The golden sunlight shone through our windows, calling out to all the kids in the apartment complex that it was finally time for us to go out and play. After much begging and convincing, moms and dads finally let their children out with the constant reminder to “be careful!”
Those kids played together almost every single day, running through their neighborhoods and around the houses, shouting, “Catch me if you can!” They created secret, magical potions with the leaves and flowers they found scattered around them.
Those were the memories that stuck with me when I thought of a time I wish I could go back to. I miss those days when all the kids in the apartment complex would mingle and giggle, creating such soft, vivid memories that I still find myself pondering.
I’m sure we’ve all heard or been asked the question: “If we could travel back in time to any moment, what time would we choose? “
Many might say the well-liked year of 2016, when everything felt real and euphoric. From EDM songs climbing the top 20 charts to bright dyed hairs and people filming Musical.ly videos, social media was filled with posts that now seemed cringey but were surprisingly freeing.
Little me was 10 years old at that time, with a mind of her own. I can strongly attest there was a completely different energy back then that encouraged my friends and I to post dance videos and stories that we now look back at and wonder about how silly we were.
What were we thinking when we posted that?
Yet, that sense of freedom came from not having to think too much about whether we might be judged or laughed at for what we posted. Everyone was doing the same thing. Everyone was the main character of their own story.
That’s what made life in 2016 feel so radiant and different from the other years, leaving us longing to recreate that same feeling.
It’s now officially October of 2026, and soon, fall music and Halloween costumes will be circulating across the internet, accompanied by countless new trend. Before long, November will arrive, brining Thanksgiving and the long-awaited holiday plans many will celebrate with family and friends.
Before we know it, December 2026 will be here, and Mariah Carey’s famous “All I want for Christmas Is You” will be bursting through hundreds of radio stations. Coffee shops will also be rolling out their special holiday drinks, serving up Christmas in a cup with extra, extra sugar.
Thinking about all the new, cozy and giddy memories we have ahead of us makes me, along with countless others, look forward to the times to come. The feeling and opportunity we have to be able to dream, and await for such times kindles—a life worth cherishing.
We live at a rapid pace, with bills to pay, mouths to feed, work to be done, and hence, leaving no room to savor time running far ahead of us. But, our bodies weren’t built for surviving such a whirlwind of a life, or to have to rethink five or twenty times before posting something on the internet.
As cringey as it may sound, life should be about creating memories we can look back on, and not regret spending it how we currently do. Appreciating every second, and living in the present is what matters, and a gift to the child within us, because we are the main characters of our own stories.
If you could travel back in time, where would you go? Let us know @HerCampusSJSU.