Memories from Yesterday, Today

Childhood Movies as a Throwback

A person's childhood is what they will remember and cherish most in life. Now, I'm not quite an adult yet, but I know I've had a great childhood growing up so far. My twin sister and I are 14, and we loved watching movies when we were younger (and still do!). My family has always been a BIG movie family, seeing movies all the time. When we were younger, we would watch all kinds of stuff, like Bubble Guppies, Clifford, but ones that we especially loved were the Barbie movies.

A few weeks ago, everyone here got a stay-at home order due to COVID-19. That meant no school, no cheer, no movie theaters...nothing. I was thinking I was going to be so bored when everything was closed. At least with movies my family could keep up the fun at home on the couch.

I found a great idea on TikTok (a popular video app most teens have) of a way to have fun. I saw a video where a family was doing a "throwback" to remember the good times. I wanted to do that with my family, share our own throwback. What does my family like to do? See movies! Since we can't go to movie theaters anymore, I thought we could watch a movie that my twin sister and I loved watching when we were little. It'd be a perfect throwback!

We were always big fans of Barbie, and we already owned most of the movies. Our favorite growing up was Barbie and the Diamond Castle. We haven't watched that movie in a long time and now that we have time on our hands, it would be a fun throwback to when we were eight years old! But turns out it was one of the few we don't own, so...that throwback couldn't happen.

When my mom started at ThriftBooks last August, I thought the site seemed cool, but didn't think I would ever use it since I'm not a big reader. With us all at home together, I've watched and listened to her working from home and learned they sell movies, too! I checked it out and they had some great options, but I didn't think there were any I was interested in. I was wrong!

I remembered the movie that I had wanted to watch, the one we didn't have: Barbie and the Diamond Castle. It occurred to me to try ThriftBooks and I'm glad it did, because I actually found it! There was only one copy, so I put it in my cart and I was so excited I ran right upstairs to tell my sister. She asked if there were any more and with her help I ended up ordering three Barbie movies!

Some people might think we're silly wanting Barbie movies at our age, but those little things in life that made you happy when you were young can bring a smile again to your face, especially right now. My hope is that we can watch them together and remember the good times, forget about what is happening right now in the world for a bit.

My mom recently wrote her own blog and said "My hope for all of us is to embrace the notable moments today as they will become our enduring memories tomorrow." I really hope that people can see that just one thing like a book, or movie, or song, can lighten up someone and bring a spark of joy back to them. Let's all enjoy this break and spend some time with the people we love and reflect on what makes us happy!

Here are a few books and movies that my sister and I enjoyed while growing up, maybe they'll inspire you for your own throwback!

• Cupcake Diaries
• A Dog's Journey
• A Dog's Way Home
• Geronimo Stilton
• Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew
• Boxcar Children
• Magic Tree House
• A to Z mysteries
• The World According to Humphrey
• Dear Dumb Diary