Romanticism

I'm attracted to the romanticism of academia and minimalism from the 1960s-70s. I can't help it, but be drawn to these aesthetics. Film photography, writing in journals with an ink pen, reading physical books, drinking tea or simple talking walks and talking about philosophy. So why is it that we struggle to let go of the past or hold onto the past as if it was better than where we are now? To put it simple why do we romanticise the past?