Recently, I've been having a lot of flashbacks of my childhood, which was filled with days of hopscotching, primary school uniform shopping, my mom's homemade pizza, toys, Goosebumps books, and the Disney Channel.

Oh, how I loved Disney Channel! I remember the first show I ever watched on the network was That's So Raven, and then Lizzie McGuire - I was hooked from then on.

My flashbacks had me thinking about how life-changing the lessons in a lot of the older shows were:

That's So Raven tackled issues like body shaming, race, peer pressure, health, and cultural oppression. It tooks steps in directions that many kid/teen shows wouldn't dare to.

Lizzie McGuire brought to the screen the daily struggles of adolescent guys and gals going through school and home life, even tackling the extremely important issue of anorexia.

Hannah Montana focused on staying true to one's self, remembering your roots, appreciating your friends and family who love you, and young love and heartbreak.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody was filled with excitment and showed the joys of being a kid. But in its serious episodes, it tackled body shaming, eating disorders, and loss.

And the list goes on...

I could go on and on about how these shows helped in my growth as a teenager. All in all, let's not forget to appreciate the messages that these shows put out there for us. They helped us view important issues in a whole new light, and for that I am eternally grateful.