What was your favorite year of life? If you had to "Groundhog Day" one year over and over..
Posted by shooter5mill@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 150 comments
..88-89. First year away from home at college... that unreal first gasp of life on my own, true independence. So many friends, parties, stories, relationships ... I could do it over and over and over.
Doordasheasthartford@reddit
Anytime in the 80s
MaximumJones@reddit
aMoose_Bit_My_Sister@reddit
1996-97.
wild times.
Glum_Manufacturer232@reddit
2007 hands down. Best shape of my life, my mom was still here and not sick, newly divorced after 17 years of the wrong partner and extremely happy about it, my kids were still healthy and not sick (2008 started my hell and to this day we are all still recovering).
jrobski96@reddit
I have yet to live those years. I've been working my ass off since I was 14, always looking for the next milestone.
I retire in 3 weeks. Maybe this next few years will be the ones. If not, I'll keep aiming for it.
m149@reddit
man, there's at least 3 different years I wouldn't mind living over and over.
Maybe 1997 would have to be the one. Landed my dream job (working in a big recording studio) and also started dating a gal I had met about 2 or 3 years earlier who I fell in love with at first sight. Things really felt like they were heading in the right direction that year. That summer was a ton of fun. Absolutely living high on endorphins.
An aside, the recording studio was just "retired" after 29 years. Meaning, it wasn't shut down because of economics, it was shut down out of convenience for life changes for the people working there.
Iko87iko@reddit
Adult 89, kid 76
BMisterGenX@reddit
summer of 1993
WolfThick@reddit
Generation Jones here 1977
bandley3@reddit
‘97. Had the best job of my life, met the girl of my dreams, and still had hope for the future.
keirmeister@reddit
If I could put September 1990 - September 1991 on a loop and relive it, I totally would.
I was entering my senior year in HS, which was a blast. Got accepted to college early, had a great graduation, a fantastic Summer job, then left home for college to my first choice school. It was probably the last time I felt like I was on top of the world with endless possibilities awaiting me.
bobj33@reddit
1997-98
Graduated from college, got a job designing computer chips that paid very well, got my own apartment, girlfriend and I had privacy. It was great feeling that all that education was finally paying off.
Dazzling-Walrus9673@reddit
2002-2003. From when my daughter was a newborn to 1 year old.
schnu44@reddit
Same here
schnu44@reddit
1984 when I was 16, enough said
BaconToTheBaconPower@reddit
88-89. I was with the one who got away, this game of Plinko was not supposed to have gone this way...
sysaphiswaits@reddit
81FXB@reddit
Blephotomy@reddit
Everyone who is writing a number and then a period at the beginning of their posts, edit it and put a backslash \ in front of the period and it won't try to format your comment into a numbered list.
If you see a lot of posts that start with "1." that's what's happening.
ChantilyAce@reddit
1988
CeilingUnlimited@reddit
If I ever buy a “classic” car in my retirement, it’ll be a bright blue 2011 Infiniti convertible
Crafty_Fan_6202@reddit
Ok-Intention-4593@reddit
davidcoons@reddit
For me (55M), 2019. It was a whirlwind, but a tremendous year for travel, and experiences for my wife (56F) and I.
Otherwise, 1990 (the year after graduation) was also a pretty good year.
DaytonaPickle@reddit
87-88 senior year in HS great friends and girlfriend and some fucking kick ass music! Saw Monsters of rock and heard Metallica live for my first of many times with now wife
Wander_Globe@reddit
Bro, I was there. Well, a few years earlier than your monsters but man they were great shows. I saw Van Halen's second last show with the OG lineup and also Thin Lizzy's second last show before Lynott died. Also saw Metallica and the Justice tour with The Cult as well as Pantera with Slayer. Here are the shows I attended when we were in Germany.
PissedCaucasian@reddit
My birthday when I turned 30. Had sex with two different women (not paid) the same day.
