Nostalgia; it’s one of those feelings that sneak up on us and usually lasts for a few minutes, but we don’t take much time to take it in. It’s a great time to start feeling reflective as we inch closer to the middle of the year.
Welcoming New Perspectives – TV, Movies & Books
It’s great to have platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ to relive old TV shows and movies you grew up watching. Being back home made me think a lot about how I used to sit and watch Avatar: The Last Airbender for almost 2 hours with my siblings, and how I would stay up watching Harry Potter on Freeform and end up planning my entire weekend around the monthly marathon. Sometimes nostalgia hits me when I have a random thought and I suddenly want to watch one of my favorite movies, Begin Again. I especially get nostalgic about this movie because I still have my guitar in my room, and a dual headphone jack splitter that I got one Christmas from my friend who also loved the movie.
The same feeling applies to books, especially to books you read when you were much younger in elementary school. Rewatching old shows/movies and rereading books give you a fresh perspective, and might change your opinion on the material since you’ve had time to understand the general ideas and now you can interpret details more closely. These details can change depending on experiences we’ve had and make us feel differently about a story.
Music and Food – A Blast From the Past
Besides having a different and fresh perspective on a tv show based on something new you’ve experienced, there’s also the other part of nostalgia that can completely transport you from your present self to living in the past.
A lot of music reminds me of the summer, because I spent time listening to a few songs and albums during commutes or during a jam session with my siblings. One album that reminds me of the summer is “The Story of Light” by SHINee; they’re a K-pop group and this album has a lot of bright, retro dance songs that I love listening to any time of the year because they lift me up. A memorable song from one of mine and my siblings’ jam sessions is “Black Magic” by Little Mix and it’s such an old song, but now you can sing along to the lyrics in the car even louder!
I’m a full supporter of the saying: “food is memories”. A couple of my favorite memories and the way I can remember things the best consist of food. From my mom’s home cooked meals to going out on a late night and getting some comfort food – I remember the best with meals I’ve had because you usually can remember who you ate with, the aroma of the food, and where you were, so there’s a better chance of reliving those experiences. One of my favorites is going out to NYC with my family from San Francisco, and we all went out to eat pizza; the ambiance and the aroma was special that night and now it’s a great memory.
Nostalgia doesn’t need to last for a couple of fleeting seconds. You can take the time you have now to either recreate those moments you’re being nostalgic about, or you can try to make new moments you’ll want to remember. Facetiming or zooming with your loved ones and recreating these memories could be something you all appreciate doing as a group. Taking the time to relive in your nostalgia may not feel how it did the first time you experienced it, but you’ll get to do something special and different with your time – especially if it’s made with other people!