The language we used to use very proudly

Sometimes I really miss Hyves: how I would have loved to read my old scribbles again. Not to mention the (spotted) photos. When I was blissfully carefree, fifteen years old, secretly drinking Canei and Passie and proudly strutting towards the hockey party with Playboy bunny earrings. Good times.

Just like Cu2 and PP2G by the way: those were also brilliant times. Although I wonder if I can still understand anything from the texts there, because it was really full of bizarre words that were totally ‘in’ back then and that we managed to stick in almost every sentence. To speak in the language of 2022: I was really super cringe back then. But when I read this in ten years, we won't call it cringe anymore and I will find this cringeworthy to read again. Recognizable? Then you must have had these words in your mouth frequently too.

1. Droeloe
Another word for drunk. I never used this because I thought it looked too much like ‘drol’ and I just couldn't get it out of my mouth seriously.

2. Groentje
For when you hadn't kissed yet. ‘Ontgroend’ of course for the very first kiss. Delightfully romantic.

3. Fa2
The real tough people (or so they thought) pronounced this as ‘fatwee’.

4. Djonko
Thanks to the podcast Broers, I know that this is now called a baab. Back then I really felt hopelessly old-fashioned.

5. Faya
If something really couldn't be tolerated, it was of course sick faya. Grounded by your parents? Faya. Kicked out by the math teacher? Fayaaaa.

6. Mazzelz en greetz
Anyway, words ending with a ‘z’ instead of an ‘s’. If you were really cool, you wrote this with a capital and lowercase letter, alternating. GrEeEtZzZzZz…

7. Challaz
Same as number six. ChAlLaZzZz… Why did so many messages always end with three mysterious dots?

8. Writing ‘niet’ as ‘nii’ or ‘nie’
As much as I loved PP2G and Cu2, it wasn't exactly beneficial for our language. Meine gute, they could have included a dictionary for free when creating an account.

9. The 'o' was always a 0
So you got messages from classmates like: ‘Hii SweeT1e… ‘k hAd jE n0g gezi3n giStere… Jij miJ niie, t0g? MaAkt nii Uit h0rr… ChAlLaZzZz…’
(Yep, this almost physically hurt to type)

10. The ‘z’ would then be changed back to an ‘s’ at the beginning of the word’
Those two letters just swapped: ‘seg’ instead of ‘zeg’. Aaahh.

Okay, secretly I miss this time too. Are there still many hockey parties? Can I still get in there at 33 years old? I'll bring the Canei and Passie; by now I don't need a fake ID anymore.