Dori Week 23- Nostalgia

        Hi everyone! I thought this week I would write about one of the most common feelings I have had these past couple of years: nostalgia. According to Google, the definition of nostalgia is “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” This is a feeling I have been especially experiencing since 2020, particularly when the pandemic began. During this period, I have been thinking about how much I want to rewatch the Disney movies I used to watch as a child or play older internet games I used to go on like Club Penguin. Similar to many other people, I have also been rewatching older shows on Netflix and Disney Plus, such as iCarly, Victorious, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Good Luck Charlie. I’ve even been making playlists with throwback music from the 2000s, including artists like Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Taylor Swift, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, etc. Basically, I have just been reminiscing about all these amazing outlets of entertainment I did not fully realize I had when I was younger and that made me happy. It has also been really interesting to experience all these different movies, songs, and games again as someone who is older because there were so many details I missed or did not understand when I was a child, making everything even more enjoyable now.

        Further, I was reflecting on why I have been feeling this way, and I think I have come to terms with somewhat of an answer. These past couple of years, I think that I have been trying so hard to look for an escape from the constant stress and uncertainties I have been facing during a busy schedule, high school work responsibilities, and a global pandemic: and these nostalgic activities give me the familiar happiness that I desire. After all, I think most people can agree that it was easier being a child who only had to worry about learning how to tie shoelaces or climbing on the playground. Now that I am faced with so many responsibilities and decisions, as well as having to constantly think about young adulthood and the future, I sometimes reflect on how fun it would be to be a kid again. Of course, I am optimistic that the future will hopefully look brighter and be filled with other great things to enjoy, as I wrote about in a previous blog post, but it can be fun to reminisce on your days when you were younger.   

        Those were some of my thoughts on all of this, but let me know what you think! Do you ever feel nostalgic and want to do the things that you did when you were a kid? What were your favorite things to do when you were younger? Let me know in the comments below!