Wander_Globe@reddit
https://i.redd.it/7qw1rvla3t3h1.gif
PissedCaucasian@reddit
I left out that I had a nice early breakfast with the first one in the suburbs and a gourmet late lunch outside at a restaurant in the city with the second one. What a great day!
Not_The_One-@reddit
No comment
Not_The_One-@reddit
32-33 was cool. Everything was good...
CantankerousButtocks@reddit
1981.. My older sister came home from a summer trip to Europe with Squeeze, The Jam, U2, Elvis Costello, etc. I was 13 and transformed from a rabid fan of The Who into a new wave of music...
Wander_Globe@reddit
Love The Jam. Went down a rabbit hole last night listening to them. My fav song is Ghosts off The Gift album. So good.
Wander_Globe@reddit
Due-Complaint-5719@reddit
I honestly can't think of a single year because I've enjoyed all of them, I'm just happy to be alive. Peace.
Comedywriter1@reddit
Same. Even when I’ve gone through tough times, I can see there were good things/people.
ElGrandeRojo67@reddit
scarlettSD@reddit
27 is the perfect age
997Dan@reddit
…unless you join the club.
---TC---@reddit
CitizenChatt@reddit
Yeah. 👍
Did that in the Summer of 90 during the World Cup.
Slow-Objective-7440@reddit
1998 - the year I met my husband
cinciTOSU@reddit
1986 had a cute girlfriend and not a single care in the world.
TaiterChip74@reddit
1991
ForwardSlash813@reddit
1988-89 was a very good year. We didn’t know how good we had it.
IcedBlueberryLemon@reddit
cosmicloafer@reddit
2027, that’ll be my year, for sure
curiousme123456@reddit
Probably 1994. Had apt, beautiful girlfriend who liked sex but it was relaxed situation, decent money, young enough to still be a clown, went to Woodstock II, could do illegal things and their were no phones, cameras etc to worry about it
daydrinkersunite@reddit
A single year? I can't name one, but 86-90 were some of my best. Graduated in 86 and moved to PCB on a whim. Got to live life "on the ground" in the last days of Old Florida. Completely different time and place. The girls/women. The cars. Ramshackle T-shirt shops, food vendors, and stores that Corporate America drove all out of business during the following decade. Driving down Front Beach Road and being able to actually see the goddamn beach most of the way. The rickety old beach houses that the soulless condominiums swallowed up. Empty stretches of beach and dunes, and the old Mom & Pop motels that had been there since the 50s or 60s.
I could go on ad infinitum. If you remember that beach, you know how it was, and you should count yourself lucky. If you were not lucky enough to experience the Gulf Coast during that era, you'll never fully comprehend it. It was a piece of Americana that can never be duplicated or even fully described.
That thought and the hard truth of it saddens me beyond words.
False-Can-6608@reddit
You are sooo right! What a special wonderful place it was before the whole freaking world found out about it and ruined it forever. Very sad indeed. But yes, we were so lucky to have experienced its true heyday 🏖️☀️ good times
kgcrowder@reddit
The miracle mile on the Redneck Riviera. If you know you know!!
kgcrowder@reddit
PCB at that time was insane. But I would say up to 99 which was the last year I was there . I lived in ATLANTA and worked the adult entertainment industry we would get off work at 4 am on Saturday jump in a car and be in the pool at Spinnaker’s and Lavela by noon !! Great times indeed !! I don’t think it can pick a year as much as a decade 90 - 99 was incredible. Back when you party all night and still work the next day and do some party favors without having to worry about waking up dead
BlueButtons07@reddit
The year of 4th grade, but particularly that summer of 88. Yes, I had chores but the majority of my day consitied of swimming and riding bikes, getting to eat lunch outside on the picnic table. Helping my mom hang fresh laundry on the clothes line outside, or baking chocolate chip cookie bars with her. Getting rides in the bucket of the tractor as my dad drove between farm chores. Watching beautiful sunsets, with the sound of the irrigation sprinklers watering the Alfapha field. This was the last summer both of of parents were alive, and some of my fondest memories of still feeling like a "carefree" kid.
tommyalanson@reddit
tanhauser_gates_@reddit
Cowboy_Buddha@reddit
1993 - rock shows at the local bar, attracted quite a scene. Met a lot of interesting people, I was still under 30, willing to goof around, didn’t feel the restraints of age just yet. That changed a few years later and I had to look at things differently, and I decided to grow up. I didn’t really have a lot of positive or protective influences in my life at that point, so it was a time of stretching.
