we have forgotten the true meaning of nostalgia.

 We have forgotten the true meaning of nostalgia.

We have forgotten that nostalgia is not only a matter of time, but also the feelings that it evokes, the nostalgic feeling itself.

Before you start to read, you can hear the article here:

Some people argue that you cannot feel nostalgia for something that is less than 10 or 20 years old, in some cases even a longer time; but that’s not true. Nostalgia is not about times that have passed, it’s about what you can remember from said times, how you feel things were a little better.

Having a global pandemic above my head, has made me realize that I am nostalgic for things that happened about 9 or 10 years ago, but also from events that occurred in 2019 or 2020. One of the best ways for me to explain this to you is through music. In my personal Spotify account, I have several playlists, two of those are “i could’ve enjoyed being a kid a little more” and “i turned 18 but I’m still a kid”. Let’s see what I mean with each one of them. 

     

“i could’ve enjoyed being a kid a little more”.

“songs that make me nostalgic about the times when I was still in primary school and my transition to being a teenager and adult.”

 

I feel nostalgic when I listen to those songs because I remember when nothing really mattered that much. It was the time when I watched some shows like “Zeke & Luther”, “Hannah Montana”, “The Wizards of Waverly Place” or “Good Luck Charlie”. Songs like “Hurricane” by Bridgit Mendler, or “Odio por Amor” by Juanes. There are also songs from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, like “Geronimo’s Cadillac” by Modern Talking and “The Sign” by Ace of Base, because that was the music that my mom listened to, and so I miss that. I miss those December afternoons when I sat in front of the TV as I played on my PS2 or outside with my brother and neighbors; or when I was in highschool and I sat on the floor hanging out with my friends talking about dumb things and making a lot of conversation. Life was good, but I had to move on and grow. I’m still that same kid on the inside but I have a whole life to go through in front of me. I have responsibilities now, but I’ll never stop being funny and happy as I am. That is nostalgia in the sense we usually mean. Things that happened more than 5 or 10 years ago, I guess.

But what about the other type of nostalgia? The one we feel for things that happened a couple years or even months ago?

 

 

“i turned18 but I’m still a kid”

Picture this: I was 18, I started working at my first call center, Sykes. The job was terrible but I met a lot of new people and made a lot of friends. I started paying some of my things, like my phone bill and some of my food. I started helping out my mom and step father with other bills and what not. Some of the songs in this playlist were released between 2017 and 2020, some of them were not, but I enjoyed them because they were new to me at the time I discovered them. Tracks like “how does it feel” by M22 and Hayley May, or “Cheatin’” by Nathan Dawe and MALIKA, but also like “Plastic Love” from Mariya Takeuchi or “Lamento Boliviano” by Los Enanitos Verdes.

Those were the songs that I constantly listened to when I was on my way to work or on my way back home, also when it was time to sleep or while I took a shower. Some of them are the ones I played at El SUB, and the ones who remind me when I sat outside talking to my friends about the other DJs that were playing and the tracks that we chose for that cold night; it even reminds me of the smell coming from the smokes that my friends were having. Even if I disliked the odor, I miss the moments because they were fun. Really having to make space in my agenda to see my friends, to go out for a beer and a slice o’ pizza or a burger. Those times were about 1 or 2 years ago, but Covid has been responsible for making life harder and worse than before. Maybe 1 or 2 years ago I complained about some things, but I have a lot more to complain about now, and past times seemed to be better. Maybe they were just ok, or kinda good; but God, would they feel amazing right now. Those activities that we miss from before. You get it now? That recent nostalgia is what I’m talking about.

 

Nostalgia is not only about time. In fact, time is just a little part of nostalgia, most of it are the feelings and sensations we experience, and time is just the cherry on top of the cake.

 

“i turned 18 but I’m still a kid, you know? I miss those times, maybe they were better; now I feel like i could’ve enjoyed being a kid a little more.”

 

 

Bonus clip

Anemoia: Nostalgia for something you never experienced.

Have you ever felt nostalgic when listening to  v a p o r w a v e ?

Or maybe when listening to old Japanese city pop, or looking at pictures from the 1920’s? Maybe a more contemporary example, the song “California” by Phantom Planet (and theme song from the tv show “the OC”). Why do you miss California if you never lived there, or even been there? Anemoia.

 

Thanks for reading me, I appreciate it. Have a nice night, and keep dnzng!