6 Lessons We Learned From '90 High School Parties

High school parties probably aren't something you'd think of as a source of wisdom, but weirdly enough, high schoolers in their natural environment might teach you a thing or two about living your life now. High school parties in the '90s were probably a lot different to high school parties now. I mean, I've never been to a high school party in 2016, but I just imagine everyone stands around doing the Snapchats on their smart phones and putting on their Kylie Jenner lip kits. In the '90s we were doing things like playing spin the bottle, taking photos on our film loaded point and shoot cameras and stealing off into corners in small groups to summon Kurt Cobain's spirit in a seance. It was a much simpler, but somehow also a much more complex, time.

Looking back at the '90s is always bound to reveal lessons to us, because hindsight is like that. Also, the '90s were kind of awesome, and even though you couldn't pay me one million dollars to go back to school, there are still high school memories that are pretty sweet. And if you really look back, you might learn something too. Here are some lessons we can learn from high school parties in the '90s.

1. '90s Playlists Are The Best Playlists

The '90s were peak party playlist. Sure, we have good songs at parties now, but if you've ever been on a modern dance floor and early Britney, Destiny's Child, Salt'n'Pepa or any other song from the '90s comes on, things start going off in a way they don't for modern music. By looking back at our party playlists, we can learn exactly how to make a dance floor really jump.

2. Sometimes "Seven Minutes In Heaven" Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be

Maybe you didn't call it Seven Minutes In Heaven, but everyone had their version of a game that involved going into a closet with a member of the opposite sex and "kissing" while kids outside the door made "ooooh"-ing noises. Those seven minutes (or whatever amount of time you allocated to sitting in the dark awkwardly with someone you'd barely ever had a conversation with), were enough to tell you how you really felt about kissing another person. We can learn a lot from this as adults. If it's awkward and weird and you're only really doing it because you feel like you should, then you probably shouldn't be doing it at all. This goes for all social situations from dating to new platonic friends. If you're not into it, don't do it.

3. The "Boy's Side Of The Room" And The "Girl's Side Of The Room" Is Really Telling

I don't know what teenagers do today, but I assume they're much more comfortable with flirting and sexuality, something they're bombarded with every day through the media. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, and maybe at high school parties now kids still stand on opposite sides of the room, separated by gender, the way we used to. What's the lesson here? It's that you need your girlfriends. They're the ones that will make you feel comfortable when boy-world seems to daunting, and they're the ones that will push you (literally) off the plank and into uncomfortable situations when you don't have enough faith in yourself to make a leap. Never forget your friends when you're traversing romantic life.

4. Choreographed Dances Are Everything

Speaking of learning "how to make a party go off" from the '90s high school parties we had, we really should be bringing back choreographed dancing. From teen movies like She's All That, we learned that all high schoolers have at least one dance they can break out into like a flash mob when the right songs comes on. Personally, we had "Macarena" by Los Del Rio and "Stop" by the Spice Girls, and if you were lucky "5, 6, 7, 8" by Steps. Pop songs now don't have enough moves to go along with them. Petition to bring this back immediately.

5. Gelled Hair Lasts All Night

Hairstyles these days are all long and flow-y and likely to lose shape during a party night, or worst case scenario, become Monica-in-Barbados style frizz balls in a humid room (and dance floors SHOULD be humid and sweaty). In the '90s, however, we gelled our hair. We gelled it into Britney Spears style "beach" hair, which we made by gelling wet hair and crunching it into shape with squeezing motions, or into sleek ponytails, sometimes with gelled "bits" coming out the front. Sometimes we did gelled "twists" like the Olsen twins or Hilary Duff and secured them with butterfly clips. Whatever style: gel kept our hair in place all night. I'm not saying bring back gel, but you know it works.

6. You Don't Need To Be "Looking" At Anything To Have Fun

In the '90s we didn't have smart phones and constant visual stimulation. We weren't documenting every second of everything that went on via social media. We were just being weird kids in the moment. And that's something we can certainly learn from as adults. Not every experience needs a screen. There was a time when we enjoyed ourselves without anything extra to look at other than or immediate surroundings. Maybe we should try bringing back that '90s high school party style from time to tim.

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