Would You Rather: Nostalgia or Memory?

Looking through any social media, ranging from Twitter to Instagram to Facebook, you can't go without seeing a throwback post. Honestly, you probably can't even go without seeing any High School Musical reference. It seems as though society as a whole has an increasing tendency to reminisce about the good ol' days. It's a contagious trend; I myself recently took three hours out of my day to look through my old emails, reading threads between old friends and lost friends. In fact, every new school year, I longingly reflect on the preceding year, wishing I could still be there today. Even today, I'm reminiscing about last week and the people I laughed with and wondering what changed so drastically that we don't make eye contact this week. Clearly, nostalgia affects everyone at all times. After learning and extensively analyzing memorials in English, I noticed a common pattern: the memorials aren't nostalgic, just requiring "imaginative presence and physical absence" (Booth 4). They are just that- in memory. On the other hand, nostalgia is when one romanticizes the past.The difference between the two is clear: remembering requires no emotion or attachment, whereas nostalgia (at least for me) looks a little like this:

So here's the big question: would you rather be nostalgic or simply just remember? Cast your vote https://goo.gl/Zi2Jpm (and try not to choose both!)

For me, I think I'd go with just remembering. Holding events in a glorified light only leads to thinking "those were the best of times", and slowly the realization dawns that you'll never relive that, or possibly not even replace it. Maybe that's why memorials aren't nostalgic; imagining the good times one had with a fallen soldier only intensifies the grief that they'll never see them again. In a sense, that happiness of sentimentality is closely followed by the grief of loss. Likewise, reminiscing about a memory somewhere or with someone you don't see anymore, reaps similar grief. Why is the only way you're in contact with someone or you're visiting a location through that memory? What changed in the gray area between connect and disconnect? These thoughts don't occur with simple remembrance. However, the only salvation is that maybe you'll be able to top that memory with a better one. So instead of cry-smiling like Michael Scott, you can look like this.

Maybe society should strive to do that. Maybe I should strive to do that. Maybe, once I do, I'll change my vote to both.





*Poll results are here: https://goo.gl/tUL6yq