Have you noticed yourself reminiscing about your past during the COVID-19 pandemic or even when you were sad? Maybe you turned towards watching your favorite TV show or YouTuber from when you were in third grade, or maybe you were listening to music that reminded you of a certain person or memory. Perhaps it was even you replaying an old video game that you haven’t played in ages. Well, if you have been doing this, you’re not alone.
During this whole pandemic, I’ve noticed myself becoming more and more engrossed in things from my past, so much so that I’ve created a whole playlist of 2010s songs that’s about 17 hours long. While this sounds really crazy, listening to those iconic songs from my past gave me comfort in a way that I can’t put into words. However, it left me wondering one thing: why did I seek nostalgia to make me happier instead of finding more recent entertainment to enjoy? I found that I wasn’t the only one who sought after this strange type of comfort.
Maisah Muhammed ’24 also said that she did the same thing, but with dance videos: “For me, I love watching dance videos, people dancing, having fun, because I love music, and I’ve been dancing since I was three, and I felt connected to it.” Additionally, Muhammed noted the reason why she rewatched those videos: “I think the reason why I watched dance videos was because it reminded me of before Covid started. It reminded me of using facial expressions and being happy, and it made me feel happy seeing older videos, so it felt normal again.”
This sentiment is also shared by Caroline Aglialoro ’24, who said that she watched a lot of old TV shows during the pandemic: “I watched some Good Luck Charlie, SpongeBob, and The Amazing World of Gumball. I also listened to Hannah Montana.” Aglialoro added that she saw the old TV shows as a way to escape from the hecticness of the pandemic: “It just reminded me of pre-Covid times, of when I had no worries, and I like to go to nostalgic stuff when I’m bored and stuff, it makes me happy.”
Foluke Balogun ’24 also emphasized the happiness she felt when rewatching shows during the pandemic: “In February of 2020, before everything shut down, it was cold, so there’s not much to do and I was bored. So, one show I impulsively watched was Steven Universe, and I learned to enjoy it. It was like my comfort show.”
Balogun also added that she was surprised by the newfound affection for the show, but now, it brings her such fond memories from the past: “I never expected myself to watch it, but it was one of the main parts of eighth grade, so watching it now makes me reminisce about eighth grade, the end credits especially. They just calm me, it reminds me of a time when Covid didn’t exist.”
There seems to be a trend about reminiscing about times before the pandemic. The pressing question to ask is, what’s with this seemingly powerful force that draws all of us to past memories during these times of hardship? Why does this happen?
Upper School history and psychology teacher Jackie Scully said that it may be linked to a feeling of being stuck: “When you are in times of crisis, you are in a moment of feeling stuck, and we feel that nothing new is developing, no new memories.” She explains that this feeling is what causes us to turn towards nostalgia: “We like to look back at those times that we had those special moments, and realize that we’ve really had these joyful times in our lives, but I think when you are going through a hard time, you really want to remember those times and remember that’s part of your lived experience.”
Beneath this tangled mess of obsession with memories, we can see the science behind why this phenomenon happens. Scully explained that heightened emotions in iconic memories are what make you grasp onto them so dearly and why those memories are often remembered in a lot more detail.
Scully stated, “There are memories that are locked with a lot of emotion in your brain. Your hippocampus is where you hold your long term memories, and right next to it is the amygdala, and that’s the part of the brain that deals with heightened emotions.” The conclusion can be made that emotionally charged memories can be remembered as long term memories, due to the close proximity and easy access of interaction between the hippocampus and the amygdala in the brain.
Scully mentioned that there is also a type of strongly charged emotional memories that you have, which are called flashbulb memories. “Flashbulb memories, when you think about them or have a stimulus or trigger like a sound, something you see, or something that reminds you of an event, is so strong, that it’s like reliving it again,” said Scully. “You think that it was like yesterday or a week ago, and it’s so vivid. You can even remember the sensation.”
As time goes on and we make more happy memories, or even painful ones, and looking back at them could give us greater benefits than just happiness. Scully stated that negative nostalgia could help someone heal from a past trauma that they were experiencing: “Even nostalgia going back to sad times can be cathartic. It can even help you heal from something you’ll hold on to.” She said that things such as music could make people heal or reminisce about those strong moments: “Music from emotionally charged moments of life carries so much more nostalgic connection. In big events, people remember music like their wedding songs, or even solemn moments, like when someone passed away, you remember a song that they loved. Nostalgia, even with music, can give you those connections between your raw emotions and your long term emotions. They are connected.”
Nostalgia gives you a glimpse into the past you once had. The feelings it evokes brings immense joy to the ones who reminisce on them, well, the happy ones at least.
Even Scully had this experience, not just with one particular experience, but with a whole season in general: “I know my family, we love Christmas Vacation, we watch it every year, and recently, we had moved so I could finally host a gathering for my family that year,” stated Scully. “It just brings back these memories of being a child at my own house and having Christmas with my family, and it was around the holiday times. Winter in general, as a season, you spend a lot more time in a reflective space where everyone is just thinking about the whole year and just sharing that with friends. So, I think this whole season is very nostalgic, to look back, and kind of even think about things you want to remember, even hard things you went through.”
Balogun also shared similar thoughts on this, as she considered winter to be a time where many memories were made: “The idea of February 2020, especially the winter season in general, has a very big space in my heart, because I was bored, but I know I was happy, and I was very productive.”
Memories are a really special part of our lives, and with all of the hardships that surround us each day, it’s important to find solace in something that you may have once experienced. So the next time you’re sad, perhaps consider rewatching that show you once loved. It just might make your day a little bit brighter.
