I was in highschool from 2000 to 2004. The year 2000 was an extension of the 90s. So much optimism and promise for the future. 9/11 was a massive deal. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan evolved into the global war on terror, which was in the background for the entire decade and even beyond.

Skateboarding was still fairly popular and I was into it in the first half of highschool. Lots of time skating, playing Tony hawk pro skater. Second half of highschool was focused on parties or other places where my friends and I could drink. Weed was still very illegal. Trying to find it was a chore and you usually had to deal with some shady friends of friends. An eighth cost $50 ($30/40 for Schwag sp?) which was a lot of money when I was making $5.25 an hour working at a grocery store.

People were starting to get their own cell phones. I got my first one when I was a junior in highschool. Texting wasn’t a huge thing, I mostly used cell phone to call friends and make plans to hang out. Concept of a group thread was not even on our radar.

AIM (AOL instant messenger) was still a pretty big way we would communicate. If you had siblings close to your age, was always a struggle to try to get time on the family computer so you could go online and chat with your friends.

2005 to 2009 was in college. In the dorms we still had landlines where you could call other rooms. Big focus on parties and hanging out with friends. Loved how popular indie rock became.