My dad received a brand new, unopened LP as a gift from my uncle recently. It was an LP of “The Best of Midnight String Quartet," - a quartet that played soothing chamber music made up of two violins, a viola, and a cello played by (then) students of the University of South California. My dad told me when they used to listen to that same LP when they were growing up in Dominican Republic - when they didn’t even know English yet. He wouldn't know what the name of the songs were, he only knew which number track the song was.  He began recalling those memories, back when they were living in a house with a tin roof and when he had to share a single bed with my aunt and uncles. I saw his eyes getting a little glassy, my dad’s an emotional guy, but he was still smiling.  It was amazing how he experienced all those emotions, just from seeing that record.  That feeling of nostalgia – the yearning to return to another time – why is it so powerful?

            There’s something about talking about the “good old days” that bring back fond memories – those fuzzy feelings that bring flashbacks of the earlier, less complicated years. For most today, it’s probably the good old days where you weren’t bombarded by e-mails and text messages every second of the day or when face-to-face contact was the norm as opposed to video-chat and instant messaging.  

            Hints of a nostalgic mindset are prevalent in our daily lives. Advertising and branding have taken advantage of the feeling of nostalgia, urging consumers to reminisce about earlier times. For example, General Mills cereals, like Cheerios and Trix, were sold in “throwback” boxes while Coca-Cola sometimes brought back their iconic contoured glass bottles for anniversaries.

            Nostalgia also has its place in fashion. Many of today’s trends, like high-waisted bottoms, wide legged pants, and the skinny tie were all from an earlier era. Designer Betsey Johnson is known for her dresses that echo the 80’s and most recently, designer Vivienne Westwood had an old-English inspired line filled with corsets and Sherlock Holmes tweed.

            TV and films have taken to the nostalgic trend. Last year, Woody Allen released “Midnight in Paris,” which was all about a young man longing for the life of the Roaring 20’s in Paris. AMC’s Mad Men is probably the most popular nostalgia-driven piece at the moment, along with NBC’s Pan-Am – both focusing on life in the 1960’s.

            Our technology today even gives nods to the past. Instagram, one of the most popular apps for smartphones today, have photo filters that mimic aged photographs. Theres even a program called The Noisy Typer 1.0, although just for fun, that actually produces typewriter noises when you type on your laptop.

            We may not realize it, but these hints of nostalgia are everywhere. It’s true, most of us only have less than 20 years to look back on, maybe 15 of which we can recall, but we all experience nostalgia in one way or another. I came across my old blankie the other day while cleaning up – I felt like I was 5 again, just going about my hectic life of drawing with crayons and markers. It was nice.