Gen X and the 80's: Big Hair, Mix Tapes, & Memories

What was it really like to grow up as a Gen Xer in the 1980s? In this episode of Travel Time Stories with Shannon, I take you back to the days of latchkey kids, Saturday morning cartoons, cassette mixtapes, and big hair held together by way too much Aqua Net.

But it wasn’t all neon and fun. I also share my own journey—navigating the shock of being adopted, my teenage rebellion, first loves, and the choices that shaped me during those years. From sneaking out and testing boundaries to the music, movies, and friendships that defined a generation, this episode is part nostalgia trip and part honest life story.

Whether you grew up in the 80s or you’re curious about what made Generation X the resilient, independent group we are today, this episode will take you back in time while reminding you of the life lessons we still carry forward.

👉 Tune in, share your favorite 80s memory with me, and let’s make connections through stories that last a lifetime.

#GenerationX #80s #nostalgia #comingofage #podcast #travelpodcast #tunein #lifejourneys #traveltimestorieswithshannon

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Transcript

Gen X and the 80’s: Big Hair, Mixtapes, and Memories

​[00:00:00] 

 Hi friends and welcome back to Travel Time Stories with Shannon. I'm Shannon, your host from Texas, and I'm so glad you're here today. If you're new here, this is the podcast where I share real stories, the good, the messy, and everything in between. Some weeks, I'll bring you along on my travel adventures, the shenanigans and the lessons I've learned along the way.

Other weeks I'll dive into my personal life story, adoption, trauma, healing, and transformation along with everything in the middle. Most weeks. I share a little [00:01:00] of both because for me, travel and life are deeply connected. Both shape us, both change us, and both leave us with memories that last a lifetime.

Now, if you grew up in the eighties like I did, or if you're just fascinated by that neon colored, big haired cassette, tape filled decade, you're in for a treat. Today's episode is all about what it was like to be part of Generation X, especially growing up during the 80. We will talk about the music, the movies, the fashion, the friendships, and even the struggles that shaped us.

I'll share some of my own stories along with reflections on how being a Gen Xer influences the way I see the world today. So grab your favorite beverage or favorite snack, maybe some pop rocks or a tab soda if you really wanna be authentic and let's travel back in time [00:02:00] together. Growing up as part of Generation X meant we were kind of the middle kids of history.

We weren't the baby boomers and we weren't millennials. We were the ones who learned how to adapt because honestly, we kind of had to. In the eighties, a lot of us were what they called latchkey kids. Parents were working, divorce rates were high, and we had more independence than kids. Today. I remember friends having the house key around their necks on a shoelace.

After school, we'd let ourselves in, grab a snack, maybe watch some cartoons and figure things out until our parents got home. That independence shaped us and made us resourceful tough and maybe a little skeptical of authority, but it also gave us freedom. Freedom to ride bikes until the streetlights came on.

Freedom to hang out at the [00:03:00] mall and freedom to grow up in a world that wasn't constantly online or tracked. This freedom gave us the opportunity to be more rebellious than the generations that followed. Ah, the pop culture of the eighties, you can't talk about this decade without mentioning music. MTV launched in 1981 and suddenly music videos were everything.

I remember staying up late to watch Madonna, Michael Jackson, prince, and Duran Duran. Making mix tapes from the radio was an art form. You had to time it perfectly to avoid the DJ talking, and then there was calling in to request songs to be played on the radio and dedicating them to the person that you liked.

Movies the eighties gave us the Breakfast Club back to the Future Ferris Bueller's Day Off and [00:04:00] et. These weren't just movies, they were cultural touchstones. I can still recite lines like life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it. There were Saturday morning cartoons, which were sacred. He-Man, transformers, Smurfs, and later on saved by the bell. Fashion, the big hair, aquanet, hairspray, shoulder pads, leg warmers, members only jackets, neon, everything. And yes, I had jelly shoes. I think we all did. For us. These weren't just trends.

They were identity markers. The music we love, the posters on our walls, the movies we quoted, those things shaped who we were becoming. My walls were covered with posters of my favorite hair bands. Sorry, but those guys were sexy and [00:05:00] my favorite hunky movie or TV stars. Shout out to Kirk Cameron. Teen magazines were huge back then.

One of my favorite photos of me was taken in my bedroom with my crazy wild hair and makeup standing in front of my wall covered in posters. Did you have your walls decorated, too? Drop a comment and let me know. Life in the eighties wasn't perfect. We grew up with the Cold War in the background, nuclear drills at school and the beginning of the AIDS crisis.

But we also grew up during a time of innovation, personal computers, video games like Atari and Nintendo and Walkmans that gave us portable music for the first time. You are welcome future generations for all your tech. As we were the generation that started it all. Looking back, the eighties taught us a few key [00:06:00] lessons.

Number one was resilience. We figured things out on our own, whether it was fixing a broken bike chain or navigating tricky friendships. Number two is creativity. Without constant screens, we entertained ourselves with imagination, play, and storytelling. Number three was connection through culture, music, movies, and trends gave us something to rally around and connect with each other.

here's a personal reflection. The eighties taught me the importance of memories. That's really the heart of this podcast, making memories for life, whether it was a summer road trip with friends, rollerskating at the rink, or hanging out with my siblings. Those are the memories I still hold close. One of the things I love is connecting travel to life experiences.

As a Gen Xer, when I travel today, [00:07:00] I carry that eighties kid spirit with me. I'm curious, a little adventurous, and I value the freedom to explore, and I think Gen Xers travel differently than other generations. We're practical, but we're also nostalgic visiting places that remind us of our youth, or taking our kids to places we never got to go back then feels especially meaningful.

My travel tip. For today is to just get out there. We are never promised tomorrow, so don't put things off. I know so many people who waited and said, oh, I'm gonna travel when I retire. Well, guess what? They retire and then they have health issues, so they're still not able to travel, so they missed out.

