# Do you reminisce much about your past? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632 "2022-11-27T14:50:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/21 "2022-11-27T23:36:57Z")
I don’t think I reminisce too much, at least in the sense of the OP. Nobody in my family even still lives in the _state_ where I was born, so there’s nothing to jog my memory of my childhood. My parents (both still alive, thank goodness) have moved 11 times since I’ve been born. Because I moved with them so many times I generally have not kept in touch with many people. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/22 "2022-11-28T15:54:47Z")
Over the holidays, I spent time at my grandma’s house on the river. The property has been in the family throughout my life. I spent many happy summer vacations there, and lived there with my grandmother for a few years during high school. The other day, I looked around at all the things that have changed in the last fifty years, and thought, “After Grandma dies, I don’t care if I never come back here again.” I spend a lot of time thinking about the past, but I don’t enjoy it. It’s been decades of blunders and ugly behavior (both my own and other people’s). If I could press a magic button and wipe out all my memories, good and bad…well, I don’t know. I’d certainly consider it. It’s not that my life has been such a dreadful tragedy, but it’s my nature to dwell on the horrific parts to the detriment of my current happiness. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/23 "2022-11-28T16:00:28Z")
I can’t think for two minutes about my past and not get pissed off about something. It’s better that I don’t think about stuff from more than four years ago. Thinking about the past four years, on the other hand, is just boring. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/24 "2022-11-28T16:01:19Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > If I could press a magic button and wipe out all my memories, good and bad…well, I don’t know. I’d certainly consider it. Sign me up! My life was "good’ and I was never miserable, but my memories tend to focus on the bad stuff, stupid things I did, etc. I wish it would just all go away…especially at 3 in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/25 "2022-11-28T16:09:40Z")
“Reminisce” implies something pleasant, or at least bittersweet. What I do is sit in judgement of the many stupid things I’ve done in my life, and rue the fact that I can do nothing to erase them and the pain they cause. Best not to dwell there any longer than necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/26 "2022-11-28T16:10:40Z")
Everyone thinks about the past, as that’s the only experiences they’ve had. The future isn’t here yet, so everything is in the past. One can think about what they _hope_ the future will be; I hope that I’ll be going to Costco today, but any number of things could prevent that. Now, _longing_ for the past is different, and there’s already a thread on that. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/27 "2022-11-28T23:17:27Z")
Not commonly, until quite recently. Part of the transition to being old. Oldish. I remember people and events and places in my past and sort of muse on them. Trying to fit them into the puzzle. The awful doesn’t trouble me the way it used to, and so many people have died. I want to honor them. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/28 "2022-11-28T23:21:33Z")
“Sundown, yellow moon I replay the past I know every scene by heart They all went by so fast” If You See Her, Say Hello – by Bob Dylan ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632/29 "2022-11-29T02:05:35Z")
Starting in college, I was part of a large and very social group. I was the official photographer and I have many hundreds of pictures of trips, parties, and just hanging out, mostly from our 20s and 30s before careers and babies took precedence. Over the years I’ve scanned and posted a lot of these on Facebook. In fact, I’m getting rid of my desktop PC so right now I’m going through them to upload most to the cloud. I often post unseen ones to celebrate or remember something or someone. So, yes, I do reminisce about the past a lot. I’m still friends with most of the people (coming on 50 years now) and when we get together, it never fails that something will trigger a memory and a story will get told that we’ve all heard dozens of times and still laugh about. I often said that when we all retired, we would hang out and be wild and crazy again but Covid has put a damper on that so far. But we are still making memories we will reminisce about in 20 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-reminisce-much-about-your-past/975632.md?page=1)