Reflections on Change, Nostalgia and Moving On

captured by Mitchell Royel, #nowplaying - Kaskade’s Turn It down (with Rebecca & Fiona)

“Dear Younger Me,

I've been thinking a lot lately about the passage of time. About how life unfolds in chapters and eras, each one shaping us in profound ways before quietly giving way to the next. Nostalgia has a way of calling us back, doesn't it? Of flooding our senses with vivid memories of years past.

I close my eyes and I'm transported to long drives down the beach, windows down and music blasting. Kaskade's "Turn It Down" comes on and I'm right back there, singing along without a care in the world. The salty air whips through my hair as I reach for another handful of chili cheese fries, savoring the sweet burn on my tongue.

I see us dancing with abandon in movie theaters, giddy on youth and cheap snacks from the concession stand. Everything felt so monumental then, so dizzying and important. Especially love. Oh, that first brush with love—how it consumed us! We thought we'd never recover when that first "relationship" inevitably crashed and burned. I can still feel the hot sting of tears on my cheeks as I sat in my car after, convinced I'd never feel whole again.

But time kept moving, as she always does. Gradually, often without us noticing, we stepped into a new era. New people and experiences rushed in to fill the spaces left behind. We started to build a different life, one that would've been unimaginable to our former selves.

Yet sometimes the past has a way of circling back unexpectedly. I've had moments of running into people I knew from high school or college—people who were once my entire world. It's jarring to realize how much distance there is now, how little we have in common anymore.

I struggle to find the words to express that I've moved on, that while I look back on our history with fondness, I no longer feel that old connection. There's no malice or ill will, but that chapter has closed for me. The intense emotions and attachments of the past have been gently released.

It's a strange dance, trying to honor what was while being authentic about what is. I want to treat those former friends and flames with compassion, to acknowledge the role they played in shaping me. But I also want to be honest about the fact that I've changed. I'm not that lovesick girl crying in her car anymore. I've grown and shifted and stepped into a new version of myself.

I'm learning that it's okay to let people and feelings fade into the rearview mirror. It doesn't diminish what they meant to us then. But we're not meant to stay in one place forever. Life is constantly calling us forward into new adventures and new ways of being.

So to you, my former self, I say this: Embrace the nostalgia when it comes. Let yourself relive those moments that branded your heart. But don't get lost in them. The past is a beautiful place to visit, but you're not meant to live there anymore. Keep moving forward, even when it's hard or scary. The best is yet to come.

With love and liberation,

Ryder”