I have a really bad memory when it comes to my childhood. I remember stories my parents tell me more than the actual events. Back when I was like six, it took us three days to get to the Hoover Dam in Nevada because my sister and I kept throwing up from the heat, but I don’t remember that at all. All I remember from that trip is climbing up a sandy hill (and practically dying because it was so hot), one of the casinos, and then my mother throwing out some of my toys from an arcade as I watched TV. That’s arguably two minutes of memories for a seven-plus day vacation. Is that bad? I imagine that’s pretty bad.
I mention my poor memory because I’m confident 40 per cent of our generation feeds off nostalgia. Some of the novelty items out there prey solely on the nostalgia gimmick; I swear at least half the gaming industry is nostalgia. Sooo many indie games are an homage to the 8-, 16-, and 32-bit style of early generation gaming. It’s getting old — probably because IT IS OLD.
In preparation of this article, I looked up the definition of nostalgia because I thought I was incorrect in my belief of it, and I was right. My definition of nostalgia is completely wrong – not even close to being correct, but I’m pretty sure a lot of people have an incorrect idea of what nostalgia is.
The wisdom of Google says nostalgia is (basically) wistful longing for the past. I do not subscribe to this definition. The folly of BuzzFeed says nostalgia is (basically) items from the ‘90s and claiming only “‘90s kids” will understand. Yeah, let’s talk about ‘90s kids. I was born in ‘94, practically ‘95 considering my late birthday, and as we established I have a crap memory. Therefore I do not consider myself a “90s kid.” Sure I remember stuff from the time, but that doesn’t count. I was barely six going into the millennium. So, shout out to all my fellow students born from 1992 and onward:
Get over yourselves.
We are not ‘90s kids — some of us were barely in kindergarten when Y2K was nearly upon us. I’ll give credit to those born before ‘92, and maybe even ‘92 kids, but c’mon, are your memories really <em>that </em>good? Okay, they very well could be, considering I’m a poor comparison, but still!
As I said before — I don’t follow Google’s nostalgia definition, and I sure as hell don’t follow BuzzFeed’s. “Wistful longing”? <em>Puh-lease</em>. The ‘90s sucked. The toy products sucked (I’m looking at you, Moonshoes) the food products sucked (green and purple Heinz ketchup, anyone?) and the internet REALLY sucked. I will always be thankful for my connection as I reflect on the horrid days of … dial up. I still get chills …
What I really wistfully long for are those classic cartoons back in the day — but that’s another article for another time.
For me, nostalgia is only remembering something from my past after it is presented to me. That sounds a little weird, so let me give an example: Do you recall that commercial way back, in the ‘90s yes, called “Don’t put it in your mouth”? It was very recently that I saw that commercial on YouTube and HOLY JEEZ did that bring back memories. The tune came right back to me — I even remembered the part about the beet — THE BEET FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE. That’s nostalgia for me, only remembering after I see it.
It’s hard to describe, but it’s a really good feeling. If I could, I would share it with everyone. So here is my request to the world — specifically to our generation: let’s take it easy on the nostalgia, okay? The good part is remembering something you loved fondly as a child after a long period of absence from your mind. It’s not like you completely forgot about it, it was just tucked back in your brain a little.
Try to completely forget those stupid concerned children’s advertisements though. I always hated the one with the house hippo.
