Amani Khanna- Week 13: Reminiscing
Memories are a pathway into the past; one of the closest things we have to time travel. We are quite literally living prior events within our very minds. Now, it is obviously not this complex of a situation, but memories are still extremely important. They give us fragments of places, people, things, and everything that we miss.
Often, I find myself remembering things at the oddest times. I will be in the process of finishing my homework, when suddenly the image of what happened at the beach last weekend appears in my head. I wonder what triggers these vivid images. Nothing I am doing at the moment is even remotely close to what happened during the time of the actual event. My favorite occurrence of this situation is while I am missing someone important to me. I feel upset that I am unable to see them, but I remember what took place the last time I saw them. It reassures me to know how happy I make others feel and vice versa.
The worst ones happen when I randomly remember something embarrassing that I said or did. The feeling of secondhand embarrassment is overwhelming. I tend to overthink and make the situation worse than it really was, but even these feelings are important to endure.
For me, memories don’t just bring back images, but smells and sounds too. I can recall some of my favorite smells of foods, people, places, and just about everything. Further, smells in the present can also take me back to those times. For example, the smell of a specific type of perfume will remind me of a hug that one of my friends gave me, wearing that same perfume.
Memories provide me with internal assurance that I have had a wonderful life with the people that I love and there is so much more to come.
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Hi Amani, I read your blog, and I find myself relating to a lot of your experiences with memory. I personally describe myself as having a memory of a goldfish, but I will have instances where I remember something vividly in the past. There will also be times where I experience deja vu, where I feel like I am reliving an experience from the past. It is in times like these that the phenomenon of memory truly amazes me.
ReplyDeleteHi Amani, I found your take on memory to be very interesting. It is really nice that these different and random images can sometimes be reassuring to you and help you feel happy. I also have some times like that where I remember a really fun family trip or a day when the weather was really nice. I also find it interesting how you said that memories can bring back different sounds and smells and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteHi Amani, your blog really helps me understand that a certain smell, taste, or sight which brings you back to past moments is all thanks to memories, and I think that's fascinating! It's pretty hard to think about a life where we couldn't recall our favorite memories or days for the thrill of it; but, we can, and that's all thanks to our wonderful brains!
ReplyDeleteI love this overall positive take on memory. Too often, we are quick to blame our “bad” memories for forgetting trivial things. Your examples indicate that the things that really matter, our connections with friends and family, are all stored in our minds for unexpected appearances!
ReplyDeleteHi Amani, I liked how you related memory to time travel. I never really thought about it but you are right, our memory allows us to relive something in the past. The only difference is that we can't change the past. If only though. That would be a cool idea, to be able to go into your memory and change something you wished you could fix. Alas we can't. Still our memory is an incredible thing and we should not soon forget that.
ReplyDeleteHey Amani, I relate to this so much and i hate it when this reminiscing brings up bad or embarrassing memories. However it is helpful when u remember some advice that u may need of like a task that was given that you may have forgotten to complete and still have time to complete.
ReplyDeleteHi Amani, even though we are already past the "power" section, I thought your post was a great example of the power of memories. They are clearly more than just images that play in our minds—a sufficiently vivid memory can act as a fully immersive experience. Even though they can sometimes be embarassing, and even though they often resurface at unexpected times, memories have always left me in awe of what the human mind is able to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteHi Amani, I agree that memories are like time travel. They help us remember things from the past, and at times we can place ourselves back into exact situations, recreating an experience. However, memories can be harmful, too. For example, we sometimes remember negative things which can ruin a mood. Memories are essential both ways because they can help us take the negatives from a situation and make it a positive.
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