High school can be hard. It may even have you asking yourself, “why don’t we get to do the same cool things that we did in middle school?” It’s true, high school would be a lot more fun with a middle school flare. Here are the top five middle school throwbacks that are sure to make you nostalgic.

Scholastic Book Fair

Wanted to buy a cool new book to read in your spare time? The Scholastic Book Fair was unfortunately not for you. How could anyone be bothered to purchase a book when they were selling all that other enticing stuff? Everyone misses the days when your mom would send you off to school with $10 of book money only for you to come home with five novelty erasers, three rainbow pens, and a 12” by 12” horse poster. You may have never even browsed through the books, but at least you learned about sales tax.

Spelling Bee

The spelling bee was the only time when knowing how to spell “potpourri” or “jai alai” actually made you cooler. Now with spell-check, there is no reward for putting that “i” before “e” except after “c” because everyone can do it. The spelling bee was the only event where your useless knowledge could really shine.

Silly Bandz 

These stretchy latex bracelets were at the heart, not just the wrist, of everyone’s middle school experience. Your popularity more or less depended on how many unique Silly Bandz you had up and down your entire arm during the school day. Some teachers became angry and banned the wearing of Silly Bandz, but no one had the power to stop each of us from building up our Silly Bandz empire through buying, selling, and trading these illicit trinkets in secret. 

Middle school dances (the more cringe-worthy the better)

What was middle school without everyone gathering together in the gym or cafeteria on a Friday night to awkwardly dance to Daddy Yankee’s smash hit “Gasolina?” You may have begged your mom to rescue you from this Party City– themed hellscape in her 2012 Honda Odyssey, but let’s be honest, you and your friends had a blast while you ate sugar cookies and slayed the Cupid Shuffle “like a boss” with much “swag.” The classic middle school dance was ultimately a time of joy, laughter, and trying to get your crush to notice that you practiced your “cha cha real smooth” just for them.

Taio Cruz 

Many call him the Michael Jordan of 2011 pop music, but MJ is kind of a step down for Jacob Taio Cruz, born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere. Songs such as “Dynamite” and “Break Your Heart” had a powerful, irreversible impact on our preteen psyches.  If your boyfriend or girlfriend just dumped you next to the Teaching Assistant’s office, you listened to Taio Cruz. If your teacher yelled at you for playing Cool Math Games  on your tablet, you definitely listened to Taio Cruz. If your mom told you you couldn’t sleepover at your friend’s house because you had church in the morning, you listened to Taio Cruz. He was always there for us in times of need, a medicine for middle school heartbreak.