As ol' Satchel Paige once said, "Don't look back" (and more).
I usually don't, but was "forced" to yesterday. I had lunch with an old college friend, whom I hadn't seen for 13 years. He became a minister (I, a science teacher), quite opposites. Religion never came up, thankfully.
What did come up was reminiscing about the good old days at Indiana University. Our "gang" of dormatory guys stuck together for four years. We really bonded and all graduated together.We studied together, played lots of euchre, ate together. (Obviously, the key word is "together"!).
My "world view" was dramatically altered during my college years, thanks to our bull sessions (sandwiched between classes, studying, euchre, eating, etc.). I became a liberal Democrat (much to the chagrin of my parents) and a religious skeptic. The latter was more due to my science classes than my buddies.
In the years following, and, in looking back, my college years in the early 1960s sheltered me from the real world. I was too self-absorbed in my friends and education to be aware of world events. Oh, I could never forget what I was doing when I heard about President Kennedy's asassination or the Cuban missile crisis. But I was ignorant of the "war on poverty", the fledgling space program, what was on television, or much else off campus. Perhaps I was generally aware, but not involved. I had more pressing issues. And, I was young.
The early 60s was a tumultuous period in America's history. I was there, yet I wasn't. My diary records MY life, not events outside of it. I wish I had been more aware of "history being made". Maybe that's why I don't look back very often. I can't remember what happened in the past!