Photo by Betsy Burrow
I’ve always been sentimental. Maybe even a little too sentimental.
Growing up, I formed attachments to things easily — my favorite stuffed animal, a new book or even an old pair of shoes that were two sizes too small. This carried over into my teenage and now college years, as I have several memory boxes across all the different places I call home.
From film photo booth strips to handwritten notes to pieces of confetti from concerts, everything holds meaning to me. Nothing is thrown away, and nothing is forgotten. Each time I return home from college, I turn on my favorite playlist, entitled “a simpler time,” and I go through every birthday card, every receipt and everything in between. I smile, I cry and I laugh.
It should be no surprise, then, that I’m a dweller. I often think back to the times when my homework consisted of coloring pages and my biggest worry was what flavor ice cream to get from the Thrifty stand inside Rite Aid.
After years spent wishing things could go back to the way they once were, one day it dawned on me — the past is not something to dwell on but something to celebrate. The past shapes us, teaches us and inspires us, and that is a beautiful thing.
My inspiration for this magazine comes from the prominence of time and the past in my life. I see the past as a sole definer of who I am today, whether it’s through my taste in old music, the mass amount of vintage clothes in my closet or the lessons I carry with me through each day.
Through revisiting history, discovering ways people remember the past, how people are creating their own marks in history and exploring the ways we still revert to the past, I hope this magazine captures the simplicity of life that the past can help remind us of.
Among these pages, you will find stories about growing up to emulate the images of our parents, how our shoes serve as time capsules of each place we have been, how vastly Pepperdine and Malibu have changed and more.
After reading and seeing the beautiful stories inside, I hope you feel a little more nostalgic, a little more grateful, a little more seen and a little more inclined to appreciate your past. Whether it be a handwritten letter or a small gift, give someone that new item for their memory box. Capture the photograph that will stand the test of time. Create the stories that will someday become history.
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Contact Amanda Monahan via email: amanda.monahan@pepperdine.edu or via Instagram: @amandamonahanjournalism
