Most Nostaglic School Memories We All Have

1. The very specific joy of having a movie day

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Nothing thrilled our little hearts more than seeing that bulky TV being rolled in on a stand! It could only mean one thing... movie day. Not sure about you, but it felt like the prime opportunity to pass notes, take a nap if it was one of those days, or get to watch something actually fun with your friends!

2. Who else spent way too much time on this?

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It was one of the best things about going back to school. The chance to cover your books with leftover brown paper bags from the grocery store and then customize them as much as you wanted. Once gel pens were popular, especially the sparkly ones, it was GAME OVER!

3. School lunches just hit different

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There could honestly be an entire article dedicated to school lunches! But if you didn't live for rectangle pizza day, what were you even doing? This was right up there with chicken nugs with mashed potatoes and chocolate milk from a carton. Was the pizza good? Not particularly, but that doesn't mean we don't stan!

4. Wait, but this ice cream though

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Okay, we're talking about food a lot. But these little ice creams were maybe the best part of lunch time. Whenever these bad boys were available, it was so hard to just take one! Typically, you got to choose between chocolate or vanilla. Did you have a favorite? Also, if you didn't get splinters in your tongue from that wooden spoon, you weren't doing it right!

5. This one's for the elementary school kids

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When I saw this photo, it brought back a very specific memory. Anyone else? There was something so satisfying about running your little fingers along the line of the white painted bricks when you were on your way to the bathroom or the cafeteria or recess. Why did this bring so much joy, and how do I get it back?

6. Pretending you were the main character

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Oh, the dramas of elementary school. If you rode the bus and you never leaned your head against a foggy window, staring at the world as it passed you by, then what were you even doing! Of course, sometimes, the driver would hit a bump and you'd smash your face against the window and the moment would be ruined.

7. Waiting for your crush to sign your yearbook

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There was perhaps nothing more thrilling than knowing that summer was just around the corner, and with your sweaty palms around your fresh yearbook, you were about to get a signature from your crush. What would they say? "Have a great summer!" "See you at the lake!" The possibilities were truly endless.

8. You knew it wouldn't work but you did it anyways

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Logically, you knew it was impossible to be able to push down all the colors at once. Did that stop you from trying for an entire class period? Absolutely not. And beyond that, it always seemed like only a few of the colors actually worked. It was definitely more of an old school fidget spinner than a functional pen.

9. You either loved it or hated it

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Nothing invoked as much fear or joy as dodgeball day in gym class. Usually the boys were super stoked to hit each other as hard as humanly possible, and then there was that one kid crying in the corner. The best strategy was to lay low for as long as possible, and then come out swinging at the end.

10. All the lunchrooms were like this

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Particularly in elementary school, it seemed like most schools had an auditorium in the cafeteria. And in some cases, it also tripled as the gym. This made it easy to clear out the tables and open the space for parents to come listen to their kids sing a class rendition of "Baby Shark."

11. Why did we do this?

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It's good to know that we all stabbed our erasers with our pencils until they looked like this. What was the point? Maybe boredom or maybe we thought it looked cool. Seeing this photo brought back very specific memories of English class and making designs on erasers.

12. How many colors did you have?

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The joy and anxiety that came with picking out what color of pencil box you wanted for the school year. These things held A LOT, including my notes to my friends until I passed them in the hall. It was absolutely devastating if you dropped it though, because it 1000% exploded and your gel pens went EVERYWHERE!

13. The picture alone causes trauma

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Just seeing this photo, does it remind you of how bad the static cling was from these suckers? Especially in the winter, if you were wearing a sweater. Your hair would get caught on the little screws on the back too. So then you'd rip your hair out and have static cling all over your body.

14. The only acceptable reading time book

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Whether your teacher read to you after lunch or you had a designated reading time, all your classmates probably lobbied for the "Goosebumps" series. Why were we allowed to read these? They were almost like a collectors item, talking with your friends about which ones you had and which ones you wanted.

15. If you ever went to a school shop and got these

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Remember when you'd get points to get stuff at the little school shop? Somehow, I always walked away with a pack of these tiny erasers, because they're cute. But if you've used them, you know it stops there. These things are NOT functional as an eraser and only smear pencil marks all over your page.

