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Nostalgia and the Pandemic

 If somebody told me a couple years ago that we would be living in a pandemic right now, I could not even imagine what it would be like. This uncertainty even in present times causes lots of stress and anxiety for many people. 

I spent the main quarantine (March to June) with my three best friends, so I always had them there to help me get through this weird and stressful time. I am very grateful that we spent so much quality time together and always had each other to turn to during these very isolating three months. We did a lot of puzzles, which reminded me a lot of my childhood and doing puzzles with my three siblings. I have a vivid memory of my sister and I climbing a bookshelf in my brothers room and going on top of his closet where there is a ledge, and we sat there, hunched over, putting together a Care Bear puzzle. Doing the big, multi-day puzzles with my best friends during quarantine definitely brought me back to this simpler time and made things a little bit better. 

While with my friends, we did not turn to any childhood type movies, but instead spent our time watching new releases like Outer Banks and watching every single Marvel movie, which I had never seen before. We did watch Teen Beach Movie at 3 AM a couple times, which brought me back to my siblings and I sitting on the couch together; this definitely made me very nostalgic and happy. 

However, once I returned home and was locked up in my house, I turned to watching The Office, which I had seen a couple times already. Watching a show where I knew exactly what was going to happen was very comforting because I did not have to pay super close attention, and could even teach myself how to crochet while it played in the background. 

Whether it was doing a puzzle or rewatching The Office or Teen Beach Movie, thinking of old times really reduced my stress during the pandemic, and I am glad that I discovered this sort of pastime. 

I really like to rewatch shows I've already watched as a relaxing and nostalgic pastime; what are your favorite types of shows to watch or music to listen to to bring you back to the good times of your childhood?

Comments

  1. Barbara CivitellaFebruary 7, 2021 at 8:38 AM

    It's so interesting you also did puzzles. It was a bizarre activity that I hadn't done in so long but I also picked up again during quarantine. Puzzles were a week long event and they would sit on the kitchen table and as my brothers and I walked by we would add little by little. Puzzles actually made my brothers realize how much of a control freak I was. I had a specialized process sorting by color, flat edges and shape. It was comical because they knew when I was working on it to not even bother because even if they slightly moved one of the pieces I would have freaked. (but at least I got those puzzles finished in record time) It's really cool you have a specific puzzle in mind that you reminisce about, I also always think about this specific dinosaur puzzle we used to have. It's really cool you got to spend some quarantine with friends, would u rather stay with your friends again if another Q came? Or return home to watching the office in solitude?

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    Replies
    1. CarolineFebruary 7, 2021 at 12:14 PM

      Hi Barbara, I think that if another quarantine happened I would choose to spend more time with my friends. I think it was really nice to not be isolated in my house for 3 months and make quality memories with my friends.

      Delete
  2. Lisa AndresFebruary 8, 2021 at 8:21 AM

    I definitely think there was a run on puzzles over the last year, Caroline! I know that my kids reached a puzzle stage -- but that was a developmental marker -- which was unfortunate, because so many places were sold out. Thank goodness for Ebay! And I think Vintage puzzles were actually cheaper! :)

    That's so cool that you taught yourself how to crochet! Did you make anything that you're especially proud of?

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    Replies
    1. CarolineFebruary 8, 2021 at 12:09 PM

      Yes! I've made 6 stuffed animals for my friends, which took days of work to make each one so I'm happy that I'm able to do that, and it's a super fun and relaxing hobby!

      Delete
  3. Alison ZhangFebruary 9, 2021 at 3:12 PM

    Living with your best friends during quarantine sounds like so much fun. I wish I thought of that. It's so funny that I actually have memories of doing puzzles too. I don't think we ever even finished one of them though. We would always start them over a break but then find something else we would rather do. Then my mom would get annoyed with the pieces all over whatever counter we were using and clean it up. We didn't pick up puzzles again over break but we did turn to old board games that we hadn't touched in years.

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