Only Millennials Think These 30 Things Were Cool

There was a time when burning a perfect mix CD, syncing your iPod mini, and customizing your MySpace layout felt like the ultimate flex. Millennials lived through the flip phone revolution, the rise of emo bangs, and the absolute dominance of low-rise jeans. What felt cutting-edge or wildly cool back then might seem a little… questionable now. But that’s the fun of it. Here are 30 things only millennials truly believed were the height of cool, and honestly, we stand by some of them.

Burning the Perfect Mix CD

Crafting a playlist was one thing. Burning it onto a CD with Sharpie-labeled cover art and giving it to your crush? That was pure romance in 2004.

Having a Customized MySpace Layout

HTML? Never heard of her. But somehow we all learned to code just to add glitter cursors, autoplay music, and make our profile feel like a digital diary of chaos.

Wearing a Livestrong Bracelet

It didn’t matter if you were into biking or had any clue who Lance Armstrong was. If your wrist wasn’t rubber-band chic, were you even trying?

Razor Flip Phones

The Motorola Razr was the accessory. Hanging up on someone by slamming it shut gave drama that today’s iPhones could never.

Low-Rise Jeans with Tiny Zippers

We suffered. We all suffered. But at the time, exposing your hip bones was practically a rite of passage.

Carrying Around a Digital Camera

The blurriness. The flash. The unhinged group shots. Those grainy photos still live on in Facebook albums titled “PARTYYY <3”.

Quoting Napoleon Dynamite

“Gosh!” “Tina, you fat lard!” We were out here making entire conversations out of movie quotes and thinking we were hilarious.

Using Song Lyrics as Your AIM or MSN Status

Nothing said emotional depth like putting some Evanescence or Dashboard Confessional lyrics in your away message with a broken heart emoji.

Wearing Ed Hardy or Affliction Shirts

They looked like a tattoo shop exploded on a t-shirt, and yet we wore them like couture. Bonus points if it was bedazzled.

Playing Snake on a Nokia Brick Phone

No graphics, no storyline. Just you, a snake, and the thrill of not crashing into yourself. Simpler times.

Watching TRL After School

You didn’t just watch music videos. You counted them down. Carson Daly was basically the voice of a generation.

Using “u” and “ur” in Every Text

Because vowels were expensive. Why type “your” when “ur” did the trick and looked way cooler in a T9 text?

Having Frosted Tips or Chunky Highlights

Whether you looked like a boy band member or a zebra, you were giving peak 2000s style, or at least trying.

Owning a Mini Backpack as a Purse

Tiny. Useless. Adorable. Somehow fit only a flip phone, lip gloss, and dreams.

Making PowerPoint Presentations for Fun

You’d pretend it was for school, but you were actually ranking your crushes or explaining why The O.C. was better than One Tree Hill.

Wearing a Tie Over a T-Shirt Like Avril

Did it make sense? No. Did we do it anyway because Avril did it? Absolutely.

Using “Blingee” to Decorate Your Photos

Add sparkles. Add glitter. Add a random animated skull. Now it’s perfect.

Owning a Sidekick and Flipping It Open in Public

Even if you only texted your mom, the flip-out motion made you feel like a tech god.

Getting Facebook When It Still Required a College Email

It felt like a secret club. If you had one before your parents did, you basically lived through a golden era.

Watching Bootlegged Movies on LimeWire

You risked your entire desktop to watch Shrek 2 in 144p, and you did it with pride.

Obsessing Over Your Top 8 on MySpace

Friendships were won and lost over that list. If you moved someone down, you better have been ready for a fight.

Rocking Fingerless Gloves Indoors

You weren’t cold. You were emo. And Hot Topic sold them in every shade of angst.

Getting Your Ringtone From Jamster

Yes, we paid $2.99 for a polyphonic version of “Yeah!” by Usher. And we’d do it again.

Wearing Silly Bandz and Trading Them

You weren’t just accessorizing, you were running a full-blown economy of glow-in-the-dark dolphins and unicorns.

Texting in Class on an LG Chocolate Phone

You perfected the art of sneaky texting while pretending to take notes on your TI-83.

Watching Every Episode of The Hills Like It Was Shakespeare

Lauren, Heidi, the mascara tear, we treated it all like a modern-day tragedy.

Using a Hair Straightener on Your Bangs Only

Why style your whole head when you could just fry your fringe and call it a look?

Loving “Random” Humor Like Salad Fingers

You couldn’t explain it. You just knew it was funny. Sort of. Maybe. Okay, it was weird but we were into it.

Decorating Your Binder With Magazine Clippings

Before Pinterest, we had glue sticks, scissors, and every issue of J-14 or Tiger Beat within reach.

Thinking Owning a Laser Pointer Was Peak Power

Nothing was funnier than making your friends chase a red dot like cats. Bonus laughs if you used it to mess with the teacher’s projector.