I like digital cameras, because they enable you to reminisce immediately.-Demetri Martin
I walked around my old neighbourhood in Cambridge, which I have not visited in two years. And it initially made me quite sad. I had lived here for three years and had so many amazing memories with a variety of friends. All of them have since relocated to distant locations. This is what happens when you live in a transient town. I am at a crossroads to move back here to minimise my current commute. But do I dare create new memories in a place that is the storehouse of old ones?
How can locations become our hometowns even if we didn’t grow up in them?
In Cambridge, I stepped into antique shops searching for a gramophone particularly. I was hoping that finding it would be a sign on where to lead me next on my path. But as I explored the little nooks of these stores, holding old junk repackaged as treasures, I felt as if I was stepping back in time.
Am I trying to recreate the past? All these people and memories cannot be replaced, but in moving back to an old town am I simply regressing ? All have since moved on , shouldn’t I?
Do people linger in these nostalgia stores, hoping to purchase a memory? Perhaps we believe if we can own it, the moment will always be in our grasp. But the fact that the only constant is change. Those moments may not be recreated, but those people luckily are still alive sprinkled throughout this earth. Connections can be made via phone calls, visits, emails, and letters
Sentimentality can serve as a reminder of the values and people we hold dear. It’s a voice that silently nudges us to recall that life isn’t solely about work and achievement, but the friends and family that surround and serve in the ongoing backdrop of our world.
“Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends. “-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
It Only Takes A Smile 