Childhood Nostalgia

I was born in 2005, so I grew up with the internet being a prominent thing in society. Needed some information? Go look it up! Want to learn how to do something? Go watch a YouTube video! I can't say I will ever know what life was like before the internet. Did time move slower? Were people kinder? Was there more mystery to life? I grew up with big TV's rolled in on carts when we were going to watch a movie, and projectors in the library to read books. We had awesome shows on Disney channel, and a huge static-y TV. I got my first iPod touch when I was 7. My Mom had a blackberry slide phone, same with my Dad. We played in the neighborhood all day as kids on weekends, except for Saturday mornings when cartoons were on. As I got older through childhood, big box static TV's turned into flatscreens, flip phones turned into iPhones, books turned into kindles, and manhunt in the neighborhood turned into Minecraft games on iPads. I was young when these changes happened, but they happened gradually over time through elementary school. By the first grade we switched our TV to a flatscreen, but by the fourth grade every child had a first-generation iPad mini and played minecraft. We played games in the neighborhood all night growing up, but as new xboxes and playstations came out and replaced the iconic Wii, nights played tag became father apart, until the older neighborhood kids started the dreaded highschool, and DS gaming devices became iPhone 5's. Homework stacked up, and our enjoyment in playing kickball decreased. Now I'm a sophomore and high school, and playing in the neighborhood is an activity long forgotten. DS'es have become nostalgic, and the excitement of the iPhone 5 comng out is long gone. I still remember playing games in the circle and building forts in the woods so well, but as the rope swings have snapped and the playhouses have been taken down, it has become so real to me that we will never get those days back. I throughly enjoyed my childhood. I believe it was cool for me to have been raised in the switch from flip phones to iPhones. Often though, I hear from milennials or Gen-X'ers, "You will never kow how great the days were when cell phones didn't exist and we had to read to obtain information!" And while for a while I wished I would wake up with a time traveling machine and live out the days that have been described to be to be so amazing by older generations, as I have matured I have realized that there is truly no sense in wishing I was born in a different time. As people tell me how great they grew up, I think it is interesting to hear how it was different, but I will never experience that. And as I have matured, I have realized that it's okay to not know what life is life without the internet! Nobody can control whehn they are born, which makes a point as to why the arguing between generations at who had it the best is quite stupid. Maybe I will never know what all four high school years are like out of a pandemic. Maybe I will never know what it is like to listen to the radio and read the paper to hear the news. But, I will know what it is like to go to elementary school and the teachers being able to show us anything we want to know about because YouTube is a click away, which older generations did not have. I will know what it is like to play in the neighborhood as a kid, while future generations may not know because kids love their iPads, and mothers are afraid of their children getting kidnapped. Although I will know the good things, I am also painfully aware of negative things that older generations caused and that now inflict us, such as the fear of a shooter entering my middle school cafeteria, or the frightening possible effects of climate change. With all of the things to be afraid of, there are plenty of amazing things to be grateful for. Although a pandemic has touched and negatively impacted the rest of my high school years, I am able to spend more time with my family and learn from my parents more. I cannot change the times I live in, but I can change how I look at it and go through it, and for that I am grateful. I am grateful for my time, and I am grateful for the teachers who have educated me and the teachers to come- and I don't mean just actual teachers, I mean all influential teachers, such as my best friends who teach me friendship, and my parents who teach me work ethic and care. Childhood nostalgia comes in many forms. Today, I was scrolling through Tik Tok, when I heard a song I had not heard in years, which is "Rainbow Connection" from the Muppets. A song I listened to as a child through Muppets re-runs and elementary school music class. I remember being in the first grade, and the fourth grade sung this song. I loved the tune, so I loudly sang along, until a teacher came over and tapped me on the shoulder, silencing me because we were supposed to be listening. I quickly realized nobody else was singing. Some things remind you of simpler times, and while it is not okay to dwell on the past, it is okay to look back on moments and memories that you are fond of, and one is listening to Kermit the Frog play his Banjo on the log, singing this song: [Verse 1] Why are there so many Songs about rainbows And what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions But only illusions And rainbows have nothing to hide So we've been told and some choose to believe it I know they're wrong wait and see [Hook] Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers and me [Verse 2] Who said that every wish Would be heard and answered When wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that And someone believed it Look what it's done so far What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing And what do we think we might see? [Hook] Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers and me [Bridge] All of us under its spell We know that it's probably magic [Verse 3] Have you been half asleep And have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name Is this the sweet sound That calls the young sailors? The voice might be one and the same I've heard it too many times to ignore it: It's something that I'm supposed to be [Hook] Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection The lovers, the dreamers and me Da-da-da-dee-da-da dum Da-da-da-da-dee-da-da-doo I spent the day learning the entire song on ukulele. I cannot sing, but I played along to the original video. I did yoga for an hour, I ate some Mcdonald's fries. I miss the past, but I am enjoying the present and excited for the future. Sometimes though, it can be a really great thing to enjoy things that make you happy, like this beautiful song. Reflect on the past and prepare for the future. Enjoy what you enjoy.