The Girl Next Door

One of my favourite things to do is to track down an old movie I’ve not seen for years. I like to watch these films not only for the cinematic value but for the memories that are often unearthed. Memories of what was happening around the time when I originally watched the film. Something is unlocked in the sub-conscious that evokes incredibly provocative emotions.

The other night whilst waiting for Lee to come home from work, I lay awake watching The Girl Next Door, an absolutely atrocious film. When I watched it when I was fourteen I distinctly remember enjoying it greatly, if I had watched it for the first time the other night I would have probably switched over. The storyline was nothing special and the acting was rather dismal, though sat there watching it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a long time. This was purely down to the not so distant memories it unlocked. It’s rather amazing how film, music and art can do that.

Why this ever appealed to me is beyond me.
The Boy Next Door - Now that would have been appealing.

Each and every one of us is reminiscent of our past, whether it’s those happy childhood years, those lustful teenage years, those ambitious young adult years, or those hectic middle aged years: there is always something we’re looking back to.

I know I do, in my third year of university I think back to my first year: leaving home, setting up my very own living space, sitting on the window sill with the smell of freshly cut grass creeping in whilst I watched the topless muscular gardener… Hearing the opening few bars of Jump in the Pool instantly sends me back there.

It is only now as I reminisce I realise that although it is an important part of life to look back and remember fondly, it’s also important to appreciate the here and now. In a couple of years I know I will be looking back fondly to my third year of university and remembering how good things were, I won’t forget that. Appreciate each day, make memories; they’ll stick with you forever. After all memories shape who we are. What would we be without them?