16. There's no kid that didn't love these

Image Source: Buzzfeed

These things were a total blast to wheel around on in gym. Whether you had a free play day or your teacher set up some sort of relay race, you knew it was gonna be fun and you were going to try to knock your friends over. And then the inevitable would happen, you'd pinch your fingers, and it would hurt like a mother.

17. Mechanical pencils were ELITE

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Most of my friends got these in junior high, which meant obviously you were a grown up now. There was something so satisfying about the click of a mechanical pencil and then getting to refill the lead with a packet of these. It made me feel mature and like I was really good at math for some reason.

18. Okay, but also the chokehold these pencils had

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We were so obsessed with little gadgets, including these things. Not sure what they're called, but they came in multiple colors, and they made you actually want to write so the lead would wear down and you'd get to push down a new one. It was all fun and games until you lost the damn cap!

19. Strategically planning your lunches

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Did anyone else live and die by this calendar? It proudly hung on the fridge, and maybe you circled the best lunch days. It also helped you plan which days to beg your mom to pack your lunch, because you absolutely COULD NOT eat the canned green beans one more time.

20. Let's take it back to elementary art class

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Yooo, opening a fresh set of these paints was a feeling that could not be topped. Back when the white ledge was white, and the colors weren't just brown and filled with watery gunk. The brush that came with them was absolute crap, but when your teacher handed you a brand new one, it was a good day!

21. We were clearly obsessed with erasers

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Why did we actually believe that the blue part of this eraser had the ability to erase pen. Yes, the erasable pens kiiiiind of worked. But there's never been a greater scam in America than selling kids these and telling them it would erase their mistakes. The first time I saw one was when my older brother bought one, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

22. We all drew the sun like this

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Someone must have told every child in America that you draw the sun in the corner of the page like this. It felt illegal to draw a full, circular sun. To be honest, this felt like a cool hack when you first started doing it, and it gave you the full rest of the page to draw a house and a dog that looked like a circle with four sticks.

23. These scissors were the WORST

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No matter what you did, this type of scissor absolutely destroyed your hands as soon as you picked them up. They weirdly hurt your fingers, and they were so dull that you couldn't even cut a piece of paper. Of course, safety is important, but what was even the point of these things!

24. Why does this still make me laugh?

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Was it even math class if you and your friends weren't trying to spell dirty words with your calculators. If you had the joy of being in school before cellphones were EVERYWHERE, then there's no doubt that you joined in on this fun experience. You couldn't text your friends, but you could certainly write out "BOOOBS" with your calculator.

25. The glue hand

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Again, chalk this one up to a time before cell phones. One of the best school day pastimes was taking out your Elmers glue and spreading a blob of it on your hands. You'd wait patiently for it to dry, and then slowly peel it off, showing your friends and acting like you were peeling back your actual skin. Legendary.

26. These things smelled SO bad

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It was completely unavoidable. As soon as it was flag football day in gym, your teacher would pull out a musty pile of these pinnies. I'm sure someone washed them at some point (hopefully), but they always always seemed to smell. Even as a child, it made me want to burn whatever shirt I was wearing under it after class.

27. There must have been a deal with the soap company

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Schools across America must have had some sort of exclusive deal with the company that makes this pink soap. It was in every school, everywhere. It didn't smell bad, but it didn't smell good. And it definitely made your hands super dry. Why was it so pink?!

28. All teachers were required to have these

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If you know what these are, then you can probably recall their incredibly distinct smell. Back when a lot of teachers used big pads of paper on an easel, these permanent markers were a class staple. It's surprising they could have them in a school, because I'm getting high off the fumes just remembering them.

29. Probably the most embarrassing thing to happen

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It was always soooo embarrassing to have to get up in the middle of class (especially a test) to sharpen your pencil with one of these guys. It felt like the entire classroom was staring at you or whispering about you while you had your back to the class just trying to get your pencil to work.

30. Two words for you: field trip

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The buzz in the classroom on field trip day was palpable. You'd sit next to your friends hoping you'd get put in the same group to walk around the museum or zoo or wherever you were going. You'd make sure your name was on the ziplock bag containing your PB&J or ham & cheese, and you brought your favorite Capri-Sun. What a life!