Nostalgia: 'A feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past.'

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The word nostalgia feels like the perfect fit for Dinkum Diaries. As an '80s baby, '90s child, and '00s teen, I often find myself looking back on what I’d call the better days. While I know it’s not healthy to dwell on the past, I’ve learned to savour those good memories, appreciating that the best parts of who I am were shaped by the experiences of those prime years. 

 

Even the bad moments back then seem better than today’s troubles—like when college boys would settle disputes with a planned fistfight after the day was done, and whoever won gained respect. Nowadays, you see kids running around with swords, convincing themselves they’re hardened gangsters when, in reality, they’re broken and in desperate need of protection, love, and discipline.

 

Music is another area where nostalgia reigns. Recently, Timbaland commented on how the music industry is lacking real artists, attributing this to the fact that fewer musicians today come from a church background. There’s no depth, no soul, and that essence, that raw emotion, can only come from certain places.

One of the best things about nostalgia is the way a melody can transport you back in time. You may not even recognise the song straight away, but it hits you with a wave of emotion you can’t quite place. Or when a scent suddenly triggers memories of your first love, bringing an involuntary smile to your face.

 

It’s interesting to see how what was once everyday life is now being presented to us by a new generation as something novel. Nostalgia itself has even become a trend in the fashion industry, which is somewhat ironic given that fashion has always been about recycling styles from decades past. But now, in 2024, society has finally called it out for what it is: nostalgia.

 

It makes me wonder—will there be anything about today that future generations will look back on with the same fondness? Or will we continue borrowing our nostalgia from the ‘90s, forever chasing echoes of the past?