I just turned 29 years old in November; Despite finding out, as an adult, you're doomed to be constantly propelled forward, I think we all have those times where nostalgia kicks the door in on whatever mindfulness we've got going on. It never fails that, when this happens, we are magically transported to a time where we were: stronger, faster, and more agile.

I realize that tabloids are a dime a dozen. And I don't want to contribute to the celebrity tripe of Hollywood idols already well established within -- after all, they're only human. As the age-old adage goes: Gods don't bleed. The bane of this ideology is what I wish to avoid here. Sadly, because celebrities are immortalized in our culture and memories, these echos will always receive god status among the common folk -- despite their origins' withering and eventual fading away.

Because this list is fairly modern (70s, 80s, 90s, 00s), I'm going to ask you to think of it more along the lines of: old country/blues singers who had status in their times. The 70s through 00s was a rebellious period for the United States. We shook off some of the formalities of previous generations and youth began to blaze their own path. The well-dressed was shunned for the spiritually seeking. The adherence to strict social norms had finally given the United States a cultural aneurysm.

Enter. . . Tree-hugging hippies :)

Looking over this list and the order in which I placed the songs, I supposed this list can invoke feelings of travel from modesty, to the sexually provocative late-90s.

99 Luftballons - Nena (1980s)

Those of you who know me, know I'm studying the German language. I'm quite infatuated with it to be honest. So, when you have a German song, make it all the way to the United States of America, you bet your @$$ I'm going to list it as #1! Because of the complete change in lyrics, I will not be including its English translation: 99 Red Balloons.

To get the gist of this song, you have to imagine Germany in two sections: East and West -- Communist and Capitalist. East Berlin was starving and deprived of currency and resources. Russia had taken the East as payment for war reparations. This was 3 years before Reagan's famous, "Tear down that wall!" when West Germany had to reintegrate the East back into its society because of their lack of resources. People were fighting bullets and barbed wire to make it across the wall. They were jumping off the rooftops of buildings even.

While at a Rolling Stones concert in West Berlin, Carlo Karges, Nena's guitarist, noticed some red balloons being released into the sky above. He wondered to himself how oddly, these balloons looked like UFOs and what they were interpreted as on the other side of the wall.

What's Up - 4 Non Blondes

The 1-hit wonder, hippie anthem of the early 1990s. This song is by far, one of my favorites. The sheer expression of utter joy on the face of Linda Perry -- who looks stoned off her rocker -- as she exemplifies the embodiment of what is to be the decade of personal expression and definement, the 1990s. This decade, in my opinion, was the height of the modern free-thinkers' movement. The 90s were all about personal identity and finding self -- but preserving integrity and compassion for others with responsibility. This is why I LOVE the 90s. People don't express themselves this way anymore. They're too afraid of what society might think of them or they're too apathetic to care about anything. You don't see people embracing a healthy middle ground anymore. It's always, "I hate people" or "I hate myself". Where have all the people gone who can actually feel and empathize and help you find your purpose?

A lot happened in the year this song was recorded:

• The Atari (a gaming system which brought kids who would normally play outdoors, in for a change) was discontinued.
• Shanda Sharer was tortured to death.
• Bush declared the U.S. was going to stop targeting communist countries with nuclear weapons and finally ends the Cold War.
• Microsoft releases Windows 3.1. (Something I actually still enjoy using)
• Mike Tyson was found guilty of rape.
• The U.S. and Russia agree to an Arms Reduction.
• Bill Clinton wins the presidency of the United States.

To be honest, this song reminds me of the time I spent at my cousins' house. Bits and fragments of that still visit me today. My cousins were a very integral part of my life growing up. My cousin Matt first showed me what a boxing glove was and how to use it. He gave me my first dog. My cousin Katie was the wild child of the family and she was into EVERYTHING! :). She had dummies and electronic video games. She was into magic and languages and God knows what else. She'd often let me play her Tiger Electronics: R-Zone My grandmother had an old VHS tape of her mooning my aunt on camera (who screamed at her very loudly afterwards) -- of course children and this type of behavior is frowned upon today but. . . it was a common occurrence then. These were the rebel ways of the 90s. Kids and adults weren't so, up-tight about things. They knew how to let the tensions lose. And adults still socialized through parties and social events they held in their houses.

I do have nightmares about that house though, from time to time. They're oddly enjoyable. . . It's me, going up the staircase of said house (something me and my sister were never allowed to do) and getting lost up there, finding myself in intricate mazes and tunnels with mysteries around every corner -- very Indiana Jonesish or Laura Croftish. The fear in these dreams often exhilarates me and makes me wonder what life would be like as an explorer.

What if God Was One of Us - Joan Osborne

This song is one I use a lot to contemplate reality and humanity. It takes us back to the notion that angels walk among us. It instills the knowledge that each and every one of us where made in the image of God and that when you help your fellow man, you're helping God himself. Jesus said, "Whatever you do for the least of these, you have done for me also."

The song came out mid-90s (95 to be exact). I'm guessing you remember Windows 95 -- the OS of my first laptop (which I received for Christmas in 2000). Kids were playing their Pocket Nintendos (with the lovely little cameras). Giga Pets were a thing and kids would cry if they managed to kill them. Teachers would confiscate them and somehow they'd die from not being fed.

Don't Speak - No Doubt

This song reminds me of my sister. She was into a lot of the Goth scene -- full on emotions (like any teenage girl). Day after day we'd come home from school in the 00s, to watch Maury and Jerry Springer (two of the most provocative shows on television at the time). Then we'd listen to MTV for a while.

Torn - Natalie Imbruglia

The 90s is also when we made the switch from: Cassette Tapes to CDs. Oh the many times one would have to take a pencil and wind the tape back into the cartridge because the stupid play "ate" the tape.

Looking the CD up for this song, I'm reminded of the poor graphics of the decade. The CD looks horribly simple in design:

Another great benefit of the 90s -- I guess. People cared less about how the packaging looked and more about the content within. This in turn, gave us greater products as well. Companies didn't know if you were going to buy their products again, so they tried their hardest to make the product as life-proof as possible.

I Want it That Way - Backstreet Boys

When I said we transitioned directly from Cassettes to CDs, I may have stretched the truth just a bit. My sister was into boy bands -- what young girl isn't? :) And all I can remember growing up, is her listening to them. . . on this:

HitClips were a tiny, single-track player, distributed by McDonalds and they were the coolest thing in 90s America. A list of all the available songs can be found on that link.

Bye Bye Bye - *NSYNC

Another one of my sister's boybands :) -- Lovely. My sister was huge into hip-hop and rap in the day. I can remember her, in her room singing this to the top of her lung while swinging gang signs left and right with her hands.

OOPS!...I Did It Again - Britney Spears

I only included this song, to include this one:

Yeah, we spent countless hours laughing about this in the 90s. You have to understand. . . Most of us had 56k Internet and minimal graphics rendering software. Something like this was hilarious back then. Plus, we were all teenage boys. :)

Wannabe - Spice Girls

This brings us to the end of our tour. So, my mother was a strict-conservative Christian while we were growing up. My lovely, wild cousin snuck us in some contraband from time to time -- Including a CD with all the greatest 90s hits. Trying to spend time with us, mom listened too, and we all ended up making some parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly"

Author's Note: I'm using this blog to educate myself. If you have any critiques, I WOULD LOVE to hear them in the comments' section. If you'd like to see more historical content, give me an upvote.