Playlist: Well, Well, Well

Proleptic nostalgia – The feeling of bittersweet longing for a moment that one is currently experiencing as if they were looking back on a memory.

I have spent the last month and a half living in a 14th-century castle in the Dutch countryside. I wake up to the sound of the local church bells, walk to class by crossing over a moat, and spend my free time wandering through verdant gardens or picturesque villages. Every night, I go to sleep fearing that when I arise this perfect illusion will fall away and someone will tell me this has all been a figment of my imagination or some Hollywood set. I constantly find myself asking how I could ever fully appreciate the privilege of this experience, worrying that I’m not taking advantage of the seconds that seem to pass by quicker everyday.

The composition of this playlist has allowed me to ground myself in this fantasy, finding the songs that capture the fleeting nature of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Songs that encapsulate the sentiment of something incredible slipping away before it was ever fully in your grasp, but still appreciating the experience regardless of the brevity. This playlist stands as an ode to playing cards at Belgian bars, the rolling countryside outside of a train headed to Berlin, or in my mind: the golden days.