It’s 1988 and I’m 16 Years Old!

 

Left to right: Will, Carly, and Alexis (1988)

The year was 1988. I was 16 years old and just got my driver's license! 

I often borrowed my brother's dark blue Dodge Mirada and hit the town after getting home from high school. I was always so eager to get out and go beyond the boundaries of my small hometown. I used to travel 30 minutes down the road to Pennsylvania Western University, California. A place many people so lovingly called Cal U. This college town was full of a whole slew of interesting, educated, and open-minded young people. 

The first time I went to the campus was with a friend because Joan Jett was performing a small gig there in support of her sixth studio album Up Your Alley. I was a big fan and remember the concert being a lot of fun. We had to stand all the way in the back because we arrived late. It was standing room only. All I can remember now is that Joan looked great and sounded even better!

Around this time, I met some people I would become good friends with. The wonderful brunette to my left wearing the Wonder Woman bracelets is Alexis. She and I immediately formed a deep bond that would last a over decade. I'm happy to report that to this day we still talk occasionally online.

To my right is a guy named Will who's wearing a black sweater and pink turtleneck. I remember that he loved clove cigarettes and the band, The Cure. If you look closely at this picture, you can see that he's resting one of his clove cigarettes on the wooden balustrade handrail. After all, who didn't smoke back in the 1980s? I remember the residence where we took this photograph. It was at a place called "The Puzzle House" for reasons that are still unknown to me to this day.

As for my look here, well, I think I was going through my Madonna Desperately Seeking Susan / Samantha Fox phase. Although, one could just as easily argue that I look more like a member of Def Leppard. 🤣 Pour some sugar on me, baby! God, I wish I still had that grey jacket!

I just wanted to share this photograph with you that I found at the bottom of a drawer. It made me smile. 

Author Sydney Banks once wrote "The past is no longer real. It's just an illusion." But when I look at this photo in my mind it's 1988, I'm 16 years old, and I just got my driver's license.

xoxo 💋 - Carly