If you were a teenager living in Brooklyn in the year 1988, you probably heard wild stories of the Sweet 16 party my twin sister and I had that year. Hell, if you were a teenager living in Brooklyn in the year 1988, you probably went to the Sweet 16 party my twin sister and I had that year. It was a party of epic proportions, the stuff of myths and legends, and probably a few teenaged pregnancies.
But there was no My Super Sweet 16 for me; no pop stars and DJs, no prom dresses. Here’s how rocker chicks from Brooklyn get Sweet 16s done.
1.About 2 weeks out, start telling all your friends you’re having a huge party at your house and they can bring anyone they want.
2.Get a refrigerator full of beer.
3. Add some hot rocker chicks
Heh, heh! That was actually me and my sister. Don’t look too closely into our dilated pupils.
4. A little of this…
5. And a whole lotta this…
6. Some beer money for when the beer runs out…
…this money actually ended up getting stolen…
7. And, of course, a kitten
…because it is a great idea to bring a poor defenseless animal to a raucous party. But hey, we were 16 years old and I don’t think animal rights were invented yet.
I actually published these pictures, and many more from this party/era, on my Facebook page not too long ago. The photos came the closest to going viral as anything I have ever put on the internet. They also gave rise to the infamous rumors ‘Zack is Dead’, ‘Who Did Ira Make Out With That Night?’ and ‘Zack Is Alive and Well and Living In Brighton Beach’.
But the best thing about posting these pictures were some of the comments I received:
“That party is one of my first memories, literally. It’s like, my mother singing over the crib, seeing Pete’s Dragon at Radio City, and then this party…”
“All these are great blackmail shots…”
“you can tell we were real young…we’re drinking budwieser”
and, of course…
“Thanks for hanging on to these gems, Marissa!”
Awwwe…memories are awesome!
Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth 
Oh man, I wish I was there!!! I LOVE the pictures so much, it’s so funny because yesterday I was looking at a bunch of old pictures and I swear some of them look like they were taken at your party! 😀
It’s so much fun going back and seeing where we were then compared to where we are now, and IMO, it’s true, we really are like fine wine, sure we were hot then but we’re even hotter now 😉 LOL
Keep ’em coming doll, they’re awesome, just like you ❤ xox
Thanks Joanne. I know, every time I see party pictures with a bunch of teenagers, I think “That looks like my Sweet 16 pics.” And fitting that this should come on the tail end of your r n’r memoir blog.
Brooklyn looks like it was a great place to turn 16. You and your sister look like rock stars! Stunning. Here’s to the happy feelings in these photos. Love this post.
Thank you Lita. Your comments are always so thoughtful. That means a lot.
Looks like you celebrated in style. Love seeing the old pictures. Did you and your twin often dress the same? You look awesome. Much cooler than I did at sixteen…
Thanks Sparrow. We dressed alike until we were about 10. After that we still dressed similarly because we had the same taste in clothes but we decided we wanted to wear the same dress for our sweet 16.
I love the old pictures. I think I saw myself in the background of one. Please keep posting them.
I KNEW that was you!!!
That looks like so much fun! – Love those comments too ha ha
Thanks British chick! You should have been there!
I know! I don’t think having a 3 yr old running around would have gone down as well as that kitten lol
Wow, looks like you all had one big night!
That it was, thanks.
Darn, I missed the best party of the 80s! Naturally. Oh well, party on, rocker chick! 🙂
I know … You totally should have been there!