You know the feeling. The one that induces either comfort or longing as you look at old photos on Facebook or hear that song from high school you used to love. Photos and songs bring back these feelings we can’t really explain because the feeling of nostalgia is different for everyone. It’s such a broad concept, it’s hard to share the comfort with someone else because we all experience it differently. Life has these passing phases, almost like a playlist we have on repeat for a month until times change and you move on to the next one. Sometimes people are like this for us. One minute, you’re spending every moment with that one friend and after a few years you drift apart and things just aren’t the same.
Lately, I’ve been trapped in this cycle of nostalgia. During times of transition, I tend to get stuck listening to old songs I’m tired of and looking at photos from years ago simply because there isn’t enough happening in my new stage of life to replace these memories I’m fond of. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but now that the weather is colder and I’m in a different stage of life I feel like nostalgia is actually holding me back from experiencing the new people, songs, and experiences that are out there. I can’t help but love the comfort of my favorite Summer songs and watching videos of my family and I laughing at memes on the internet. Here’s an ode to some nostalgic things for me and might help you be exposed to some new inspiration for your Fall mood board or Spotify Playlist.
For starters, here’s a lovely little mood board to set the tone for this post. In high school, I was obsessed with bizarre artsy films and ad campaigns from British designers. The photos resemble feelings or times over the past few years that I love to think about. The #24HrChurch tag on Instagram will help you feel this emotion. In addition, I compiled this playlist of songs that bring me comfort.
I remember watching a movie alone in my parents’ room after applying to an art school in my hometown and this song played through the credits. After doing art the whole day and waiting for the letter in the mail, I knew whatever was going to happen in the future everything was going to be okay. This song played as I replayed the day in my head, but I never would have expected in a year I would be in New York living my dream life.
Exactly a year ago, I was in Cafe Grumpy in Manhattan at night awaiting my shift to start at the flagship Victoria’s Secret. I was drinking a drip coffee and wearing a blazer trying to recover from the cold outside. I was thinking about a boy I had recently met online trying to escape the thoughts of another guy from my past. Little did I know I was about to be promoted to Visual Merchandiser at my job and meet a guy I would spend the next year of my life with.
I remember sitting in my closet (that also happened to house my collection of 200 fashion magazines and my bed) with starry lights covering the walls and a small window next to me while listening to this song as the sun set next to me. I was thinking about the cute boy sitting next to me in art class earlier that day, dreaming about the art I would create the next day while listening to this song.
At the time, I was a barista in Dallas. This song was playing one night I was driving on the highway practicing for my driver’s test. My mom was so proud of me, we stopped at Starbucks and I rewarded my first highway drive with a cup of dark roast. On the way home, my mom and I talked about the dreams we had for our futures and all the things we wanted to do.
Growing up, if school was kicking my ass or if I was heartbroken by a boy, I would shop at the Domain in Austin. I would go into department stores like Saks and Neiman Marcus and gaze at the gorgeous overpriced gowns in the wedding and formal wear department and dream about the fashion industry. One day, after school I stopped by Neiman’s to shop the Rag + Bone collection with my best friend after getting coffee with him at Nespresso. We had this weekly tradition of going together and acting as if we had money for espresso machines and fancy toilets. We would go into the high-end home stores and shop Japanese toilets as if we were 35 + shopping for our condos. I was 16 and loving life.
Sometimes, we need to grieve the past because times change. The key is to not get stuck in it and to learn how to love the present. Like Walt Disney said, “Keep moving forward”.
