It’s interesting how some person, place, or thing, brings us back to certain memories so vivid, that it’s like we are reliving it. Sometimes when we’re have a bad day, (all of us have had at least one of those days), some of us try to think of a setting that brings us happy thoughts or good memories. When we hear a song that played regularly in the past, it brings us back to memories of the past. Sometimes seeing an object, smelling a certain aroma, or hearing a certain sound triggers a “flash back” making us feel nostalgic.




Not too long ago, I heard a Coldplay song “In my place,” that first came out on the radio around the time I was in my first year of college. Oddly enough, the lyrics seemed to fit my situation in all aspects, living situation, career, and relationships. It brought me back to vivid memories of moving into my dorm for the first time, being on my own and making my own decisions– an entirely new situation. I remember meeting my roommate.. deco-ing-out the dorm.. My friendly dorm neighbors who loved the decorations and would drop by with a visit to chit chat. Making new friends, learning new things.


The song also brought back rough memories of also feeling lost in during those times. My fears, my uncertainty, my struggles; how I thought I wasn’t going to make it, how close I was to giving up, and how hard I worked to overcome all this. I wondered how long would I have to wait to make it in life, for good things to happen, which in turn forced me to make big decisions. It also brought back vague memories of my first college crush, and the first person in college who had a crush on me. Memories of mistakes and learning from them. Memories and longing for the good times I felt as a martial artist exploring as much as I can.


Nostalgia from something simple like a song can bring us back good memories.. sometimes so vivid, it’s almost like we’re there again, but we know it was the past, so sometimes it’s hard to believe it was once real. But we want to imagine and relive some memories either because it was good times or because we need to continue to learn from them.


We talk about childhood memories which can be brought on by seeing children run around, or a classic toy. We think about how much time has changed. Our families and childhood friends. Sometimes something reminds us of a past love, from a scent, a flower, a gift or something associated with love. We think of, what if’s, what could of been, or why.


More often, people have mentioned to me, stories, nostalgia of their past love, both good or bad. One individual mentioned his memories of his first love. For another guy, it was finding love, losing love, finding love again, a different kind of love, losing it again.. and searching for it again or longing for what was once. For others, even though they have accepted the past, moved on and found another love, sometimes something triggers memories of past love.


Whatever it is for all of us, it is an interesting phenomenon to have these flashbacks. What have you had nostalgia about?