Nostalgia

Reminiscing What Once Was

by Kayla Isabelle XIIA6

Nostalgia. The word itself gives off the feeling of reminiscence. That feeling of missing something that had already happened in the past. I’m sure you have felt it too at some point in your life but, what exactly is it? Why does it happen? Does it affect your life in any way? Is this even a good feeling to have? How about we take a look and see?

According to Psychology Today, nostalgia is sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with positive associations, but sometimes also for the past in general, as in ‘the good old days’. Which basically means enjoying your time remembering what it was like in a certain past. What makes the feeling prominent? Well, nostalgia is feeling the sadness of loss and the joy that life can never be complete. It is sorrow and happiness mixed together into a delicious smoothie of longing to return to, what is usually said as, ‘when times were simple’. Nostalgia is usually prompted by a couple of things such as thoughts of the past, certain familiar smells, tastes, sights, places, textures, sounds, or even a time. It is also much more common to people who are going through harder or uncertain moments in their lives because it can give perspective and can remind them that life has its good and bad moments and it's good to persevere through. It gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling that makes you feel happier or safer even if it is a little sad. Which also surprisingly means it can make you feel warm during cold weather.

Is it any good at all? Or is it bad for us? Well to that, it is mainly good for us, especially for our mentality, to keep us going in life. Like a way to create anticipation for a better moment in life while also remembering the good in the past. It helps some people grieve and remember the once was and the no longer of the people close to them. Unfortunately this also causes people to compensate more which makes big companies and marketers exploit the nostalgic feeling to sell clothes and other stuff.

It’s argued that nostalgia is a form of self-deception and distorts and idealizes the past to create only positive memories and experiences instead of the reality of what actually might have happened. For example, the tragic death of a prominent character could be hidden behind the shadow he casts from his abominable figure and greatness that people will remember. As tragic as his death may be, people will reminisce on the good of him, the memories they had, and all the moments they shared. As the Romans had tagged it, memoria præteritorum bonorum which says ‘the past is always well remembered’. Even modern psychologists have used this and called it ‘rosy retrospection’. Overly obsessive and indulged behavior with this feeling can cause a person to, at all costs, chase after a utopia that will never come true, which further hurts them and the people around them.

So, to conclude, we learned that nostalgia is a good thing as long as it does not take control of our lives. It has an interesting psychology and history that you could dig deeper into. It is a mix of happiness and sadness for something or someone that can make us feel happy and warm.  It helps us remember the people we lost in a kind and peaceful lens. Most importantly, it is the feeling of longing of what once was, to return to a simpler notion in life or a bittersweet moment with a special someone in our little world.