R.I.P. my internet nicks

This is an obituary. I am sitting in Convergent class pondering over our new Online Journalism task and remembering and remeniscing the good old days before everyone used their real names for social networking. The likes of LunarStorm and PlayAhead ruled Swedish teens and Msn Messenger was where it all happened, long before Facebook Chat.

Freestylergirl was my first internet name, on LunarStorm (a Scandi online community). Then along came saariiseen (my bessie mate Hanna had haanniiseen - it obviously made sense...), TooSpecial(I'm sorry, what? Was I trying to be different? As if being chubby and nerdy wasn't enough?) and the more logical SaraM.
I've always been a big hotmail fan. splatt6589 is the first one I can remember, then lillen3000 which translated means thelittleone3000. Imaginative, huh? But then that was too nerdy (oh, yeah like changing your hotmail would make you cooler) and I became aikflickan_sara@hotmail.com, meaning that I was an AIK girl (AIK being a swedish sports club). I have always hated sports and was simply pretending in order to impress the guy I fancied. Then again trying to be different with pineapple__fairy@hotmail.com. I wrote a song with that title. I was "artistic". Sure.
Luckily I grew up in the end. Phew. I mean, my full name and @hotmail.com makes a lot more sense. And is a lot less embarrassing.

There is only one place to graduate

Scanning my computer for the picture in the last post made all the graduation memories come back. The swedish graduation parties are unbelievable - at least in Stockholm and at Rudbecks Gymnasium(yes, still funny). From the beginning of april all the way to graduation in june you party hard. There is at least three a week. I was underaged at that time so I didn't go to as many as I wanted to - but still. Nothing beats it.

From top left and downwards:
Sporty Spice at What did you want to be when you were a kid?, Black and White theme, An Oscars statuette at my own Hollywood themed grad party (which I was thrown out of for being underaged...) Cruella De Vil and toastmaster at Good vs. Bad, Masquerade theme and finally this years only grad party that I attended ROCK BASH.

I went to naked school

The word gymnasium derives from the Greek word gymnazein which means "to exercise naked."
Where did I go to school?

RUDBECKS GYMNASIUM!

btw, this is how we celebrate our graduation day in Sweden. 40 kids in the back of a truck, pumping music and beer, cider and cheap champagne flying everywhere.