Infamous-Course4019@reddit
89/90 Gr 11/12. Had a car, beautiful gf, fun job, no rent, no worries. Went to concerts, dances, fairs, waterslides… simpler times
CustomCarNerd@reddit
Nazz1968@reddit
Most of 2001, age 31. I was in the early stage of my engineering career, engaged, and still having a great time as a musician on the side. Everything was constantly looking up and optimistic.
However…we got back from our London honeymoon at 12 am on September 10, thirty-two hours before the first plane hit the WTC. I watched the towers come down in real time on TV soon after returning to work that morning. There’s a sense of cynicism and harsh reality that has never left me since.
daydrinkersunite@reddit
Ouch. I felt that.
umbathri@reddit
Instead of picking my favorite or best year, I would pick one with the most potential for different experiences. Similar to OP, that first year of college where it could have gone in so many different directions, hung out with this group instead of that group, and make completely different choices. That could be a year that I meet so many different people with diverse backgrounds and really found my people. And while the music of the 90s would be a cherry on top, that's not at all a pressing need. I have already heard most of it.
melty75@reddit
I might be living it this year. I'm really happy with a change I made in my career late last year. That, and my wife and I are just really settled in to our lives and home, and family life. I have my health, I'm happy, I get to golf multiple times per week. Life is good. I have great stepkids. I have a grandson. I have two amazing cats. My work team is next level, they inspire me to achieve.
Youth had its benefits, but for me, was always wrought with family drama that was beyond my control. Now I'm in control of my own house, and it's a peaceful, safe place. I love my parents, my Mom is still doing good but we lost my Dad over a dozen years ago... but they had some fucked up ways of just living their lives without realizing that we were witnessing it all. It's hard to explain how different it is compared to nowadays when kids are super sheltered and not exposed to things like, for example, yelling, drunk adults, fighting, violence, alcoholism, and just doing it on fucking repeat for my entire childhood. The 80s and 90s were great, but I wouldn't want to relive them. In the 2000s, I created some drama of my own, but landed on my feet more times than I can count, and always kept my head on my shoulders. No matter how much shit I got involved with, I kept my career and self above all. Maybe that's why now I feel like I'm living my best year.
Art_and_Roses@reddit
55 here and same. Good for you! Good for us! For me, getting older has only been getting better. 😊
this_kitty68@reddit
Art_and_Roses@reddit
Honestly I think I’m living it right now so I’ll have to let you know
Grafakos@reddit
Probably 1989-1990, my senior year of college.
whskytrsh@reddit
SnooGoats3915@reddit
Senior year-1997-98
skateboardnaked@reddit
1996 was epic. I had a full time job and told my boss I was starting college and couldn't work Tuesday & Thursdays. So I worked, Mon, Wed & Fri. Everyday was basically a Friday, since I didnt have to work the next day. The only thing was I wasnt going to college...
I lived in a party house with 6 people. We each paid only $150 for rent. We had a halfpipe in the backyard, skated all day and night and had punk bands play every week in the living room.
Once, we had a party so out of control that a bunch of people lifted a parked car in our driveway and flipped it completely over on it's top with the wheels facing up. I had to call the cops on my own party to get it under control.
Man, looking back, those days were so care free & fun. No responsibilities, whatsoever. Now, I keep track of the S&P500 daily.
