Nostalgia

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)61284-6/fulltext

http://matthewbaldwin.yolasite.com/resources/Baldwin,%20Biernat,%20%26%20Landau,%20in%20press.pdf

I want to for a moment revisit our research paragraphs. I know this is kind of cheating in that this was research for another assignment and not for the blogs but I think what I learned from my research might be interesting and helpful to the class. The concept I based a majority of my research on was 'Nostalgia.' I feel I am a person who holds on to a lot of memories and reflects on them with extreme grandeur. I mean to say I idolize the youth I lived as though it were perfect. I consider myself to be very nostalgic, I think its something I get from my father. He tends to hold on to physical manifestations of memories; pictures, newspapers, boxes of toys and souvenirs. However what I found out in my research was very telling as to what my nostalgia has lead to in my life and what caused it. The links I posted above are two articles concerning 'Nostalgia' but are written in very different tones. The first is an article that is serves more as a graphic depiction of the origin of the term. The second is a scholarly essay that analysis seven different scientific studies based on different manifestations of the phenomena that is nostalgia. Through both I found that nostalgia could be more than random reflection on memories/events or a feeling you get when you see content reminding you of a memory. Rather nostalgia can in some ways be a mental disorder that cause others feelings or behaviors. It can be brought on by simply being away from home for too long, or thinking about a person you used too know then dwelling on how you don't talk. But if there is nothin to ease the nostalgia it could lead to depression or even physical changes such as weight lose. To someone diss pleased with their current situation nostalgia might be a negative thing. A lot of art is made with the hopes of evoking a certain emotion in people sometimes an emotion based on remembering a time in their own lives. I thought as artists these two sources could change the way we see nostalgia as a feeling/idea and also inspire find different ways to evoke emotion through our work.