Its 1991 (or maybe 1992, 1990.. whatever). 5 O'clock in the afternoon I was allowed to come inside and watch television. And every day I would tune to The Afternoon Show on ABC and watch Degrassi. Except on Fridays when I got to watch Press Gang (still one of my fave shows of all time)
Its 2009 now and I am now watching it again on DVD. Degrassi really was a brilliant cutting edge show. Thinking about it now it had a huge influence on my life. It taught me about AIDS, Suicide, Drugs, Sex, Abortion, Teenage Parenting, Drink Driving, Racial hating. I also aspired to be like the cool student president Stephanie Kaye. In fact for my birthday this year I plan on channelling her by offering boys a kiss or a feel for a gold coin donation or a drink.
Once, in 1992, at Ruskin Park Primary School in Melbourne I pulled a Stephanie Kaye and got changed into a slutty (well as slutty as I could for a 8 year old) outfit in the bathroom. It was yellow bike pants that had a ruffle skirt, and a stripy yellow and white matching crop top. And I loved it, it was a school without a uniform and I was the cool kid, until we moved back to Queensland and I lost all my notoriety.
I felt like I knew Joey, and Wheels. I felt sorry for Spike when she had her baby. I was sad when LD got cancer and didn't quite understand when Erica got an abortion. It really helped me through the child – pre-teen transformation stage. And I feel like an old woman when I say they just don’t make shows like that anymore.
So I am enjoying my blast from the past and singing along to The Zit Remedy’s one hit single. Its a guilty pleasure. I highly recommend it.