Striking_Proof_1124@reddit
1985
jepadi@reddit
grandma-activities@reddit
Age 17. That was an awesome time.
weaselroni@reddit
88-89 for me as well. The year I turned 21. I wouldn’t mind doing it over and over again until I got it right
dave-rooney-ca@reddit
Same, but I was 23, and for the same reason.
FnEddieDingle@reddit
Freshman year of college
ZogemWho@reddit
mustardmadman@reddit
1924 was a great year
No_Hovercraft_821@reddit
That first year of college is absolutely among the very best years for the reasons you give. But if I were doing it over and over I'd probably screw it up and it wouldn't be as fun.
DiamondLight25@reddit
1989
SuspiciousMeat6696@reddit
1983
cnew111@reddit
I’d re-live 2004. My sons were 2 and 4, IMO the best ages! My parents were still alive. I was working parttime while caring for kids. Life was glorious!
SolomonGrumpy@reddit
I met this girl. A woman, really. We dated for just over a year but I knew her for 2.
She was ana amazing girlfriend. I was young, in shape and had the world by the balls.
I would lay awake at night next to her and ask myself if it was all a dream.
I would start my Ground hog years 3 months before we got together, and end it right as we were talking about moving in together.
ConstantConfusion123@reddit
2022.
Went back to school for a career change, was doing part time classes, working part time. Full of hope for the new career and increased income, learning new stuff it was great. Job was fun, made lifetime friends, worked with a dude I had a lil crush on. And had free time to garden, work on my house etc.
The job change didn't really work out, but no regrets. That was such a fun time I would totally do it over again.
geo2515@reddit
93-94 infinitely. Anyone who lived it needs no explanation.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
A year?
Hrm...
I actually don't know. But considering it's a year I can do over & over until I get it right? I think it would be 1999. It was a great year but I was stupid, and at midnight of the last day, my ex-husband proposed. We were great friends, but horrible as a couple, and I should have said no.
I'd repeat that as many times over as it takes until I say 'no', which would require me to stand up in front of 8 other people - his family - and say no while he's proposing to me with the engagement ring from his mother's first marriage - which they proudly told me after I said yes out of embarrassment and shock, and he had to tell everyone how romantic it was that he did it as the 1900s died and the 2000s started.
While it was cool, doing all that in front of his entire family (who didn't like me and I really didn't enjoy spending time with) was horrifying.
In 1999, I was making good money, was growing in my life, but needed to grow up more yet. I should have said no. Best friends don't always make a great marriage couple, and for us, it was disaster.
So yep - I'd repeat that entire year until I either break up with him before the proposal, or say 'no' at midnight of December 31, 1999.
Rambling-Holiday1998@reddit
I married a high school friend. It lasted less than a year. It was hellish. We were not friends anymore after it was over.
Komaisnotsalty@reddit
Oof, sorry to hear that.
And same: we split and never talked again. It's been about 22 years and I still miss my friend but not the husband.
Direct-Dish1779@reddit
1994
HistoricalTowel1127@reddit
I would rather Groundhog Day my shittiest year.
therealgookachu@reddit
AnybodyCanyon@reddit
Some time in spring of 1991. First day living alone after having roommates for a few years.
ThreeandnoD@reddit
The summer of 1984 was a great period in my life. I moved to a new area which was a resort type of area had got my license. Met a bunch of really cool new people every day felt like I was at vacation. I work just a day and a half a week had money in my pocket the rest of the time I was at the beach or playing ball and chasing girls a little bit
Rambling-Holiday1998@reddit
1976 was my perfect year. I was 10. We had won our custody battle (I was the object of the custody fight, it was freaking mess that ate up all of 1974 and part of 1975). We moved to Missouri as soon as the judge released us to go. I had a horse. Everything was red, white and blue. I thought my life was going to be magical from this point on. (I'm genx so you know there was another divorce and a bunch of other crap, but in 1976 I did not know any of that was coming. It was magic, I'd never been happier and I'm not sure I ever was again after that.)
texan01@reddit
Maybe 99-2000
Own-Yam-8750@reddit
Any year I got to be a stay at home mom and take care/play with my 3 small daughters. Best time ever.
easily_abused@reddit
Unfortunately, I don’t have any other peak moments in my life.
