We Need To Talk About Nostalgia

Once upon a time, years and years ago, society rewarded differences. Imitating everything someone else did, failing to present yourself authentically, was frowned upon. You always had to be different and creative. But in today's world, there are only certain standards. When you try to step outside a certain boundary, you're constantly ostracized or humiliated by being pointed at. Everyone who is supposed to "influence" us lives the same life and rewards the same standards. Every style, every color, every innovation is so boring. I don't know if we were this addicted to nostalgia in the world before the 2000s, but my generation certainly is. Even being here right now is a dive into nostalgia for me. Who's reading blogs right now, right? Nobody from mainstream media. I don't want to fit myself into today's world so much that I'm constantly looking for escape routes. I don't know how to get rid of this because there are no escape routes. Every time I feel like I've escaped, I'm just deceiving myself. 

The magic of nostalgia is exactly this: a blanket. You can wrap yourself in it and escape all the unpleasantness and uncertainty of the cold weather. This escape, which only made me feel good momentarily, has recently started to feel less good. Ever since I started university, I've been terrified of looking to the future. That uncertainty of the future and the dozens of possibilities that never quite fit me.

Unless society starts rewarding creativity again, neither I nor millions of other young people will be able to escape this feeling.