Good Evening TXK
I remember exactly where I was in March, 2006, when the very first episode of Hannah Montana aired on Disney Channel. I was sitting in my Granny’s bedroom, laid out on her bed, anxiously awaiting the start of the show, to watch a then-unknown Miley Cyrus become a star right in front of the world’s eyes. Of course, I did not realize at the time just how massive an impact she (and Hannah Montana) would have.
For me, nostalgia is everything. I bathe in it almost daily—meaning probably too much. It is a rush of dopamine to the brain, even now in 2022, for me to listen to the same songs I used to listen to on repeat in middle school. I feel like a child again when I watch my favorite VeggieTales movie again. Side note: I used to own every VeggieTales VHS, a proud accomplishment I will boast about until the day I die; put it on my tombstone. Also, who remembers VHS tapes, by the way?! That alone is nostalgic. Even thinking about the McDonald’s playground that my friends and I used to LIVE on makes me yearn to go back to those simple times SO badly!
Before iPhones, there was a night in fifth grade when I had my mom’s red slide-up Samsung phone, no touch screen insight, might I add (*gasp*), and I was obsessed—and I mean obsessed—with Britney Spears. I bought (without mom’s permission) a Britney Spears music video with that phone. It was a glorious night spent watching the video on repeat before she found and deleted it. Thanks, mom!
That brings me to another nostalgic moment in history… MUSIC VIDEOS! They are a lost art, people! No one takes the time these days to pour into their visuals and concepts, which completely changed the way I heard the music when listening as a kid. What would Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” be without Miley swinging on an actual wrecking ball? I used to sit in front of the TV every Saturday morning when VH1 would air their Top 20 Countdown. 20 of the hottest music videos at the time, and I would EAT. THEM. UP! I lived for every moment of it. But alas, long gone are the golden days of MTV in the 70s, 80s, 90s and early 2000s, when music videos were all the rage.
When I pass my elementary school, I am eight years old all over again, walking into school every day without my mom, being loudly and proudly myself, or dramatically crying over the abandonment I felt when she went out of town with her girlfriends for the weekend. (I may have attachment issues.) When I listen to Ke$ha, I am 12 again with the radio up, leaving Texas Middle School on a Friday to go stay the night with my friends. When I see a pair of red Converse shoes, I am 16 again trying WAY too hard to be cool by wearing skinny blue jeans with a red sweater… It wasn’t cool, guys; it was CRINGE.
I miss going to middle school dances in the gym and staring at my crush. At the same time, “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj played at a deafening volume behind me. I miss secretly watching Secret Life of the American Teenager (because I wasn’t allowed to watch it), then going to school and talking to my friends about what happened on the episode the night before. I miss walking around my neighborhood at midnight with my friends in the summer just because we could. I miss thinking that things would always be easy, and I would never have to worry about all the things adults have to worry about, like bills and car problems and living on my own.
But here I am. I am successfully living on my own, with a car, bills and reheated pizza from three nights ago, just to save money, and it isn’t always easy. But every single night before bed, I turn on Disney+ and watch those Disney Channel shows I loved so much growing up. In those moments, it’s like no time has passed at all.
I feel we all want to blissfully reminisce about our glory days. I am definitely not old enough to be saying “glory days,” but I DO think we tend to overlook the simple things in our lives. I don’t mind taking on more responsibility, but I certainly wish on the hard days I could be that Converse wearing, Hannah Montana watching kid in my Granny’s bedroom. However, I know that today will be “the glory days” I miss someday. I better make sure I concentrate on the blessings of the moment and take the time to make beautiful memories.
LOCAL EVENTS
June 1-15
Student Juried Art Exhibit at TRAHC
10 am-4 pm, Wednesday-Saturday
June 2
Charity Gayle—Endless Praise Tour
First Baptist Church, Texarkana, 7 pm
June 2, 11, 23, 30
Gateway Farmer’s Market
800 Jefferson Avenue, 7 am-12 pm
June 3-5
High School Rodeo Finals
Four States Fairgrounds
June 4, 11, 18 & 25
Texarkana Texas Farmer’s Market
305 Texas Boulevard, 7 am-12 pm
June 9-12
Runnin WJ Barrel Race
Four States Fairgrounds
June 11
Hands on Texarkana presents the Annual Dragon Boat Festival
Bringle Lake Park, 9 am-5 pm
June 17
Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series
67 Speedway, 8 pm
Denim and Diamonds Daddy Daughter Dance
Crossties Event Venue, 6-8 pm
Satisfaction with Chasing Rita
Perot Theatre, 7:30 pm
June 18
Fouke Monster Festival 2022
Fouke Community Center, 9 am-8 pm
Texarkana Reptile Expo Show Me Reptile Show
3700 East 50th Street, Texarkana, Arkansas, 3:30 pm
June 25
Rumble in the Park Car & Motorcycle Show & Scout-O-Rama
Spring Lake Park, 8 am-3 pm
For more events visit
LIVE BANDS
June 3
Alex & Liv Music
The Hideout, 9 pm
June 4
Lane Bricker
The Hideout, 9 pm
June 11
The LaRouxs
Hopkins 7 PM
June 17
The Stand Alones
Fat Jacks, 9 pm-1 am
June 25
T-Town 5
67 Landing, 7:30 pm
