opening chords from Unwritten.
5. I loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow! Adding Deep Cuts (and The Antidote) to my Libby queue.
6. I had a recent experience similar to the DMV where I was stuck at a CVS for almost 2 hours. Sans kids, it was so peaceful and I also caught up on so much!
7. lol I totally forgot to respond to your last post about Harriet the Spy! My daughter and I listened to the audiobook last year and watched the movie. I remember thinking she was SO COOL as a kid, then walking around my neighborhood with a notebook trying to look into windows. This go round as a parent, seeing the level of bullying and then Harriet's revenge hit differently. I'm still conflicted.
Excellent post. Is "Unwritten" popular now due to The Hills resurgence/ Spencer + Heidi popularity? To think people are going wild for it in a club in 2025 is... something. For my friend's birthday she picked a recurring NYC event called "Matinee Social Club" which is a party for 30+ people; we had to show our ID's to prove we were over 30. The party goes from 5-10pm, but the vibes still feel late night. And the question a woman asked me in the bathroom mirror when we were washing our hands? "Who does your botox, your forehead is amazing." (I was so flattered, and also sheepishly answered I haven't 'toxed.... yet hahaha)