Samantha Russell
Nostalgia is a powerful force. When it hits, it makes you feel good and fuzzy inside. The memories of our youth rushing in when we see something that reminds us of those innocent years, it’s an awesome feeling. One that brings about happiness and sadness, often at the same time.
And the holidays can trigger some rather unpleasant feelings of nostalgia. Like the loss of loved ones for example. And this can lead to Happy Holidays being not so happy and having a sad feeling attached to them. In my case, I lost my grandmother around Thanksgiving. I always feel sad when I see her in my memories.
Sometimes, all it takes is an old photograph to have a nostalgia trip. A picture from a family vacation, a family gathering during the holidays, even just a pic from some random event the family did during a random weekend. It will hit you when you least expect it and it feels good when it does.
Well, most of the time. Sometimes, nostalgia hits when you are reminded of something that isn’t made anymore. Or, something you can’t experience again. Like the memories of loved ones and the realization that you won’t have more time with them. It can make you feel sad and wish you could go back to those times to relive that memory or spend time with that loved one again. I know I feel that anytime I see something from my past that I won’t experience again.
One day this past year, I picked up a small container of Play-Doh. The wave of nostalgia rushed over me. I remember playing with Play-Doh as a child. The soft, squishy feeling of the Doh in my hand, and making all kinds of different shapes with it. And the smell of new Doh when you open a new can of it. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s always a fun time, no matter how old you are. Plus the things you can create with it are literally limitless. Just like LEGOs.
Nostalgia is how our brains and our minds keep the memories of our past alive. Though we can’t go back and relive those memories again, we still keep those events alive by remembering them.
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