Dear friend,

Hey there, how’s it going?

Just the other day I found my old iPod Shuffle in the back of my nightstand drawer. Of all the iPods I’ve ever had, this one wasn’t as new or capable as the others, but it is by far my favorite. Shiny orange in color, with a custom engraving on the back reading, "Go Further. Research Now". This iPod has traveled with me as far as Melbourne as it had stuck with me on and off at the local gym for years. But with the advent of time and oh so many iPhone models, this little device got pushed bit by bit to the back of the drawer, that is until now.

After fumbling for an hour restoring the device and digging through multiple hard drives, I was finally able to load some music into it and got it working. Words can’t explain that precious feeling when the first music note of my favorite song hit my eardrum. I’m no audiophile, and so I can’t claim the music sounds any better than through my AirPods off my phone. But the fact that this 20+ year, screen-free device is still working, still able to play one of my favorite tunes is simply magical.

Along with my wired earphone gently tugging me every time I move my head, holding this cool-metallic, solidly built device is yeeting me back to a pre-darkest timeline. Like, what do you mean I can just skip to the next song with a simple press of a physical button — all without looking at any screens or evoking Siri? And what do you mean the song will just stay playable, without ever having to worry about logging in or spending hours fussing over unreliable syncing? (Looking at you, Apple Watch.)

Earlier this week I dove back in to load more songs into this itty bitty device. This time my iPod shuffle is now fully loaded with older songs from artists who either passed away or have since retired. Here in their new home, away from any cloud storage or algorithm, every song shuffled into my ears is a blissful, nostalgic, wonderful surprise. (The iPod is named “San Junipero”, by the way. Black Mirror fans, iykyk.)

Like so many of my favorite objects, my attachment to them come not from how much I paid for them or the quantity of which I possess, but the meaning instilled into them.

Nostalgia vs Declinism

Speaking of nostalgia, as an overly sensitive and all around overthinker, there has always been this guilt within me to not dwell in my past for too long. At my age, it’s all too easy to tuck back into memories of the past, where every vivid scene I recall share the same rose-colored, gaudy Helvetica filter built-in from OG Instagram.

In a recent interview between Sam Sanders and Clay Routledge, they discussed the difference between Nostalgia and Declinism (a term I honestly haven’t heard before). I've always thought of nostalgia simply as being fond of how things used to be and wanting to go back to a simpler time, but apparently those are two completely separate notions.

In the episode, Clay explained that people tend to tap in to Nostalgia during times of uncertainty and even loneliness, to not only self-soothe through a previously lived time, but also as a way to rediscover potential ways to solve the problems of today. The whole idea being, “if it worked before, then maybe it’ll work again.”

Whereas Declinism is strictly how everything is awful and the only way out is to return to the good old days. The vibe is not about finding solutions from the past than it is to simply avoid and fear the present at all cost. Their key example of Declinism is how Fox News and other conservative outlets who would create non-stop ragebait content, not to inform their audience but to keep them scared, outraged, and away from taking any action to make an actual difference in their world.

And I can see that difference between Nostalgia and Declinism, you know? Because when I reminisce my teenage and college years, it’s more about how I was able to set boundaries with my work and my phone, and not downright wishing iPhones and Airpods never existed. Whereas there are people in my life who would only watch movies from the 80s ”because the new stuff is too woke” and my immediate thought to them would be, “That’s like, not mindful, not demure at all.”

The best part of this podcast episode is that it grants me permission to dwell in nostalgia without carrying around this sense of guilt any more. I can close my eyes, press play in my iPod shuffle and let my 90s tunes inspire me today in 2026 and beyond.

“Back to the 90s” starter pack:

• Why you should work like it's the ’90s (The Atlantic)
• How to make nostalgia your psychological superpower (Podcast)
• FINNEAS - The 90s (YouTube)

And here's the rest of it…

Thanks for reading this and being with me on this journey. Reply or comment and let me know what’s going on in your world! (Hit me up on Bluesky)! You can also check out past issues of Dear Friend, here.

Here’s the rest of it:

• The photos I took this month
• Interesting enough to share but not enough to write about:
  • Charlie Puth - Home (feat. Hikaru Utada) (This was not on my 2026 Bingo Card)
  • Denise Ho - Rive-Sud, Montréal (Calling this my album of the year!)
  • Let's get physical: Singapore's seniors turn to parkour (I legit thought it was an April Fools’ joke)
  • 2026年你仲未識用 Excel 呢「一點」 (Cantonese + Excel Tutorial tickles a very particular part of my brain)
  • Miki - it stings a little though (Just a good vibe)
• Don't forget, I’m on Bluesky! DM me there!