Five shows from the 90s that shaped who I am today: Cosby Show, A Different World, Living Single, Girlfriends, Moesha

I remember coming home from school each day just to catch the infamous re-runs of the Cosby Show. My day was not complete unless I was able to see Denise. Her style was so inspiring. As a kid, I remember wanting to one day “dress like her”. Her individuality complemented the uniqueness I had already discovered in myself. But it wasn’t just Denise that I desired to see. The Cosby Show itself helped to shape me into the thinker and individual I am today. Subconsciously, viewing this ideal “perfect Black Family” shaped many of my values. Coming from a single parent home, watching the Cosby Show allowed me to be a part of a family that I secretly wished I had at home. From Claire Huxtable’s grace and style to Hethcliff Huxtable’s hilarious antics, the Cosby show reeled me in and made me a part of home not so far away from home, literally right on the other side of my television screen. And on the other side of my television screen was “A Different World”. As a Cosby Show fanatic, it didn’t get any better than to see what life was like in a different world. This series was motivating in so many ways. The clothes were funky, the characters were realistic, and the tone of the show was nothing less than positive. “If this is what college life is like, then I’m all in”. I vowed to one day attend a college that closely resembled that of Hillman College. I wanted to live on campus and have super funky roommates like Freddie and Whitley Gilbert. This show made college feel like home. It was perfect. I grew up in the Huxtable home and went off to “A Different World”. Why couldn’t this be life for real? I must admit, when I finally went off to college (Grambling State University), I looked around for Dwayne Wayne or at least someone like him. He was there. So were Whitley, Jaleesa, and Kimberly Reese. I never found Freddie or Lena or Denise. I was all three of them in one. College for me was “A Different World”. I never imagined that the series itself would impact my college lifestyle so much. Not to mention, while in college I was definitely “Living Single”. Far from a nineties kind of world, but I was always a nineties kind of girl.

Many of my college “relationships” were short lived because of my eccentricity. I was okay with that. Especially because I could lay back and revel in the lives of single women I could relate to. I was a bit stubborn and outspoken like Maxine Shaw, free-spirited and funny like Sinclair, fashionable and fabulous like Régine, and thorough and goal oriented like Khadijah. I was literally “Living Single” in a “Different World” and it was all right with me especially because I had my “Girlfriends”. Sitting back with my girlfriends made everything all right no matter how much we’d fuss and fight. Girlfriends made life more fun and spontaneous, especially when you’re surrounded by such strong personalities. Toni motivated me to be a hustler, get up, be fabulous and make money. She was a businesswoman, so why couldn’t I be one too? Mya always had the mouth and never gave a damn what anyone had to say about it. She is a mother and she is fierce as well. I truly related to Lynn’s free spirit and artistic personality. She is the friend who will give you the advice you don’t need, but at the moment feels oh so right. And then there’s Joan. Joan is I. Joan is a writer, a lover, and a dreamer, stylish, quirky, weird, and very outspoken. Her humble abode was the place where the girlfriends hung out the most. It was the main attraction and set the tone for the show. Joan ‘s bubbly personality kept me up a many late nights. Often falling asleep in a world that I do not wake up to in the morning. Speaking of girlfriends, how dare I not mention my girl Mo-to-the-E- to –the-Moesha”? Moesha was definitely like my best friend. We went through some tough times together as well as some great times. I have great memories with Moesha. Although, we did have a falling out or two over Q, but we bounced back and remained tight. Moesha was like the girl next door (or the girl I wished lived next door). Because of Moesha, I acquired the desire to one-day relocate from the east to west coast, and in a sense, I did. All the cool kids lived in Cali. Not to mention, I secretly had a crush on Hakim. Just to be close to him would have been all-good with me. I grew up with Moesha. Most of my teenage years were spent with her. When the show ran its last season, it felt like I was losing a close friend forever. It was like packing my bags and moving back to the east coast forever. I took back with me lessons of life, love, and family issues. I was “realizing my responsibilities” and began to understand “me”.

I was born in the eighties, but the nineties shaped me. I am jazz. I mean real funky elevator music. The kind of music that makes you want to grab your tap shoes and heel toe on out the elevator door. I am growing. It’s a different world then where I come from. I found my chance to make it. I am focusing on my goals. I remember what I’ve been told, “It’s a different world then where you come from”. I learned to “keep my head up, that’s right and whenever this life gets tough, I gotta fight with my home-girls standing to my left and my right”. Although it’s no longer the nineties, I’m still living in my nineties kind of world and I’m glad I got my girls…”My girlfriends, there through thick and thin, my girlfriends, there for anything.” Each day I wake up, “ a new day is calling, it’s me, it’s me. I’m realizing my responsibilities. It’s me. My best friend’s always on my mind, literally (I lost my best friend in 2013). I am thankful to have grown up with shows full of substance. I feel for today’s generation because they don’t have the opportunity I had when it comes to good television. Their reality is reality TV. I am thankful for the 90s and early 2000. I rarely watch television anymore and if I do, you can rest assure it is a re-run of the shows that shaped, which also include Martin, Sister -Sister, The Parkers, and more. I love the 90s.

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Alaina Moné, “I am a writer, educator, and artist. I still own my first journal which I began in second grade. I have written my ideas, stories, poetry, and poured my heart into more than 27 journals in my 27 years. In my lifetime I’ve had the honor of meeting two of my writing role models, Dr. Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni. For me, writing is the best way for me to release the myriad of thoughts that take residence in my mind.” — My Online Store, My Instagram