Welcome Back To The Roaring Twenties

Nan's Plan Week 29

Buongiorno!

I want to take you back to a time when dinner conversation didn’t start with, “I saw this meme” but rather, “What is the destiny of the human race?”

Too deep now (this question will get you weird looks at weddings—trust me) but during the Renaissance of the fifteenth century, people talked like that. They pulled on threads of wonder and sewed together art, poetry, and architecture in Man’s likeness to depict humanism through beauty.

I explored the birth of the Renaissance this past week in Florence, Italy. I walked the Medici palaces, explored Dante’s childhood home, re-researched his journey into hell, marveled at the Duomo, gawked at Michelangelo’s David, and buried myself in heaps and heaps of pasta.

I am currently typing out this blog in the backseat of a large sprinter van full of my best friends. Our eyes are droopy with hangovers and our throats are hoarse from screaming. But our spirits are high because we spent all night celebrating our friends’ wedding in the Tuscan countryside.

But as mentioned, before we got to Borgo Stommennano (the wedding venue), a few of us spent two nights in Florence. And as we pushed our way through crowds and waited in line for gelato I kept thinking to myself, “A lot of people are traveling right now.” Despite loud news warnings of economic downturn, more people than ever seem to be up and away on adventures.

The world is vibrating with a pulse.

It’s not original to say that the COVID-19 pandemic had long-lasting effects on society. The threat of spreading a dangerous illness made traveling so risky, people retreated into their homes but also their personalities. Comfies replaced cocktail bars and Peloton rides replaced hiking a new trail. As a race, we got so used to eliminating risk that we forgot how to stomach it.

But now in 2025, roughly two years after the pandemic restrictions were completely lifted around the world… something is happening. I mentioned a pulse because that’s what it feels like.

Money is flowing, passports are getting stamped, wheels are up, and starving pandemic-confined humans are gorging themselves on connection, glamour, music, art, exploration, love, lust, stories, and life. We’re drinking life straight from the tap, ignoring any threat of diarrhea.

This era feels new to most of us but sounds eerily similar to a world we read about in school…

Welcome back to the roaring twenties.

The last time we experienced this (a whole century ago) Americans had been stripped of their ability to purchase alcohol. But prohibition didn’t just take away booze, it represented a time in our history where the government wanted people to live pure and be more subdued. But when you put humans in a cage and take away their freedoms, their breakout lifestyle will be a lot louder than anything you had before.

And I think that’s what’s happening. After being shackled to our homes, we’ve broken out. We’ve got money to spend and we’re spending it. And like the Renaissance captured ancient humanism through art, our roaring twenties is capturing human authenticity through life.

Outfits are curated to match the moment;

Mood boards are built to nail an aesthetic;

Books are popular again, drawing you into a story;

Dinners are lavish, becoming more ceremonial;

Trips are extensive, the world’s corners unfolding;

Parties are grander, inspiration is bountiful;

Music is louder, classic and new;

And best of all, it’s cool to be unique again.

Conformity and comfort have finally been eclipsed by bravery and individualism. I hope some amazing authors are rushing to capture the essence of this moment in time so that we won’t forget it. What classic novels will come out of our roaring twenties?

Through my lens, this world is pretty magical. But I know that through a lot of other lenses, it is pretty cruel. It would be reckless not to mention my privilege and that what came after the roaring twenties of the 1920s was the Great Depression. I’m sure if economists read this blog they will caution the influx of money and the disproportional distribution of wealth amongst humans.

I am very cognizant of my good fortune. But on the last leg of our trip, soaking up the sun on the island of Sardinia, I’m going to indulge myself in a few more days of the glittery ocean, the oil of fresh seafood, the softness of my sun-kissed skin, and the sweet nectar of choice—an elixir prohibited for years during the pandemic and pouring freely now.

I highly encourage you to join me in filling up your cup…

and joining the roar.

Always,

Recklessly Authentic

Nan