They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life, and I love thinking about the past. I used to think nostalgia was distracting me from my career, but I soon realized it was the other way around: My career was distracting me from being nostalgic 24/7. Here’s why I quit my well-paying job to focus on just being super nostalgic full-time.
I’ve been nostalgic for as long as I can remember: Each morning when I wake up, I think about yesterday and the day before that. Every time I pass an elementary school, I can’t help but think about all the good times I’ve had passing elementary schools before that. I constantly walk into situations and think “Ooh, I’m going to miss this when it’s over,” and boy, am I always correct.
My work performance started to suffer because I’d spend so much time thinking about the past that I couldn’t finish any task until it was technically due “yesterday.” Then it hit me: All the hours I spent doing “direct-to-consumer marketing” and “non-profit work” were hours I could instead spend thinking about my childhood, which remains one of my favorite pastimes. I needed to quit, but more importantly, I needed to think about the last time I quit a job and wonder what it ever felt like to be so young.
I gave my boss my two-weeks’ notice, then spent those two weeks fantasizing about the future, which I’d never done before! Just thinking about that time in my life makes me miss it, which is super on-brand for me.
Since quitting my job to focus on being nostalgic full-time, I’ve never been happier. Sure, I have no money, but turns out when you spend your days being nostalgic, you can nourish your body on the meals of your mind’s eye. I may be severely Vitamin B deficient, but I am “Vitamin Me” rich. Doctors have informed me this is not a medical term, but I’ve been too busy thinking about the 80s to care.
One of the best parts of being nostalgic full-time is that I have so many coworkers I love, or rather, figures from my past whom I fixate on. I get wistful just thinking about it.
If you find yourself being constantly nostalgic, maybe this path is right for you, too! Or maybe you should just go see a Dave Matthews cover band. To each their own!
