It’s amazing how we’re programmed to remember. We remember yesterday’s laughter, last week’s joys, last year’s tears. We lose ourselves in the past often wanting to go back, to do something different, to relive what’s been lost to the sea of time. The moments got away from us, yes, that’s it. Time slipped through our fingertips like sand, our lives unfolding like a snowstorm that comes just as quickly as its aftermath melts away. I suppose it’s human nature to appreciate life in retrospect.
My own nostalgic moments have always been triggered by one main culprit: music. There are days when my iTunes library is like a trustworthy friend hanging out in the background of my life. Driving, cleaning, running, or simply being—music makes it all better. And at the same time, any given artist, genre, or melody has the power to remove me from the present and transport me to some moment of my past.
My Joni Mitchell phase—ah the joys of teenage identity crises (and realizing that I am indeed an “old soul.” I mean, how many Millennials do you know that have River in their music collection? I’ve met one. And only one.)
Then there was my…dare I say it…folk music phase. If you’re thinking of Celtic weirdness or square dancing stuff, you’re wrong. I’d call it more like emo coffee house music — Dar Williams or Antje Duvekot. What can I say, it was great inspiration for cathartic writing.
And of course, there is Just Dance, Poker Face, Alejandro, Born This Way, and Edge of Glory—the timeline of my college career. The ever-present Lady Gaga attended every dorm party, was a hit at every karaoke sesh, and populated the dance floor at all of South Bend’s finest establishments.
This list doesn’t even cover a playlist’s worth of memories. But what I’ve found is, music is the surest way to remember. Sometimes all it takes is one note to regain a moment we thought we had lost.
Watch out, Facebook. I’d say music is the real timeline of life.
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