Don't be one of those people. Get out there today. You don't have to go far. You don't have to do anything expensive. Just get out and [00:08:00] do things while you still can, while you still have your health. Just do it. My high school years came like a storm. Sudden and unstoppable, especially after the news being adopted.

One moment I was still the little girl safe in mama's lap. The next

I was restless, defiant, itching for freedom that I couldn't yet name. To gain freedom, I started working at age 15 first at a local pizza place. I made pizzas, took orders, bussed tables, and even made deliveries once I got my license. After that, I got a job at Sonic, which I loved working as a car hop. I wore roller skates and delivered food orders to the cars, got great tips, and on the weekends when everyone was out cruising, that's what we did back then.

We cruised up and down the main street in our cars and hung out with friends. I was in the heart of it [00:09:00] all. As most everyone stopped to eat at Sonic since it was our town's only drive up food place at the time. And let me tell you, it takes a talent to deliver heavy trays of food on skates, but I mastered it.

At first there were little rebellions. Curfews became challenges. Mama's rules felt like chains, and I tested every link to see what would snap. Her sharp tongue met my sharp temper, and our fights rang through the house like thunder. Daddy tried to hold steady. He didn't shout like mama. He anchored instead, quiet words, a firm look, or just the weight of his presence.

Sometimes that was enough to stop me, but increasingly even daddy couldn't keep me from straying at school. I felt a drift. I wanted to belong, but always felt like an outsider watching from the edges. [00:10:00] So I chased belonging elsewhere, smoking cigarettes, drinking, chasing after boys racing cars, a lie, slipped smoothly past mama's questions.

A night spent where I wasn't supposed to be. The thrill wasn't in the act. It was in the getting away with it. I was consistently doing things that I knew I shouldn't be and putting myself in danger. I started dating older guys because a few of my girlfriends at the time were older. This is how I met Kenny.

Kenny was friends with one of my guy friends named JR. He was three years older than me and my parents didn't approve, which made him more appealing. I thought at the time I was in love with Kenny, but I wasn't. It was just infatuation and the thrill of dating someone I shouldn't, being stupid and wild at the time.

I gave my virginity to Kenny. At the time, [00:11:00] I thought it was amazing. However, later I would come to regret that decision, especially because it opened the door to me becoming very promiscuous. I didn't lose my virginity in a romantic way as I had always dreamed that I would. I was supposed to be going to a high school dance with Kenny, my friend Terrell, and a girl I had set him up with.

But instead, we decided to ditch the dance and go out riding.

I was dressed in this beautiful black and white satin dress my mom had made me, and we were cruising around in Terrell's car listening to music. Kenny and I started making out in the backseat, and one thing led to another, and yes, we did it in the backseat of the car. While driving around with friends, I immediately freaked out afterwards because of course we didn't use a condom and my dress got stained.

And I knew if my mom saw it, I was going to have hell to pay. My [00:12:00] friend tried to help me clean it as best we could, but satin and bodily fluids don't mix well. When I got home that night, mama was very suspicious and kept asking about the dance. Later I would find out that her spies had told her that we had not attended the dance.

I hid the dress in my closet. However, the next day when I got home, mom had the dress laid out and asked me what the stain was. I tried to lie and say I had sat on something, but she knew I was lying. And what it was and called me out on it. I felt so much shame and embarrassment. Once she got done yelling, I was grounded and told I could never see Kenny again.

Plus she had called Kenny and let him know that if he ever spoke to me again, she would have him arrested for statutory rape since I was a minor and he was 19. I never saw him [00:13:00] again. My mom refused to allow me to get on birth control. However, my sister, Jill told her that it was a mistake and took me for my first gynecological exam and to get started on the birth control pill.

After this, I had my little hoe phase. At one point I actually went out with a man. Yes, a man. He was 30 , who I met working at Sonic. He drove a fancy car, bought me jewelry, so basically a sugar daddy. It was brief, only a few weeks because my nephew found out and confronted the guy. But then I met a sweet guy named Steven who was going to school to be an EMT.

He showed me that sex wasn't the important thing, but rather it was building a friendship relationship with someone, and he showed me I should respect myself. My mom was so relieved that I was [00:14:00] dating a nice guy, and had started to settle down a bit. It was after Steven and I broke up that I met my first love Carl, and he kept me grounded till we broke up.

If you haven't listened to that episode, go back and listen to the First Loves and Lessons Learned episode to hear that story. Looking back, I know this was the beginning, not just of my teenage rebellion, but of the spiritual battle that would define so much of my life. I thought I was just a girl sneaking out testing rules, but in truth, I was standing at the edge of something much darker and the darkness was watching.

So that's a little glimpse into growing up as part of Generation X in the 1980s. The hair, the mix tapes, the independence, and the messy coming of age moments. For those of you who lived it, I hope this episode sparked some [00:15:00] memories. For those of you who didn't, maybe it gave you a sense of what it was like to be a kid in that unforgettable decade.

I'd love to hear from you. What's your favorite eighties memory? Was it a movie, a song, a fashion trend, or a wild teen story? Leave me a comment. Send me a message or email me at lamkintravel@gmail.com. Thanks for joining me today on Travel Time Stories with Shannon. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this podcast with someone who might need a reminder that they aren't alone in their journey of love, loss, and healing.

Leave a comment or review to let me know your thoughts about this episode or tell me your story. I might just read it on the podcast or invite you on as a guest. If you would like to support the show, you can go to  [00:16:00]  buymeacoffee.com/traveltimestories and donate. We would love for you to be a part of the journey.

So join our facebook Page at facebook.com/travelTimesStorieswithShannon. Until next time, keep making memories for life.