The song “The House that Built Me” by Miranda Lambert is a popular country song that causes the listener to reminisce on tender memories of  their childhood. In this song, she remembers the places, people and things that were around her as she grew up. She takes the listener on their own walk down memory lane as so many things of childhood are universal to us all.

Just like Lambert is longing for the little back bedroom where she learned to play guitar in her song, so many people are starting to look back to simpler times. The definition of nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.  

Feelings of nostalgia have become a common trend among students.  Many of us find ourselves wishing to return to a time before masks, standing six feet apart, and having an irrational fear of someone with a cough. 

 Senior McKenna Phillips said her wistfulness has increased since the beginning of the pandemic.

“[It’s] the feeling that’s a mix of happy and sad when you think about your past,” Phillips said.

 “[I miss]being carefree, I could live and have fun without everything being closed down or wearing masks and socially distancing,” Phillips said. “[Nostalgia]is a way to remind yourself of how you used to be but also to see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown.”  “[Nostalgia] feels as if it is a reminder to reconnect with your younger self. I think it’s important to feel the way you did when you were little so you don’t forget about your childhood.” Senior Taylor Goodrich says

Goodrich and Phillips also look back at the time before the pandemic.

“ I would definitely go back to life before the pandemic, and I at least hope we can get to that point again,” Goodrich said. “I miss not having to worry about wearing a mask and being able to do school activities. Also being able to go out with friends without worrying about social distancing.” 

Although most students think of nostalgia as a positive,  senior Davis Hill has a different opinion. 

“I also think nostalgia can be a negative. The past isn’t always what we remember,” Hill said. Oftentimes it gets romanticized, causing individuals to become bitter toward what’s happening in the here and now.“

On the other hand freshman Sophie Seefeld describes her feelings towards nostalgia in a positive light. 

“[Nostalgia] brings back happiness, it reminds me of how much fun I have had when I was younger.” Seefeld said.  Junior Megan Chambers also enjoys being able to look to the past from time to time “I enjoy being nostalgic because most of the time I feel like a little kid again,” Chambers said.  “[However nostalgia] does hamper my productivity because I stop to think about how that memory made me feel and forget what I’m doing.” 

The exigence for our newfound nostalgia is a shared factor.

“I think the pandemic has caused us to be more nostalgic because we learned to not take anything for granted, like the normal life we lived before COVID-19,” said Chambers.

It is clear that many students miss the past and long for a sense of normalcy again. Throughout it all, students value looking back at the past with fondness, cherishing every day in the present, and most importantly, moving forward to the future.