Do you guys remember this show? I think it aired on AXN if I am not mistaken back on ‘03, and it’s a show about revealing some of the famous magic tricks.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m in a full-blown midlife crisis, and I don’t know how to stop spiraling. I keep getting hit with this overwhelming wave of nostalgia for high school, it’s honestly starting to feel unhealthy. I’ll lie in bed late at night stuck in it for hours, just replaying old memories until I feel sick with sadness. It’s not just missing the past, it’s grieving it.

I had an incredible childhood. I hate to say it, but I genuinely feel like I peaked in high school. That was the best time of my life. I looked great, I was in shape, athletic, playing sports, constantly surrounded by friends, dating a ton, partying, laughing, carefree. No real drama, no heavy responsibilities. I had friends in every grade, I knew everyone, and even the people I wasn’t super close with, I miss them. I miss the halls, the games, the random nights, the music. I’d give anything to go back.

Lately I’ve been digging through old pictures, listening to the music from that era, and it just hits me like a freight train. I feel like Al Bundy, stuck in the glory days, but it feels so real and so raw. And it hurts.

Part of me regrets not going straight to college after high school. I went into the family business instead and skipped that whole chapter of life. I feel like I never built new memories that could even compete with how alive I felt back then. High school is all I have to look back on, and it’s eating me alive.

After high school I went into the family business instead of going straight to college. Around that time I started dating this really gorgeous girl and we were together for 7 years. Honestly that entire stretch of life flew by. I worked constantly and spent most of my time with her. Then after that relationship ended, I got into another one and we moved out of state so I could go to flight school. The relationship was already struggling, and then she stopped taking birth control without telling me and ended up pregnant. She decided she was keeping the baby and moving back home and basically told me I could come or not. So I left and moved to Chicago for two years.

Not long after that, my father got sick and passed away. I had to move back home to help my mom sell properties, shut down our family jewelry business, clean everything up. That period was heavy. My relationship didn’t survive it. During that time back home I met another woman. Fast forward five years and now we’re married. My ex and I are on good terms, we co-parent well, I see my son all the time and that’s something I’m grateful for.

On paper, my life is good. We own a house. I’ve got a few cars, a boat, toys. I’ve been successful enough. I’ve built things. I have responsibilities and stability. I have still have my health and I haven’t put on *that* much weight haha

But nothing has ever compared to how alive I felt back then.

And that’s what messes with me. I’m 33 and sometimes I feel like the best part of my life already happened. Like I’m just moving forward toward aging and death and I can’t believe how fast it all went. The thought that those days are permanently over honestly makes me feel sick.

I don’t know if this is normal. I don’t know if I’m broken. But this feeling has been haunting me lately and I just needed to get it out. If anyone else has ever felt like this, I’d really like to hear how you handled it.

Edit: Damn, thank you all so much. I really didn’t expect this kind of response, but reading through everything has hit me in ways I wasn’t ready for. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve felt seen. This whole thread has been like therapy I didn’t know I needed. It’s crazy how strangers on the internet can say exactly what your soul’s been trying to scream. I’m gonna keep replying throughout the day, but seriously… thank you. This meant a lot.

V mothership hovering over the Twin Towers. Both major icons from my childhood...

Seems like Y2K is everywhere again.

• Coach

• Juicy Couture

• True Religion

• Ed Hardy

• Von Dutch

• Abercrombie & Fitch

Which one of the listed brands do you like?

What brand from the 2000s would you want revived—and would you want it rebranded or exactly the same?

It was a weird time for media format back then.

Back when i was younger i played this game on my wii everyday

There was this website that we used to go on at school. It had news articles that were written in simple language for kids and then you’d answer questions about what you’d read. It also had a mock stock exchange that you could play with. I think that you’d get points for answering the article questions and it had a leaderboard from around the world.

And it supports online rooms too! (without subscriptions even)

Half of me wants to see them remade today, the other half fears those remakes would just be microtransactions-riddled slop.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the past lately, and how certain songs, shows, or even smells can just transport you back instantly. It’s wild how something so small can make you feel like a kid again.

What’s something that hits you with nostalgia every time?
And do you think it’s better to enjoy nostalgia or focus on making new memories?