Oh shit, this is a great thread!
For me, the best years would be:
1991
On a personal level: I started kindergarten at North Sydney Dem, my teacher was a guy named Mr Dowd and he was awesome. On the first day of kindy I met my mate Viv, we were in this cubby house pretending that Saddam Hussein was on the TV and we were throwing plastic counters at him because, even as 5 year olds we knew he was bad! Viv and I are mates to this day, we hung out just the other weekend. It was the year Mum and my stepdad got married and I was the pageboy at their wedding. The wedding singer was an old friend of Mum's named Kerryn, who also happened to be the lead vocalist of that group 'Euphoria'. You may remember them from this track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpaqt7tjcDE
To continue, at the time we were living at this place in Cammeray which was one of the favourite places I have ever lived. It felt like living in a quiet, leafy suburb close to Tunks Park, when in reality we were only 10 minutes from the city. I also got my dog, Joe, as an early 6th birthday present.
On a broader level, 1991 was an awesome year for music: Crowded House released 'Woodface', U2 released 'Atchung Baby', Nirvana released 'Nevermind', Mr Bungle released their self titled debut album and I remember Dad playing Paul Kelly's new album 'Comedy' a lot. I reckon it's one of his better albums. To this day, I clearly remember being in my room, playing with the train set I kept under my bed, sunlight streaming through the window and this song playing in the living room:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ndC07C2qw
Oh, and Ayrton Senna won his 3rd Formula 1 World Championship as well. What a year!
1997
On a personal level, I finished Primary School and my teacher was really nice to me, even though I was an arrogant little shit back then. I went down to Melbourne for the Grand Prix with my family, got to see David Coulthard win for McLaren, which was the first time McLaren had won since Senna at Adelaide in 1993 which was a special moment for me. My 12th birthday party was the same day Princess Diana was killed and I remember all my friends turning up, already telling Diana jokes :lol: I suppose I remember this year fondly because I was counting down the months till I finished up Primary School forever and moved onto Highschool. It was just a fun year hanging out with my friends, it was kind of the last year where I had that childhood innocence, if you could call it that. As soon as Highscool began I found myself feeling very self-conscious about how I looked, what people thought of me and especially what the girls thought of me.
Apart from that, all I have to say is: 1997 Grand Final. Darren Albert. 6 seconds to go. Thankyou very much.
I'd also have to honestly say that this year is shaping up to be one of the best ever. I went to the UK and Paris back in March/ April and finally got to see Liverpool play at Anfield. I travelled with a mate, it was the first time I had been overseas unsupervised and I found there was so much more I took on board and appreciated this time around in regards to how different things are even in our mother country. We are so lucky to live in a country as egalitarian and wealthy as Australia, is all I can say. I suppose also this year I have changed a lot for the better, I feel as if I've finally got myself together and I have a clearer idea of what I want in life and how to go about it. I turned 27 a couple of months back, and from what I've heard it seems that 27 is often a milestone age for people. I've also just started my own business and I'm really looking forward to next year. I feel a lot more positive and confident than I ever used to, even mates have commented on how much more confident I seem in myself than I ever used to be.
Well done on a brilliant thread, mis. It's funny because just the other night I was thinking about 'HIMYM' and how it is that many people don't appreciate how awesome their younger, single years are until it's all gone and what a shame it is...
