What's your drug of nostalgic choice? We all have that one thing -- that one TV show or movie or game or place or song or band or book -- that throws us back in time to a simpler version of our lives whenever we see it. Is yours "Beauty and the Beast?" Is it "The Powerpuff Girls?" Is it "A Series of Unfortunate Events?"
Mine is Nintendo.
Whenever I pick up a Nintendo handheld and have to choose between playing "Pokemon" or "Animal Crossing," I feel like I'm seven years old again and playing "Pokemon" or "Animal Crossing" for the first time. It can be hard to get that feeling back and sometimes just reliving our own childhoods isn't enough.
Share your nostalgia with those you love.
It can be crushing to hear "I've never seen that movie," or "I never really watched that show," from your loved ones -- especially about something that means so much to you. I heard it recently from my girlfriend: "I've never played a 'Pokemon' game." I was crushed. The person I love the most in the whole world was completely blind to something that shaped me as a person. What could I do?
I dusted off my old Nintendo Gameboy and asked her to play one of my favorite "Pokemon" games.
There is something magical about watching someone experience your favorite pastime for the first time. Her eyes lit up, she laughed and gasped, she was engaged in the story. It was like watching a seven-year-old version of myself fall in love with "Pokemon" all over again.
She's totally addicted, just like I was -- and still am. Every day she asks if we can take a break from studying just to play a few Pokemon battles. She's constantly asking me about evolutions and battle strategies and gameplay. I catch her looking up different moves and "Pokemon" online all the time. It makes my heart swell to see how much she appreciates this hobby of mine. Now it's a hobby of ours.
We all get a bit protective of the things we love. But I'm telling you: sharing those things with the people around you is so rewarding. It will bring you two closer. They will share their hobbies with you in return. You will learn so much about one another and bond over things that are so close to your hearts.
It reminds me of another time the two of us were invited to watch "Finding Nemo" with a friend of ours. Of course I'd seen "Finding Nemo" before, but it was her all-time favorite movie from her childhood. Sitting together, laughing along at the movie and listening to our friend talk about how much it meant to her was so heartwarming. It really humbled me to think about how this friend of ours wanted to share something very personal to her with the two of us, just so we could all sit together and laugh.
Try it. Invite your friends and loved ones to watch that movie or read that book or listen to that song or play that game or binge that show with you. Tell them about how much happiness it has brought you. Share with them all the memories it has given you. Make new memories with the people around you.
I'm always interrupting my girlfriend's battles to tell her funny stories from my younger Pokemon trainer days -- like the time I accidentally let my Gameboy's battery die because I was taking too long to decide on a name for my starter Pokemon. And now she has stories to tell me. I get to relive my childhood with her day after day. It's not something I could have achieved on my own. In fact, sharing this game with her has made my lifetime experience with "Pokemon" better.
Her nostalgic drug is "The Little Prince." We've already decided to see the new movie adaptation coming out later this year together, so I'll have the chance to experience some of her favorite childhood memories with her -- and I'm so thankful that she's going to share them with me.
I can't recommend this enough.
