Things we used to think were really cool

Whether your classmates thought you were a bit cool, that was of course an incredibly important part of your daily existence back then. At least, to the outside world, you had to be nonchalant and indifferent, because wanting people to think you were cool was the ultimate example of not being cool. In high school, I found this really terrible (but I was really worried about what people thought of me), but in elementary school, everything was much easier. There, you could get a cool image for the slightest thing by doing things that weren't cool at all. Yep, you were guilty of this too. Right?

1. Not wearing your seatbelt in the back of the car
No idea why this was so cool, but I really felt like a daredevil when I did this. The real OG cool kids even told other parents in the car with a friend that ‘they didn't have to wear their seatbelt at home’.

2. Getting little sleep per night
When you had a sleepover and came back to your parents, you proudly said: ‘We went to sleep at two o'clock!’ And of course, you were awake again by eight. So cool. Meine gute, I would kill for a night with eight hours of sleep now.

3. Getting failing grades 
In high school, I could be so nonchalant about the many failing grades I got. I came from a Montessori elementary school, and that ruined me forever because you don't learn how to actually learn there, and with my lack of motivation, I did nothing for school. Cool, right? Until I failed and all my friends just passed.

4. Arriving late to school
Those classmates who were always late to class and acted all funny about it. I never understood why this was considered cool because I hate getting up early, and you always had to report to us the next day at eight in the morning if you were late. But that was apparently cool too; and then standing with your marker on the schoolyard. Then you made it.

5. Getting sent out
Talking back to the teacher, that's what the real daredevils did. And then seeing how far you could go with your nonsense. Then you get sent out, and all the fun is suddenly over because then you have to stay after class and you're bored to death for the rest of the hour, all alone in the cafeteria.

6. Buying lunch at school
How much money I must have spent on the divine chicken corn rolls (with ketchup) at our cafeteria... It was enjoyable, don't get me wrong, and almost necessary because eating sandwiches from a sandwich bag was really something for the nerds.

7. Not doing your homework 
Before class starts, saying to each other: ‘I really did nothing for my homework.’ That was just part of it. A large number of people were immediately caught during class when it became clear that they were totally up to date with everything. Extra points if this then led to the point above, and as a negative spiral down to point three.

8. Wearing your backpack very low
Why did we do this back then? That Eastpak (where you of course had all your friends write something on) hung down to your butt and then bounced up every time you walked. It felt extremely uncomfortable, but we did it en masse. Just to emphasize how nonchalant we all were.