Nostalgia can hit you like a brick wall, can't it? It's quite possibly the best way to remember an event that was particularly good or enjoyable. Watching old family home-videos can be very entertaining and make for some good laughs. I'm sure you can't deny that watching old films of yourselves together creates a strong bond among you--a reminder of sorts that highlights the common history you all share.
Nostalgia, for me, is totally different. Something will set off a flood of [usually] pleasant memories that I find myself wishing I could relive. Walking back to my dorm room, I could get a whif of burning fur and be taken back to my childhood, walking through "Christmas Tree Lane" with my family on Christmas Eve. I can be listening to an old Odyssey episode and travel in my head back to a two bedroom apartment in Michigan, staring up at the springs of the bunk above me, listening so intently. Or having a scoop of Ghirardelli ice cream can trigger a time walking down Fisherman's Wharf in shorts and a sweater, laughing with good friends.
Moments that I obviously cannot relive--but how I wish I could! I suppose the present and future hold memories to come that I will no doubt cherish someday and wish I could relive then. Perhaps there is value in cherishing the "todays" and the "tomorrows."
