Nostalgia

noun

a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.

 

It’s purely coincidental. While our theme this week has been about embodying the echoes of nostalgia, remixing and replaying. But the pang of nostalgia we saw reflected within the tropes millennial television seemed to pervade beyond the screenings themselves. I didn’t realize how the sentiment would continue, that the feeling would also echo in my own life. Perhaps that’s more than a coincidence; perhaps it’s just simply relevant. As if the millennials are always anchored somehow to a time of the past. It’s certainly possible, as Facebook albums constantly remind us of our earlier days- when Facebook didn’t even exist. Or in a split second we can receive a video from home with our dog barking in the background. As if we’re there but not. Our connectedness to that feeling of nostalgia is oftentimes bound up in our technological roots. But for me, the feeling is the age old yearning to return to a former time via a series of events this weekend. I played a JV lacrosse game against my high school, and thus playing against former teammates and most of all my former coach and friend. Hearing their voices again, even in a state of play sent me back. Nostalgia makes me disbelief in the phrase, “ Out of sight, out of mind.” The feelings hover under the surface whether you address them or not, and return to you in moments like these. They make you wonder, how have I been doing without them? I realize it’s hard to replicate the familiarity with people who watched you really grow up. They knew who you have been. And what’s more of my nostalgic weekend is returning home for an evening. I haven’t been home really since December. And things have changed. The snow has melted, the sand and salt from the winter have blown away and the sun is shining. Some of the small town stores have turned over to newer ones, and I felt a little lost. What was it that I missed while being away? What else has changed? And then when my dog comes running toward me, tail wagging, she reminds me that my return no matter when it is, is a good thing.

What’s even more nostalgic is the feeling that hits campus as we enter the last week of classes. Remember September? Remember when we were all fresh from the summer, excited about the prospect of a new school year, and excited to see new faces and old? It seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago simultaneously.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *