Butterflies

Nostalgia

Tanya's P.O.V.

Year: 2021

Nostalgia is a funny thing. One song or one smell can throw you back into a different lifetime. Literally.

This is how it happened for me. The problem is, most people can remember the moment that causes the longing in their soul, the void in their heart. Whether it be an old cartoon they used to watch, or the swing set they broke their arm on as a kid, they vividly remember the good ol' days. So tell me, how does one feel nostalgia for something that happened a good thirty years before they were even born? It's still the same feeling, still passionately clinging on to the past...but not exactly remembering what the past was.

This brings me to one fateful day in history class, September 26, 2021. Each tick of the clock was a little chuckle, a little mockery of all of the poor students who had to sit through the most boring class of all time. As Mr. Billboard droned on about Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, I doodled flowers in my notebook. You could tell the teacher didn't gave less of a crap about the subject than the students did, and well, that's saying something. He finally just gave up.

"Well, kids, that seems like enough listening for today. Y'know, the eighties were quite a year in pop culture. Massive hair, bright colors, leg warmers, those were the stuff back then. And music was actually good! How about we just watch a little Michael Jackson for the rest of the class, you guys will see what I mean."

There was that name again. As a seventh grader in 2021, I'd heard the name a few times, and I knew he was a famous singer, but I didn't know much about Mr. Michael Jackson at all. The name intrigued me though. In fact, it was the most intriguing name I'd ever heard. Whenever I'd hear it, something strange would happen. My stomach would feel all fluttery, like a million butterflies were inside of me. A rush of emotion would flood me. Happiness, sadness, pain, love, and passion all at the same time. One thing was for certain. I was hopelessly nostalgic. Whenever I'd hear the name, I'd feel like the walls around me were closing in on me. I just wanted to fly away to another place and time. Why I never just googled the name, I have no idea. I shoulda had more common sense as a kid.

All the sudden, I went from drooling out of my mouth from boredom to sitting at the edge of my chair. I wanted to see who this guy was. Mr. Billboard pulled up a fuzzy video from 1984. From the first few opening measures, it's like I was zapped to another state of consciousness.

"She was more like a beauty queen, from a movie scene.."

I was in history class, but now I was on stage, performing for a sea of frantic fans, shouting "Michael! Michael!" I was moving so effortlessly, like I was defying gravity. One kick of the leg, a double spin, then a moonwalk across the stage. I recalled it like I'd done it a million times before. A big, sparkly, Mickey-Mouse-like glove came into view. I could see a strand of black, curly hair dangling in front of my face. It's like every light in the universe was shining down upon me. I was the star. I was on top of the world. Then the song ended. And I was a student in Mr. Billboard's history class once again.

I looked around, dazed and confused as to why no one else had entered the alternate reality I had. They still looked bored out of their minds!! They were also all staring at me. My friend Brandon gave me a smirk.

"Did you have fun over there?" He asked with a chuckle.

"What?" I asked, still trying to pull myself into reality.

"You were dancing in your seat, it was quite funny," he said.

"Oh," I said as my face turned into the color of a strawberry. I embarrass easily.

I took a sigh, and the bell excused us. Last class of the day. I could finally get to go home.

One might ask how I'm so certain that I'm the reincarnation of the greatest pop star of all time. It sounds narcissistic to say the least. I know that if any old guy came up to me and said they are the reincarnation of a famous musician, my first response would be, "Yeah, and I was really born with a cat's tail." Just hang in there. I can feel your disbelief, but I have legitimate proof.