Nostalgia - The yearn for the past

It is quite a familiar feeling when it comes to me as I, like many, have many memories that I wish to relive knowing how much they meant to me. The term nostalgia stems from the greek words 'nóstos' meaning to return home and 'álgos' meaning pain. This already is quite an interesting origin as we see this word contains some dramatic connotations linking to this idea of our roots being a cause of pain. Now, we define nostalgia as "a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations," which compared to this stem, seems more romantic though adhering to this idea for missing what was left behind. Moving on, for this particular article, I hope to just cover what nostalgia means to me, the interpretations which may come from it, and whether this is good or bad for us.

Starting us off again, my personal connection to nostalgia is quite different to others I must say as I grew up as an international student meaning I have lived in many places as a child. My mother had a job that required moving around quite a lot which meant that I felt a lot less attachment to a single place compared to a person that would grow up in a single place. I have lived in Australia, then China, followed by Sweden, and present day Korea. These countries have all been a part of my life growing up and as a result have had a place in my heart as well. Personally, because of this particular way of growing up, I actually feel like I feel more nostalgia towards places that I grew up in recently particularly Sweden because these are the memories that are most fond to me and in general the most memorable. Places like Australia did not have that much of an impact towards me because during this time I was still an infant and was still not conscious of what was going around me at the moment. I think what really defines nostalgia and this particular case is what I grew up with such as the friends I had made, the games I've played, the schools I grew up, their environments. Not only have these made me who I am today but where I feel most attached to and what I consider to be nostalgic. To me, some things that are specifically nostalgic to me are games on the Windows XP like cool math games and toys that were popular at the time such as Beyblades, and who could forget about Pokemon cards. I think this also reinforces the idea that nostalgia is not just linked to a 'where' but also how culture is exposed to someone. Someone that has not really spent time on the internet would not have the same type of nostalgia as me. Maybe they could relate to physical activities like sports but in the end it really shows that everyone's interpretation is different.

Now, as we just talk about before, I want to look at the different interpretations that arise from this idea of nostalgia, and as we just talked about how location and exposure to the internet affects it I think another very important factor that contributes to this is age. Comparing Millennials to gen Z, I think before we talk about nostalgia we first need to look at juvenoia and the divide created by age groups. It may seem obvious but the lives of a person from an older generation compared to newer generation must be very different. Many things could have changed during the times between them trends, fashion, music, and culture in general. It's safe to say that there has been a barrier created between these generations with older people always loathing those that are younger than them. We must understand that it is the influence of previous generations that cause the differences in how we grow up. The spread of consumerist ideas are a burden for future generations that must bear the consequences of others' actions. However, how does nostalgia differ between them? As a person of the younger generation I do not feel that I can really relate to that of older Generations like Millennials and Gen X but I feel that as I get older I do feel more nostalgic from my childhood though at the same time I do understand why I would feel against changes that occur over time because something that is special to me is long gone and different where what we call nostalgia has not become a form of juvenoia.

Lastly, let's look at nostalgia from a more ethical point of view and whether it is good or bad for us to experience it. First off, let's think about it like this you're spending some time with your friends and you come across a memory of when you spend time together in middle school, suddenly you're hit with this feeling of nostalgia as you have a fun time sharing this experience with your friends. Yes, here this is a good use of nostalgia in the sense that there is no lingering pains, no sense of grudges held, where here it allows us to not only reminisce but share. I think the idea that there or no regrets from this time shows how nostalgia can be beautiful and is something that we are able to bond over. Then, on the contrary, imagine a situation of someone writing how life was in 'their days', and taking this as a way to hate the changing interpretations of culture that are guided by the younger generations. I feel that nostalgia here is a barricade that rejects change due to the fondness that one feels for their own past. This is negative in the sense that all that comes out of this is a hate between people that do not even know each other and are only separated by age. Is this the correct use that we want to use? Is this hate the traditions we want to pass on?

Finally, to conclude, as we mentioned before nostalgia can be interpreted by people in different ways and it can be used both as a tool of joy and hate. It is a double-sided coin, that we must harness and using the right way. But in the end, we must understand that the nostalgia we have is all in the past and we must change, adapt, to the times that we are in today. I hope this article is informative I'm persuasive and changing your opinions but most importantly helps you remember what your past means to you.