What comes to mind when you think of the year 2014?If you’re anything like me, you immediately associate the year with its distinctive online aesthetic…that is, after getting past the initial tidal wave of horrific middle school flashbacks.From Arctic Monkeys’ timeless “AM” blasting from every teen’s speakers to the massive, somewhat confusing hype around American Apparel tennis skirts, 2014 was a truly iconic year for Gen Z. At the time, though, it didn’t seem nearly as pleasant as it does in hindsight.Personally, I remember spending just about every angsty moment of the early 2010s anticipating the future. I fully embraced Tumblr’s soft grunge aesthetic, indie-music-obsessed peak, of course, but I can’t promise you I was any happier because of it.I’ve found that one’s middle school experience and early teenage years tend to hold a universal sore spot in our life stories — something we’d rather forget about than ever come close to reliving.I was in the seventh grade all those long, arduous years ago, right in time for the heavy influx of low-contrast pictures of denim jackets and Doc Martens on my social media feeds, nearly all of them captioned with pretentious John Green quotes.The Internet’s angst matched the energy…
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Opinion: Tumblr aesthetics from 2014 are making a comeback and I'm confused
