Nostalgia Is Inevitable (And That’s Ok)

Raise your hand if one of the reasons why you chose Kenyon is because it looks like Hogwarts.  Even though comparing our campus to Hogwarts has become somewhat of a cliché ever since Buzzfeed did a story about it, that little flutter of excitement that comes from looking up at the proud spires of Ascension or Old Kenyon never seems to disappear. 

We always want to flock to the familiar, because that’s what makes us more comfortable.  To many, the towers of Hogwarts symbolize the magical moments of childhood, the pure joy of reading a book or watching a movie that can so easily transport anyone into another world.  To us, it’s so easy to make Kenyon feel like home because of how familiar, yet so magical, it seems.  Many Kenyon students also tend to run towards the Froot Loops or Cocoa Puffs in Peirce.  Is the sugary cereal reminiscent of those Saturday mornings of eating cereal while watching cartoons on Nickelodeon?  Maybe. 

Nostalgia, especially during college, is very difficult to avoid.  It is also definitely a bittersweet emotion. But what is so bad about sweetly recollecting the good memories?  Why does it seem like we always have to push these memories into the back of our minds?

Trust me, I am an overnight camp counselor.  I grew up going to the same camp, and the transition from camper to counselor this summer was like being spoon-fed a huge dose of nostalgia. There was not a day that went by when I was not aware of my age and how silly it looked for me to dress up in crazy outfits and dance like an idiot, just for the enjoyment of my bunk of twelve-year-olds.  But when embarrassment kicked in, I just remembered how awesome I thought my counselors were when they did the same thing. 

I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my stomach every time I had to teach my kids camp songs that I grew up learning.  And when I saw just how many One Direction posters lined the walls of my bunk, I couldn’t help but remember my High School Musical obsession from when I was my girls’ age.  But looking back, my camp counselors must have felt a longing for the days of Jonathan Taylor Thomas and a Titanic-era Leo DiCaprio when they saw our walls lined with posters of Zac Efron and the Jonas Brothers.

Though nostalgia tends to follow us everywhere, many of us choose to ignore this panging feeling.  We are in college now, technically adults, and looking back on the past seems silly when it seems like all we do is prepare for our future.  This saddens me.  While The Great Gatsby did teach me that we can never recreate the past, no matter how much we want to, I have also learned that there is nothing wrong with remembering it. 

So go ahead, watch old, G-rated cartoons instead of HBO shows once in a while.  Eat a cookie, dismissing the calorie content, because it reminds you of baking with your family.  Yes, we are big, important college students, but it is sometimes necessary to embrace this nostalgic feeling.  If we don’t, the magic of our childhood will be gone for good.

Photo Sources: Fanpop, Fabsharford.com