Have you ever come across a song and felt exactly how you did when you first discovered it? Or have you ever found an old photo you forgot existed? That’s nostalgia—the feeling that makes us joyful and sad at the same time.
Most people see nostalgia as a bittersweet experience that lets them reminisce. However, it’s much more than that. It’s a time-travel machine. What makes nostalgia so special is that we don’t even miss something until nostalgia brings it back, in the most unexpected form.
Sometimes, it’s the smallest things—an old song playing in the background, walking past your old school, or just wearing that shirt you hadn’t worn in years. And for a moment, everything feels the same. You suddenly become the version of you that used to exist long ago. You remember the people, the conversations and the tiny details.
What makes nostalgia so different is that when we were living these moments, everything felt normal. We never imagined that one day we would wish to have those experiences again. And maybe that’s why nostalgia hits so hard. We don’t realise that we are living in a moment we’ll eventually miss. We understand its value when it becomes a memory. And when we look back, the past seems better than it actually was.
But nostalgia isn’t always a sign of wanting to go back. Sometimes, it’s a reminder to pause, and look at the beautiful journey we’ve had. It reminds us to see the person we’ve become now. It reminds us of all the challenges we’ve faced and all the tough days we’ve had. It reminds us that we’ve changed and grown.
And most importantly, it reminds us about the things that once made us happy. Because memories can be created again; capturing the essence of that same exact feeling is what’s hard.
Ishanvi Goel is a student of Kunskapsskolan, Bengaluru. Views are personal.
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