Nostalgic for a Time We Never Knew

Justin Timberlake

Emmy Rossum just had an album come out called "Sentimental Journey" with American standards on it. Justin Timberlake came out with an album of music that reflects the style of the 1960s and soul. The Fall 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week featured silhouettes akin to the high fashion of the 1940s and 1950s. Are we looking back and being nostalgic for a time we never knew?

Whenever I listen to Ella Fitzgerald or Louis Armstrong I feel like I'm transported back to a romantic time. Hollywood was full of "old" glamour, there was a standard of etiquette that everyone had, and it seems like it was simpler than current times. I know it's just a feeling, and that there were problems and scandals back then, but it's fascinating that people in their mid to late 20s are wanting to bring that feeling along into the 21st century.

And the way fashion is going right now, the younger girls are headed back to the 80s, but the business ladies and more dressed up women have silhouettes straight out of the 50s. I love it! As someone in their mid-20s who does not want to have all of their skin showing, it's refreshing to see necklines higher and hemlines longer.

I think that we are getting to the point where technology is continuing and the world is going faster and faster, and there are some of us who are tired of it. At 24, I'm exhausted! Just this morning Apple said they're going to be coming out next year with a ring that will be a remote for the new Apple TV. Reports earlier in the week mentioned that the new iPhone could come out as early as this summer (didn't we just get the iPhone 5?!). It feels like we never slow down. I would love to go back to a time in which men were romantic, children were polite, and hemlines were closer to our knees.

Until I figure out how to build a time machine, I think I'll just put on the "Sentimental Journey" album and let "These Foolish Things" pass.

Emmy Rossum

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi

Almost 10,000 Hits!

I'm 24 and I graduated from college almost a year ago. I'm engaged and planning our wedding for this summer. My fiancé and I live together in a small apartment close to the high school where he is the choir director and theory teacher.

I started the ChickOpinion blog in late August as a way to stay connected with the world while I dealt with my fibromyalgia diagnosis. I've talked about politics, social issues, religion, and personal struggle. I've also gotten almost 10,000 hits in less than six months! I know that that's not "viral," by any means, but it seems like a lot to me. :-) I've also gotten 6,000 hits on my website that I started a few months ago.

I am still unemployed. I've applied for over 50 jobs and haven't gotten any of them. Granted, I've got fibromyalgia so that limits the kind of job I can have. But it's not like I'm not keeping busy--I have a wedding coming up, I'm opening an Etsy shop (today, hopefully, if I can figure out the tax code!), and I do a lot of the household chores.

So how is it that I still feel like I'm just on the brink of something big? I know that a lot of us dream of doing something that gets attention on a big scale. I used to want to be a well-known inner-city teacher, something akin to Erin Gruwell (the "Freedom Writers" teacher). Then I wanted to be an amazing education researcher, published in all the great journals. With the fibromyalgia diagnosis, all of that was put on hold, but I don't think the passion is gone.

I've always had this drive and a knowledge that I can do something bigger than what I'm doing at any given time. I also have an intense urge to help people. I'm really good at social media networking and I feel like that's going to do something for me sometime soon. Hopefully. I'm not necessarily on the drive to be "famous." I don't want to come off like that. I just want to use the abilities I have to help other people, whether it be fibromyalgia patients, third-culture kids (I guess I should do a story on this soon), or smart unemployed young people.

The hats and scarves my Mom and I sent to Hurricane Sandy victims.

So, whether it be through writing, fashion, education, or volunteering, I hope I inspire you. Please keep sending me your stories--they inspire me every day!

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." --Gandhi