I recently visited a place that has always been very nostalgic for me. I did an outdoor learning program in my youth that was an extracurricular school program. It was a program that greatly shaped who I am today because of the experiences, the friends I made and the values of the program itself -- therefore leaving a nostalgic place in my heart. A friend of mine who also participated in this program reached out to me to return to camp, so we could experience nostalgia. I have fond memories of my friend and I giggling and sharing gossip in the forest while I was supposed to be doing school!

I was immediately fond of this idea as I haven’t returned for seven years. Just anticipating being back, a flood of sweet memories returned. We drove out with anticipation. When we arrived, we found that it was now abandoned and there were “no trespassing” signs preventing us from going further. It made me realize that the places that leave us nostalgic are most likely never the same as they once were. A place I was expecting to leave me with sentimental feelings instead just looked sad and dreary as the paint on the cabins were rusting and the cabins just looked damaged.

It's not what it once was. My friend and I reminisced about funny memories, but it also made us sad to think it wasn’t the same anymore. Have you ever visited somewhere nostalgic and felt as if it's not the same as you remembered? Why is this? Is it perhaps because we romanticize our memories? Is it because we change and when we return it's different? Memories are never the same as what actually happened because they’re your perception of things. How you remember things changes over time, as well as the feelings you associate with them.

So, is how you remember experiences ever really how they are? It can be hard to return somewhere that you experienced such life altering experiences, only to realize it's all different from how you remembered it. Many of you probably experienced this. It's like when you go back to your old high school or somewhere you used to work and it's not the same. It can feel like some of your memories died with it. The places that leave us nostalgic are comfortable but are also bittersweet. 

What Brings us Back?

Why do we feel the need to return to these places? I feel we often want to return because it gives the feeling that we can bring back the past. Like we can go back to the way it all was without physically doing so. It gives the illusion that we're there, reliving our former experiences for the first time again. We eventually realize, however, that this isn’t possible. We want to remember the experiences that shaped us – it is a source of comfort. We want to look back on who we were then and who we are now.

What is it that makes us keep coming back? I think we go back because we want to hold on to whatever it is we can. We do not want to let go. Almost like if we did not go back, we could lose grip of these memories. Like they hold them sanctum and when you go back you unlock all the feelings again. These places help us remember who we are,  almost becoming a part of our identity. 

What kinds of experiences do we have that make us want to go back? I think there's many different kinds of experiences we can have that make us want to go back. They can be transitional experiences that make us who we are today. Perhaps it was a place where you made life changing connections, or it was somewhere that positively influenced you. These experiences made an impact, making us want to relive the past. What places leave you nostalgic? What experiences would you relive? Follow us on our Twitter and Facebook and leave a comment below!