People Read The First Email They Ever Sent

First times are often described as awkward, short-lived, and never to be spoken of again, and judging from BuzzFeed Yellow's "People Read Their First Email" video, emails are no exception to the rule. Who knew your old "MrsBradPitt@hotmail.com" account would be so mortifying in the cold light of the modern day?

BuzzFeed asked staff members to find the first emails they ever sent, which is basically the perfect recipe for a hilariously cringeworthy time. (BuzzFeed, if you're reading this, feel free to hit me up — I can guarantee my first email was probably pure throwback gold.) The results were a peek into a simpler era, filled with early-2000s pop culture references, strange emoticons, and the aforementioned terrible email account names. Remember when we all had email addresses like "BlueShine92" and the ultimate classic, "DarkAngel?"

The contents of the emails aren't any better than those awkward email addresses. "MR JJ! hows your summer!? i miss BIO 170! :(," reads one email from a woman to her favorite biology teacher, because this was back when teachers were allowed to share personal information with students. She goes on to use =], which is an emoticon I totally forgot about but plan on adding to my email signature immediately.

Another email adorably references collect calls, which, for those of you who are too young to remember, charge the person you're calling instead of you. The pre-cell phone era was an expensive time.

My personal favorite, of course, is the awkwardly flirty yet oh-so-2000s email from one staffer to her crush at the time. "Oh yay!... I'm not doing anything all next week and I'd love to have an excuse to get out of the house for awhile... especially to see you! =D *dances*," it reads. I can't decide which is the best part: the overuse of ellipses, the =D emoticon, or the *dancing* description.

Who am I kidding? It's obviously the *dancing.*

For the ultimate throwback, check out the video below:

Images: BuzzFeed Yellow/YouTube