Sunny Side Up #2: The Magic of Nostalgia

Looking to the past to find joy in the present 🪩

When I was little, I had a Pop Party CD. It had two discs, one for the music, and the other was a DVD with music videos. It had all the music I could have possibly needed as a millennium baby - Britney, Busted, S Club 7, Avril Lavigne - and I would spend hours choreographing dance routines in the living room pretending I was a pop star. This CD was the extent of my music knowledge as a child. The disbanding of Busted at the ripe old age of five was my first real heartbreak, and I remember exactly where I was when they announced their reunion ten years later (my GCSE art classroom).

Now, at 24, my taste in music is exactly the same. Genre: Nostalgia. This isn’t because new music is bad, rather I get so overwhelmed by all the choice on Spotify that I panic and go straight to what I know - the Easy 00s playlist (if you don’t know, get to know). There’s a comfort to be found in songs with lyrics so deeply engraved into your mind that you don’t even need to consider what the words are. Just play me the riff of ‘Year 3000’ - the muscle memory will kick in and the dopamine ensues.

Side fringes. Boot cuts. Spaghetti straps. FASH-UN.

Nostalgia has been a big source of joy this week: my sister and I went to the Girls Aloud concert. It was euphoric. First of all, Cheryl is tiny!! I had no idea. Also feel very smug because now I know we are the same height, I can forever say that I have something in common with the Cheryl. Secondly, I don’t think I ever thought about how wholesome it was to go to a concert. Everyone is there to sing along to their favourite songs. And in this instance, the song is ‘Love Machine’! How sweet is that? Aww!! It was also strangely comforting to see all the different people there - the girl groups in their twenties reminiscing on the pop princess days, the women in their forties craving the nostalgia of a noughties nightclub, people who had gone solo willing to leave their troubles at the door.

Going to this concert was like hitting a reset button in my brain. I think when you’re having a stressful time, whatever that may involve, it can be easy to forget that you can still feel excitement and elation.. or that you could even forget about the thing you were worried about that morning. An environment like that - of extremely concentrated joy - serves as a reminder that feelings are fleeting. All it takes is Girls Aloud to chant “something kinda ooh jumping on my tutu” like a group of harmonised football fans and I’m back in business!

So, try this -

What was your favourite song when you were a child? What album did you have on repeat throughout your uni days? What was in your headphones on the flight to your holiday of a lifetime? Now put it on. Give yourself permission to relax, let the muscle memory kick in, and re-experience that happiness all over again. Let yourself completely enjoy it, have a dance around your room so the endorphins kick in (nobody’s watching - just check when the window cleaner is due). Nobody wants to be stuck in the past, but a little bit of groove to a nostalgic tune to find comfort in the present doesn’t hurt. 🕺🏼

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There was a lot to be happy about this week - here are the highlights:

• LISTENING | Obviously, Girls Aloud. That’s the whole point of the article. Special mention for the glittery costumes and when Nicola waved at me during ‘Call the Shots’. Does it get better than this?

• MUNCHING | The freshest strawberries tasted like summer even though I’ve been wearing knits all week.

• STROLLING | My Mum & I went for a gorge walk around a wild garden this weekend and it was one of the most stunning places I have ever visited. 10/10 for the incredible colour selection of rhododendrons - my faves!!

• READING | Murder Before Evensong by The Reverend Richard Coles. If you’re into cosy crime this is deffo one to pick up!!

• WATCHING | On Sunday night, the 2020 version of Emma was on telly and it’s soooo good. I think I saw it twice when it was on at the cinema and it remains to be one of the funniest and most aesthetically pleasing films I’ve ever seen. Do yourself a favour and watch it if you’ve not already.

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