It’s crazy how nostalgia works. One minute you’re enjoying a breezy Summer day and the warm sunshine and the cool grass under your bare feet, then you get a whiff of a nearby bonfire and all the sudden, you’ve transported back in time 11 years. Now you’re just a kid at your best friend’s 9th birthday party, roasting s’mores and drinking seltzy lemonade without a care in the world.
Apple juice and pretzels are a special combination for me. They’re staples of any mundane airplane flight, but in my mind, I’m 5 years old, pressing my nose to the glass of an A320 and watching the world disappear right from underneath me. It was my first flight— to Disney World, nonetheless— and I remember the excitement I had for my first real adventure, for my first time in the ocean, for my first time in the sky. Now every time I eat pretzels and drink apple juice, I smile a little and look out for whatever adventure I’ll experience next.
Not all nostalgic flashbacks are happy childhood memories, however. Sometimes you hear a certain song and your heart breaks a little, just like when you were 15 and got dumped for the first time. You remember the slam of a locker and the awkward homecoming dance and the way you hid your tears behind a horribly ugly purple ruffled dress and eyeliner thick enough to put any 90s punk band to shame.
Anytime I smell Pink Chiffon body spray from B&BW, I’m taken back to my childhood best friend’s bedroom. I remember talking about our parents and siblings and the hottest boys in the seventh grade. The taste of pizza rolls and coconut macaroons still lingers in my mouth. We would listen to music constantly, loving every new single but especially loving Harry Styles. I remember her cat falling asleep on my chest and jumping off in the middle of the night when George Lopez came on; I don’t know who he scared more- me or the cat.
I have a good friend who has the lowest pain tolerance I have ever seen. She’s naturally strong and immensely beautiful, but when it comes to being uncomfortable, she is totally NOT about it. Recently I asked her how she keeps her head so high when I know that she’s going through things that aren’t exactly easy. She says that anytime she’s in pain, it takes her back to exact moment when she found out a childhood friend had committed suicide. Nothing compares to the pain he felt- and if he could live all those years with this weight on his chest, then she can make it through a bad day, a tough workout, or a crappy break up any day of the week.
Nostalgia is a crazy little thing. Some people believe these moments are ones where we are closely connected to the spiritual world. Others think it only happens when they’re four drinks in at a rundown dive and a Sarah McLachlan song comes on. Whatever the case may be, cherish these little moments because, for just a few seconds, you have the chance to be someone else for a second, to transport back in time and relive the moments that hold strong in your heart.
