A couple of years ago, people started talking about nostalgia for the “Tumblr 2014 aesthetic.”
Many millennials, in particular, were feeling nostalgic for the music, fashion, and overall mood of 2014, particularly as expressed on the social media website, Tumblr.
There’s nothing unusual about nostalgia, of course.
Many of us look back with fondness at various eras of our lives. Some of the frustrations and worries of the past fade in our memories, while the good aspects—including things that, we realize, we should’ve appreciated more at the time—shine all the brighter.
This is normal, and it’s healthy. It reminds us to appreciate all the people and all the other positive aspects of our lives right now.
But this particular “Tumblr 2014” nostalgia was unusual because 2014 had happened so recently.
Traditionally, it had been been more common for people to become nostalgic about the culture of 20 or more years ago.
Personally, although I wasn’t super connected to the trends people missed, I understood it. I had been looking at pictures from the mid-2010s and thinking, “How do I get back there? To the person I was then?”
Of course, I don’t mean that I want to look the same. I’m getting older, and I’m grateful for that. I want to get back to the more free-spirited mindset I’ve had at some times in my life, including when I started this blog, in the fall of 2014.
My husband and I dealt with some tough times between 2017 and 2022. Things are much better now. I think it’s fair to say we’re still recovering, and we’re still figuring out the new life we started for ourselves a year and a half ago…not that anyone ever has life completely figured out.
But I don’t think I’m alone in missing the recent past. I think many of us feel nostalgia for the Before Times.
What Were “The Before Times”?
This is only my theory, of course, but I believe that from 2016 until recently, our culture was hit by a one-two punch.
Social media platforms and internet search engines evolved their algorithms in their quest to soak up as many precious moments of people’s lives as possible, in order to package their attention and information and sell it to corporations. They found that the best way to keep us terminally online was to make us ashamed of who we are, angry with who other people were, and afraid.
If this led to outbreaks of depression, anxiety, and rage, especially among children and teenagers; if this led to thought policing and online bullying on a never-before-seen scale; if this contributed to deep divisions in nations, political insurrections, and even widespread atrocities…all that was fine to these companies, as long as they sold enough advertising space.
And then, of course, the world was hit with a terrifying pandemic. We lived isolated lives and witnessed crowded hospitals and mass burials. Some of us lost friends and family members. We were threatened on a very basic level.
It’s no wonder that we look back to the fairly recent past as a time before things went wrong.
How Can We Regain a “Before Times” Mindset?
Here are the things I’m trying, but I’d love to hear your thoughts, too!
Of course, avoiding doomscrolling is the best thing we can do for our mental health. It’s a very easy thing to turn to when we’re feeling lonely or tired (which, not so coincidentally, is also what they say about alcohol or drug use.) I’ve been reading more books, magazines, and blogs instead.
Regular exercise keeps us connected with our bodies and with the real world. It doesn’t have to be major. Specifically, going with Mr. Donovan to a new-to-us park with the dogs can make my whole day. It’s summer, so we can do that a lot!
This may be controversial, but I refuse to think about politics constantly. I am, however, getting back into my “one random act of kindness every week” thing. Taking out time to donate blood, or to pick up trash that isn’t mine at one of those parks, really feels good. (I’ll be looking at my own list of free acts of kindness!)
I know that at the time I started this blog, I had really embraced positive thinking, and it felt fantastic. Some people hate this stuff, and that’s fine, but for me, there’s nothing better. I’m getting back into reading about positivity and optimism, and it’s making a difference.
Have you felt nostalgic for the not-so-distant past?
Or are you nostalgic for more long-ago eras? Are there ways that you can connect with what you enjoyed then, or the person you were then? I’d love to hear about it in the comments! Thanks so much for reading, and have a wonderful week!
One of my favorite things about 2014 was knowing you. 💜🤗🌻
Ohh, me too, Merry Lu! No wonder I think of it as a good time!
I think the time frame I miss most personally is just the time I spent with some of my friends in college. I can’t keep in contact with many of them for various reasons and it makes me sad. It was during that time that my love of writing blossomed and I was more motivated to write. Now with a full time job, it’s harder to find the time to write because I also have so many other things I like to do. Back then I had probably more time than any of my friends to write and I liked that. I wish I could have that kind of time again.
Hi Raya! It can be such a challenge to stay connected to friends, and to find time to write. I get it! Thanks for reading and commenting. I hope you have a good week. 🙂
Thanks, Bryn. Though I don’t exactly regard the pre-2014 period as the good old days, I wish I could bring it back in some ways.
But they’re too political to and too controversial to mention on a blog. Unless it’s my own.
So just use your imagination.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Mary! Yeah, I bet I know what you mean!
Thanks for the kind words. 🙂 (Fixed the typo!)
I’m an old lady, now, so I would like to go back to a time when everyone wasn’t angry, when there was optimism, when we thought we could conquer all the ills of the world.
Yes, I mean the 1960s, with flower power and Love not War. But not only then; also the 90s when the Soviet bloc collapsed and the Berlin Wall came down.
Optimistic times.
Hi V.M.! Yes, there have been times in this country when people have had a lot of hope, and I think we’re due for that again! Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts.
I’m nostalgic for my life before marriage and kids. I love my family more than anything, but I miss the more independent me that I was back then. I used to be quite fearless and now I seem to be afraid of everything. How did this happen?
Hi Naomi! I think a lot of people feel this! I’ve definitely heard it a lot from parents. My theory is that all the people we used to be are still inside us…they just need some nudging to take the stage again. 🙂 Thanks for commenting! I hope you have a good week!
In the past decade, all of my kids graduated from high school, two of them graduated from college, those two also got married, and one became a parent, and one is still in college.
I became published several times, suffered another concussion, and some other stuff.
But, I had some other great stuff happen. I can’t share that.
Do I want to go back, no, but there were a lot of changes. We’re in a good place.
Just some recent losses which have made this year hard…
denise
Denise—so many changes and big events! But I am dying to know about your secrets! I am so sorry about the losses this year. That is so hard. ❤️
Hi Bryn,
What a lovely topic! I too, have become very disenchanted, and struggle hard with the challenges of today’s world. I find my nostalgia often centers around a simpler way of life, with no electronics at all, or very few – I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s – my earliest nostalgia I often visit is Holly Hobbie, the Sunshine Family, and my dolls. I spent many years in the 80’s living off grid (before solar technology), so being a wild child of the deep woods, where we lived just outside a temperate rainforest, was my nostalgia in my early teen years. As I grew older, I fell in love with Tasha Tudor and her lifestyle. Now, I’m creating nostalgia for my future whilst living in my little beach cottage, on the shores of the Salish Sea. We live a basic simple life centered around home and hearth with fresh baked breads, homemade meals from what we grow in our garden, harvest from our fruit trees and raspberry bushes – and of course I write for the sheer love of discovering other worlds in my imagi-nation.
Wishing you and your readers all the best!
Renae
HOLLY HOBBIE! AND THE SUNSHINE FAMILY! Renae, I know just what you’re talking about! Ahh, that takes me back. Living off the grid must’ve been an amazing experience. There was a Tasha Tudor book in the library at the Hallmark Cards HQ where I used to work, and I just love it. Your life now sounds like a dream to me! Thank you for posting!
A huge thank you for sharing the fashion trends article! I really appreciate you keeping me updated on the latest styles. The article was insightful and packed with great tips on emerging trends. It’s always helpful to have such information to refine my fashion sense. Your effort in sharing this is much appreciated and truly valuable. Thanks again for providing such a useful resource—it’s always great to stay informed and inspired by the newest trends!