Anthony Zhou Week 15: Then Will Be Now
Have you ever thought back to when you were in elementary or middle school, coming home from school everyday to play games and have fun without any worries?
Oftentimes on weekends I find myself thinking back to 2015, one of my favorite years. I was in third grade. Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ trailer had just come out, new Pokemon cards were being released, and I had just gotten the new Lego Ninjago sets I wanted. After school me and my friends walked from Oliveira to Thornton to get some McDonalds, and I’d get 20 chicken nuggets and bring them home. I’d open my computer and watch Youtube as I ate my nuggets.
No AP Tests, no GPA, no ECs, no college apps, just enjoying life.
This phenomenon is called nostalgia. It’s a powerful feeling which can evoke a sense of longing or loss for what we perceive as better days.
However sometime later in the future I think we’ll look back on our high school years and yearn for them again. Then we’ll have real world responsibilities like going to work, paying taxes, paying bills, cooking dinner, etc. Maybe then life will become more chaotic and we’ll wish for these days again.
Maybe when we’re all old we’ll long for the days where we had the physical and mental capacity to run errands and socialize.
I am not saying to abandon nostalgia. But I want everyone to realize that as we get older, we’ll have longer pasts, which gives room for more nostalgic memories. So, instead of being stuck in the past, I implore everyone to spend as much time as possible in the present enjoying NOW.
Hello, Anthony! I think I can speak for most students our age when I say that I found this post very relatable. I often tell my brother to enjoy his time in middle school because he is at the stage of life when responsibilities are not overloaded onto him, and he has the freedom to do more as he pleases. That isn’t to say that my life is incredibly stressful to the point that I can’t handle it, but I am definitely not afforded the same leisure that I was in eighth grade. Although we are relatively young in the grand scale that is life, I do find that I experience nostalgia nonetheless. An interesting point you bring up is how in the future, we will look back on our current times as fondly as we currently do with our childhood. I think that is a fascinating concept to think about because it is hard to imagine a time in the future when we are no longer teenagers. I enjoyed your blog about nostalgia greatly as it got to reminisce about memories I have acquired during my relatively short time alive so far, putting into perspective that there is still so much to experience. Thank you for your writing, and I look forward to reading your final blog next week.
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony! I like your different take on nostalgia with this post. I relate completely to thinking back years ago when I pretty much had no problems, no stress in the slightest. Even as recently as middle school, when gpa didn’t matter, school got out early, and all I had to do was pass my classes. But now, I have to worry about the SAT, AP tests this upcoming week, finals, college apps. But this is also the time to socialize and learn more about who you are, and your idea of focusing on that instead of the past is incredibly powerful as there won’t be much to reminisce about in the future if we spend all of our time now thinking about the past. We’re going to have very different struggles and stressors in our lives in just a few years, and very likely think back to our teenage years, so we might as well make memories worth reminiscing.
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony! Your title is quite interesting and I love how thoughtful it felt from the get-go. Your writing about going to McDonald's or watching that one trailer reminded not only of what nostalgia often is, but how different it can be for each person. I personally have not watched one movie in the Star Wars franchise yet, but sort of makes me want to. Also, weird note but May the 4th is coming up and I have a feeling that was probably completely unrelated to your work but what a coincidence! Anyway, I've ironically often revisited this concept of "living in the now" and going back and forth on what that even means. I honestly feel as though I've trained myself to so constantly live either in memories/past moments or in what could happen in the future that I don't really know what that feels like. I realize that came out more morbid than I intended but I just mean that I'm running back and forth, either in my mind or real life, that even when I do think about the past or future, I don't realize that I am doing it quite so much. As you said, I'm sure that there is an older version of myself that laughs at the fact that I stress so much about things like AP's or college apps, and that makes me want to stress a little less, so I suppose that's a good thing. I enjoyed reading this piece and look forward to reading more of your work in the future!
ReplyDeleteHello Anthony, I related to your blog so much. I too, often reminisce about the “better days” when school was fun and after school was stress free. I feel like as we get older life only gets harder. Thus, it becomes easier to yearn for the past when there is literally more past for you to miss as you get older. But, as you implied this can be a toxic cycle that can make a person feel miserable. I really enjoyed your positive message at the end. I feel like I really needed it today as the year closes and APs and finals are drawing near. Thank you for this blog and I hope to read from you more in the future.
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