Durga Kurupath Week #13: BFFs...Forever...and Ever...
As I struggled to think of a topic about memories, I tried to trace back to the oldest memory I had. All I could think of was my first friend, Rebecca. In preschool, when it was nap time and all of us had to sleep in our respective cots, me and Rebecca were incapable of shutting up. Even when the teacher told us to keep quiet multiple times, we were too caught up in each other. Honestly, now that I think about it, I should've just slept so I wouldn't be so sleep deprived now (this turned into a petition to make high schools give us nap time, by the way). At last, our teacher told us to come to her desk and although we were scared of getting in trouble, she simply commemorated our strong friendship. She took a picture of us and framed it, and all three of us started decorating it with seashells. I always think back to this moment because I never realized how much I took it for granted. My experiences with my first friend.
In most cases, all of us remember our first ever friend. Even though humans don't really consolidate memories up until we are 4 or 5, there are some exceptions. People look back on their nostalgic memories because it shapes a lot of our identity today. Our very first friend is one's first exposure to a human connection beyond family. We remember it because they validate us, become our personal partners in crime to play with, and are people we trust to tell our deepest secrets to. Unlike family, it's different because it broadens one's scope of the world and instills a sense of independence in being one's own character and forming meaningful relations to others. It's a double life that differentiates those we care about at home and school.
Even though individuals will make an infinite amount of friends in a lifetime, there is always a blueprint that we refer to because they show us the power of "firsts." As much as there is a need to appreciate those who are in front of us, it's equally as important to show gratitude to those who we based our foundation of principles off of.
Hi Durga,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog and I can also say that I remember my first friends. However, looking back on any memories that I have of them, they are extremely faint, however I can almost remember their faces as clear as day. I was probably friends with them for around one school year, so it makes sense why I cannot remember anything that significant, however the significance lies within how I still remember their names and how they look. Also, after reading your own story about your first friend as well as your teacher at that time, it also made me think about how important teachers and adults are in helping form lasting memories in your life. Usually, teachers are extremely dismissive if you are interrupting class, but I feel like more teachers should be like the one that you had. After all, if you are even in elementary school, I feel like learning cannot be as important as building that foundation of relationships between others which might last an entire lifetime.
Hi Durga! First of all, your story at the beginning of this blog post about you and your first friend Rebecca is really wholesome, and the way you depict it is just as funny and a joy to read. The way it then segues into the importance of that first friendship we form at an early age is smooth and makes the content from there more engaging to read and absorb. I agree that nostalgia shapes a lot of our identity today because what we do in the past will shape who we are in the future; the first friend we make in preschool, in this case, definitely shapes the foundation of how we view human connection beyond the family we live with for the rest of our lives. A very informative and touching blog post you have written, thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteHi Durga! I remember preschool friends like no other, and have often joked that preschool was the very pinnacle of my life thus far. I think these early friendships, these first friendships, hold us in such a chokehold because of the lack of pressure that surrounds them. Even today, myself and my friends are often not concerned with any school politics, any unspoken social hierarchy. But especially as little kids, these thoughts never once resided in our minds. I think firsts of any characteristic tend to have this impact on an individual. This is why people find themselves becoming strangely attached to their first love, their first friends, their childhood home. Thank you for sharing!
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