As I dodged the speeding busses and honking cabs, I ran across Madison Street toward the Chicago United Center filled with a rush of emotions I hadn’t felt since I was in that same position nine years ago. Struggling to open the heavy glass doors against the merciless wind, we emerged into a mass of girls – and a number of cross-dressed men decked out in pig tails, platforms, leopard print, sports attire and little black dresses. I have never seen so much glitter in one place at one time. It was perfect. The Spice Girls had been my first concert ever, my fifth-grade birthday party, and I remember that night as clearly as if it were yesterday. This time was a little different, of course. I was with my girlfriends from college instead of grade school, but the thrill of it all was just the same.
The lights went down and the screaming crowd exploded. There were flashes of light and as the five women I grew up idolizing rose from under the stage, I was transported back to a time with no worries, a time when I could be completely enveloped in the here and now. This brief journey into my past couldn’t have come at a better time. Life can get pretty busy pretty quickly. We multitask every minute of every day in order to fit it all in. Let’s face it; the spring may as well be called intern season at SMU for undergraduates or a daunting abyss for those graduating in May. We are raised with a constant pressure to figure out what you will be doing in the summer, next year and for the rest of your life. This is American culture and, undoubtedly, one reason we live in such a successful country. Every once in a while, however, it’s only healthy to go back to that place or thing that once made us smile for sheer enjoyment and not for what is to come next.
Nostalgia is underrated and often ignored in today’s fast-paced world. Remembering the good times and losing ourselves in the moment is a liberating experience that can keep us grounded when the times get tough. Day to day we get caught up in the drudgery of routine and often don’t even notice that we can become robots – numb to our own emotions and desires. We spend so much time living in our heads and sometimes forget about what it is like living from our hearts and feelings.
Instead of getting wrapped up in the stress of the future, take a step back into the past and you may just gain a little perspective. I’m not saying that the Spice Girls concert was a life-changing experience by any means, but it did serve as a reminder that the little things in life are, in fact, the most important.
Sarah Swanson is a sophomore CCPA and English major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].