NOSTALGIA

Welcome back to #MondayMood: the reset, check-in, and reminder that you gotta take a step back sometimes and frame your week so that you can manifest the h*ll out of your universe.

Every Monday’s got a theme; every post’s got a takeaway.

Today’s theme is: NOSTALGIA.

I recently read this article in National Geographic that talked all about how nostalgia is a coping mechanism that many of us are finding helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it’s attending a socially-distanced drive-in movie, listening to your favorite old tunes, or watching movies you used to love when you were younger, one things for sure: nostalgia hits different right now.

I’m writing this while I jam The Ataris’ So Long Astoria record, a favorite from my middle school emo days, when the only way I discovered new music that wasn’t on the radio was through my monthly CD membership subscription. I got this one- I bet you’d know their “Boys of Summer” cover if nothing else- and I fell in love with it because Astoria felt like a meant-to-be Goonies reference and “In This Diary”’s summer vibes freakin’ rocked my world. And I’ve been doing sooo much of this since March- going back to songs and shows and books and photos from when I was young and reflecting on them, or just enjoying them again.

Krystine Batcho, a psychology professor at Le Moyne College said, “Generally, people find comfort in nostalgia during times of loss, anxiety, isolation, or uncertainty.” Le Moyne is a university that, by the way, is BIG into nostalgia research. In 1995, they actually introduced the Nostalgia Inventory, a survey of more than 200 participants designed to measure how often and how deeply people feel nostalgic.

Per NatGeo, “a suite of studies published in 2013 found that ‘nostalgia counteracts the meaninglessness that individuals experience when they are bored.’ And a 2018 review of the scientific landscape concluded that nostalgia acts as a buffer against existential threats.”

So I guess what I gleaned from this is… we are GOING through some s*ht right now peeps. The existential dread this year HITS DIFFERENT. So whatever you’ve been feeling during this crazy thing called 2020, let.it.go. Crawl into something old that you love for awhile- a good song, a good movie- and sit with it. Remember why and when you loved it- you might learn something new about yourself! And there’s a lot of research to suggest you might just feel a lil’ better afterwards too.

Take some time this week to hit REWIND. And let me know what you end up revisiting and why :) Sometimes it’s fun to crawl back into the past, even when you’re nose-down focused on your future.

Thoughts? Hit me on the ‘gram + more inspo on my BIZZZ board if you’re in that #MondayMood kind of feeling.

Chat more soon. xoxo