Ambitious-Break4234@reddit
1987, 1990, 1996.
ImmySnommis@reddit
UnderwhelmingAF@reddit
2003
comish4lif@reddit
Could you imagine being a 21yo college senior with unlimited chances to get it right?
Feminist_Hugh_Hefner@reddit
1994 - a bunch of friends and I took this boat out and went to rural Thailand, Dubai, Bangkok, and Hong Kong before bringing it back to Japan and spending a summer in the clubs in Roponngi and then heading out to play wargames with some other guys... 7th Fleet was as advertised.
USAFGeekboy@reddit
1987.
Fine-Philosophy8939@reddit
Giving birth to my twins! Just wow
RetroactiveRecursion@reddit
The day I left home.
TinyWeird878@reddit
Probably when I was 8, so 1976. Old enough to walk everywhere with my best friend, old enough to finally feel confident pedaling my big banana-seat bike by myself. Spent the whole summer in the woods or at the creek. 1978 (I think?);is a close second - a massive blizzard hit the northeast and it was snow forts for days upon days.
I realized just today that no year as an adult even comes close.
Frequent-Ad2981@reddit
About the same for me. And I completely agree about adulthood - it's been no match for my childhood!
HHSquad@reddit
I very much remember that blizzard here in the Philly burbs
ooooooootreyngers@reddit
The year I turned 30...man I pulled some serious tail lol
OuchBag@reddit
I was literally about to comment something quite similar. Falling out of my pockets, I had extra.
becuzofgrace@reddit
1990, the first year I was married. So..much..sex. Hahahahaahah
freddieguts@reddit
94, living in Hollywood, going to music school. Playing music with some great people. If I groundhog day that, I definitely would've played with every fellow student in every style and perfected my technique and understanding of guitar tones..
DrKeepitreal@reddit
Sounds amazing.
Moody_GenX@reddit
If I get to know what I know now? 2019...
Jwheat71@reddit
83
GboyFlex@reddit
1984.. endless summer, young love and great music. I was genuinely happy.
Admirable-Hour-4890@reddit
1986
ancientastronaut2@reddit
Same as you! Then I ruined everything by getting pregnant. 😆
Not_a_fan_of_me@reddit
Summer of ‘94 was one of the most amazing times of my life.
ogtinwhiaker@reddit
I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea otters... That was a pretty good day
saposguy@reddit
2010ish give or take. Had a good job. Wife and i had a situation that was amazing. Lots of parties and great experiences.
WalnutTree80@reddit
1985 when I was 15. Awesome year.
kermitsfrogbog@reddit
2015 was pretty great. Not perfect, but it’s pretty high up there. We did a lot of new things that year so it really sticks in my memory. We’re trying to prioritize ourselves more lately so I hope to have more great years coming up.
itgoesineasy@reddit
1987
Itis-caught-BearsWin@reddit
I met my wife 2 years later. We’ve been married 13 years with 2 kids now and I am really happy. But 2009 would be great to relive.
CSH0714@reddit
Everything just clicked for me in 1983.
Chiccheshirechick@reddit
1999 when I had my daughter.
Emergency_Rutabaga45@reddit
PGHNeil@reddit
SweetsMurphy@reddit
92-93
My crush reciprocated feelings and I swooned
My band was gigging and getting noticed (for a hot minute, then the inevitable descent into obscurity) and going into the studio regularly.
I lived in a duplex with six people
Three of those six were in the band and we rehearsed in the basement
I hear our song on the radio
Everything felt possible
Fudloe@reddit
19 was pretty damned good. 16 was, too. As was 23, 38, 46 and currently, 58.
