Try this exercise:

Describe your feelings about a day in your life (or on a trip) a year ago in 100 words.

Now, describe your feelings about a day in your life (or on a current trip) today in 100 words.

While this exercise might cause you to be overly conscious of your word choice and tone, you might notice your sentiment is different between the two paragraphs. We tend to view the past with a sense of nostalgia. For some reason, it feels more romantic than today…maybe because it's unattainable and therefore desirable.

Travel writers do well for themselves if they can identify their own tendencies to see time with tinted glasses. Actually, I would make the argument that all people would benefit greatly from understanding how they perceive the time periods of their lives.

Analyze your own lasting impressions of notable periods in your life. In Thailand… Stockholm… the Amazon… when compared to your current state, do you find a difference in how you experience vs. how you remember?

Google "Live-in-the-moment" quotes, and you will find a slew of famous people and writers who have waxed poetic about how the only thing we have is the now. Truly capturing your experience of the now will lead to you finding your unique voice as a travel writer.