Nickelodeon recently announced a “new” night time block dedicated to 90s shows, aka some of the best television of our generation.
That’s how we remember them, but that’s due to the essence of nostalgia. So often we wish to go back to the days of hide-and-seek on the playground and mindless hours watching “real” cartoons. College does an amazing job of stressing a person to the max and increasing this longing for the easier days. As a great Tumblr post says, “My only regret is growing up. I didn’t sign up for this.”
Nostalgia isn’t a bad thing, but regretting getting older is. Getting older is a process that should be celebrated. Each birthday isn’t one farther away from the relaxing days of our youth but a year wiser and smarter. Everyone looks at the past in a happier manner, but no one had the ideal childhood we pretend we did. We always had idiotic fights with friends and more homework than we knew what to do with. We were always thinking back to “easier” times, even at a young age.
These characters lived in their present!
Instead of only looking back, we should focus on the now. On the classes and dining hall food, on the roommate annoyances and countless hours of just being with people. Be proud of our youth and be prepared for the future, but be happy with our now.
Let’s make our present as perfect as we see our past. And perfect can include Hey, Arnold! Marathons, too!