Fuck it. I'd do the whole ride again.
Character-Guitar6833@reddit
canuckEnoch@reddit
nyght2063@reddit
2006-2007
AZJHawk@reddit
I spent the summer busting my ass working a landscaping job. Saved up a ton of money. Saw Pink Floyd on the Division Bell tour and a couple of other awesome concerts.
Moved into my first apartment with my two best friends in the fall. Met a cute girl who was my neighbor and is now my wife. Got serious about school and realized I actually enjoyed what I was studying, resulting in my grades going from barely passing to nearly a 4.0.
Capped the year off with a family trip to Cancun to celebrate my parents’ 25th anniversary.
Hands down the most fun year of my life.
TheCatWhoOvercame@reddit
2018, when I met my second husband. My first marriage had gone down in flames and I fully expected to be an old maid, and instead I met this great guy and we had all these fun adventures together.
It felt so magical to get a second shot at absolutely everything I'd ever wanted just when I'd pretty much given up on even daring to want things.
Eight years later it's still magical, though in a more settled-down kind of way.
Knight_thrasher@reddit
Honestly, Nov 1993- Nov 1994. Moved out on my own, last year of HS, turned 18(legal) drinking age. Some of the best times I don’t remember.
ComprehensiveEast376@reddit
squirtloaf@reddit
As an adult? I dunno. Are we going by Groundhog Day rules, where you get to do it over and get better each time? Because then I'd probably choose 1986-87 when I was a kid touring working for a hair metal band on their way up, but I was still kind of a mess because I was still a teenager who didn't have any experience and limited knowledge.
I'd love to redo that year, but do it right.
starksfergie@reddit
27-29, met my best friends (still friends just don't live near them anymore) and did a lot of traffic, came out, got my first boyfriend and everything that entails, became a professional (still unsure about how happy that's made me, heh). Yeah, I look fondly on that, sorry, 27-29 were my ages, so 1997-1999
Formal_Plum_2285@reddit
Could be 1996. I went to Paris to work in Disneyland Paris and that was pretty sweet. When I returned home, I started university and that was pretty cool too.
But it could also be 2005. The year I spent in Trinidad&Tobago.
However I loved being a kid. I had the best and happiest childhood, so it could also be basically any year from 74 to 94. Actually I think it could be any years except the previous 12.
onedollarcereal@reddit
1985 absolutely
HHSquad@reddit
1983 maybe or perhaps even 1975
Monkeydad1234@reddit
My first year as a father, 2001-2002. Nothing prepared me for how much I would love my son (or my daughter, but she didn’t come along until 4 years later)
kyoun1e1@reddit
Easily freshman year of college. 1986-87.
LifeguardRepulsive91@reddit
I peaked late, I guess. 2023-ish was great. Every part of my life was on fire. My career hit its stride, zero debt and great income, I was in the best shape of my life, and I had a very active social life.
Philosof_E_Sofmen@reddit
1988 because it was rad 🔥
PopeInThePizza@reddit
I'll go with calendar year 1980, when I was 11. Finally a stable living situation in a good neighbour and a good school. Babysat and became a nascent consumer. Developed so many of my interests and tastes then.
Ok-Educator-9437@reddit
1982-83. I was in first grade. The music was awesome. The return of the Jedi was out. Between my friends and I we had nearly every figure,playset and we created our very own Star Wars. We all had big wheels and ruled the streets on those things. We lived on a big hill and really got going when we went down on those things. We rode them until the wheels literally disintegrated.
🤷🏻♂️😅
DenverDataWrangler@reddit
'73-74, around 2nd grade. My dad was in the US Army and we were sent with him to a military installation in West Germany. I didn't quite grasp it would be 3 years away from the US, I didn't know we were essentially sacrificial lambs in case the Soviets rolled tanks across the Fulda Gap, and I didn't know Nixon was so awfully corrupt.
Roadkiller611@reddit