Nostalgia Week

Nostalgia Week | The Indispensability of Experience

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Strangers come to know me as, “that girl who brings disposable cameras to parties,” a tagline I’ll accept. Though tokens of a past seemingly devoid of technology, these unmistakable plastic machines have become pretty fundamental to my college experience. It’s tough pinpointing exactly why we like the things we like, but what we can be certain of is that we mostly remember how things make us feel. It isn’t just the element of antiquity adding sentimental value. For me, it’s both scarcity and tangibility that together create experiences out of a light-induced chemical reaction.

Nostalgia Week

Nostalgia Week | Toys “Were” Us

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Just last week, Toys “R” Us announced that it would be closing its U.S. stores, and I genuinely felt sad about this — sadder than I did when my parents told ten-year-old me we would no longer be going to Blockbuster on Saturdays for our weekend movie nights (until a year and a half ago, I actually kept a Blockbuster membership card in my wallet). Perhaps this especially wistful reaction is due to the fact that not three blocks from my paternal grandparents’ house is a shopping plaza, at which there used to be a Toys “R” Us location. Whenever my parents would drop my younger brother and me off at our grandparents’ place, we’d frequently ask our grandma to bring us to Toys “R” Us. We didn’t always go there with the intention of getting our grandma to buy us something — sometimes, just bringing home the catalogue to pore over was enough for us. However, there were times when we’d stay in the store for hours as we figured out how to use different toys, and despite her best efforts, our grandma would occasionally lose track of us.

Nostalgia Week

NOSTALGIA WEEK | Salvaging My Musical Safety Blanket

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One of my lovely friends—I don’t know what I would do without him—recently introduced me to “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano,” a piece from Sampha’s debut album Process. The song’s title quite literally captures the essence of it, in which the British songwriter repeatedly croons, “No one knows me like the piano in my mother’s home.”

Like Sampha (“And you drop-topped the sky, oh you arrived when I was three years old”) and countless others, I began playing the piano at an early age—seven, to be exact. Even now, I can still see myself seated in front of the golden piano in the basement of my apartment, the keys neatly spread out in front of me, my fingers stumbling through each step of the C Major scale as my teacher’s hands hover above mine, the disparities in size and skill both apparent. By first grade, I had found a new teacher who would place a white eraser on the back of each hand as I struggled to read through a single line. With time and practice, my indifference began to shift into a tentative love.

Nostalgia Week

Nostalgia Week | Little Time

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Daydream for a moment and imagine that you’re standing in the wings of an auditorium, looking at the empty stage in front of you; the set pieces have been taken down, the lights give off a dim white glow, and it’s absolutely silent.  You slowly walk forward, and you can hear your footsteps lightly thud and echo. You stop at the very center of the stage and you stare at an audience of empty seats. Now, you walk up the center aisle and up the stairs until you reach the exit doors at the very back.  You turn around and take in every detail; the curved walls, the empty seats, and the silent stage.

Nostalgia Week

NOSTALGIA WEEK | What’s Your Favorite Childhood Memory?

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Olivia Faulhaber ’21: I will never forget the time that my family and I vacationed in Woodstock VT. We decided to take our bikes to Sugarbush Farms. However, the ride there was BRUTAL. I will never forget the moment that my sister saw the steep heel that we had to summit. She literally started crying. It was so funny to me for some reason.

Culture

NOSTALGIA CAFE | The Immortality of Avatar: The Last Airbender

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I have a very peculiar taste when it comes to television. You won’t see me catching up on the latest Riverdale or binge-watching The Office. I pass the teen drama aisle, skip the usual laugh-and-chuckle, feet-on-the-couch sitcom, and maybe linger on the pretty cover of a new superhero series before moving on. I’m either on the edge of my seat sobbing over a dog on Game of Thrones or sitting in the dark contemplating my existence in Westworld. However, there is a third option.

Blogs

MUKHERJEE | How Did a Year Go By?

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As the months of March and April loom by, the hearts of students in India fill with dread, anxiety and terror. These months mark the peak of final exam season. For high school seniors, this season is the worst, as it not only induces immense stress but also huge bouts of nostalgia for the school years gone by. As a college freshman, it seems almost unbelievable that a year ago, I was in the same shoes as present-day high school seniors. To be quite honest, I feel like an entirely new person.