The year was 1985

I volunteered to be tagged. Typhoon Sue, blog owner of Tattlerama decided to leave this tag open to anyone who wanted to take it on. The rules of this particular tag are as follows:-

1. Go to Pop Culture Madness site.
2. Pick the year you turned 18 years old.
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs that year.
4. Write something about how those songs affected you.
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends.

Why did I take up the challenge? It was a chance for me to walk down memory lane. I was just out of secondary school. The world out there was new to me. I was studying in Stamford College, P.J. I turned 18 that February.

1985. That was the year I nursed my first heart break. It was the year when I had my first job; part-time gig whilst waiting for my SPM results. It was the year I learned that guys can be mean without cause or reason. I think that was the most hurtful thing that happened to me that year. Much more than losing a boy I liked. I was ridiculed for a skin condition that stayed with me from childhood. I did not have a choice of wearing pants because Stamford College ruled that all girls wore maroon-coloured skirts, white shirts and the college neck-tie. I bravely wore my uniform by day and painstakingly applied the prescribed lotions and creams by night. (It was a slow process but my skin condition healed by my mid-20s)
It was another normal day at college. I walked into the empty Form 6 classroom with my friend, Christina. I accompanied her to that room because she needed to pick up a book that her cousin had accidentally left behind. I turned around to close the door. To my shock, I found a caricature of a pair of legs drawn on the wall - complete with large ugly dots splashed all over those pair of legs and written in bold letters "Jackie's ugly legs". I was close to tears but I fought it back. I was humiliated. I suspected who did it. It was that particular group of Form 6 boys. I was right. Christina's cousin later admitted his classmates' wrongdoing and that that drawing was intended to embarass me. It has been 22 years. In my heart, I have forgiven those boys but I will never forget an experience like that.

Apart from that hurtful event, 1985 also gave me many happy moments. It was the year I got involved with the Catholic youth group in my area and on the parish level. We had lots of good times. Sports meets, bible sharing, youth meetings, youth concerts, Christmas carolling and Christmas Dinner and Dance. I found comfort being in the company of my teenhood friends. We went many places together. We were an amazingly tight-knitted group of youth. Our parents did not mind our galavanting because we all knew each other well.

It was also a year I learned how horny some guys can get. No wonder daddy was so protective. He did not allow me to attend the Orientation Night held at a hotel in Subang Jaya. I could only attend parties at the homes of the people he knew.
That was also the year I learned that some students preferred their own extra curricular activities. Shah's Motel was their favourite haunt. ;)

So, what were the signficant songs for me in 1985? There were more than five but I will pick the ones that made me laugh, made me cry and made me realise there was more to life than just my little world of Malaysia.

1. Private Dancer - Tina Turner
This song will always bring a smile to my face. Stamford College's elderly principal was in a particularly bad mood one day. I was talking to a classmate about an assignment when the principal walked past us and grumbled about something. My classmate waited for him to be out of an earshot. Then he turned to me and said that our principal was in need of some cheering up. So he asked me if I was willing to rise to that challenge. Deep down, I knew I was not going to make his day any worse. However, I was curious as to what my classmate had in mind. He suggested that I should walk into the office and start singing "Private Dancer"and dance provocatively. Imagining the scenario was comical enough. Needless to say, the principal was spared of some croaking from me and I was spared of any suspension.

2. Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon
I had the radio on in my bedroom till wee hours of the morning. It was during those hours that I could write my poems. I loved this part of the song.

"I can't fight this feeling any longer

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow

What started out as friendship, has grown stronger

I only wish I had the strength to let it show"

It always reminded me that I should take a chance or risk losing. If I don't voice my feelings, I will never know. Of course, at that age of 18, I was too shy to say anything. I still did not take the risk as I got older. I was afraid to come out looking aggressive or desperate. Oh! If I only knew then what I know now.

3. One Night In Bangkok - Murray Head
This was a popular song choice for the "pasar malam" music vendors in Palm Grove, Klang. While my mum bought the week's vegetables and meats, my sister and I would make our way over to the music stand to browse at the latest selections. We also knew that is where we would meet some of our friends (and their cute friends who tagged along!) Some new friendships were forged when that song was played.

4. Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
Ah! memories of Christmas 1985. Though this song hit the charts in June that year, it was still popular right to the end. We overplayed that song during our short breaks in preparation of a Christmas concert. Those were happy times. It was the year I had a chance to lead a Christmas carolling group. I was the back-up guitarist too.

5. We Are The World - USA For Africa
Quoting Wikipedia (so that I do not give out wrong facts): USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa), was the name under which forty-five predominantly U.S. artists, led by Harry Belafonte, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year. The considerable profits from the enterprise went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which used them for the relief of famine and disease in Africa; critics, however, claim that this money went directly to the (often military) governments of the affected countries rather than the people.
I became aware of the sad and unfortunate happenings overseas. I was so caught up in my comfortable world that I did not realise people were hungry and dying in another country. That song opened my eyes.

It was also a song that our friends sang to death. Most of them could identify with a singer in that group. We had Michael Jackson wannabes, Lionel Richie wannabes. Almost every guy wanted to sing Bruce Springsteen's part. He was cool.

So now, I am supposed to tag five people to do this. But, just like Typhoon Sue, I am not going to do it. I will leave it open to anyone who wants to share their memories of the year they turned 18.