Nichelle Week 14 - To Live is to Remember
To live is to remember. To discover oneself is to build a multitude of memories that will alter the way. Now think of a person whose specific memories were erased; they might grow up without specific phobias, they would have never have encountered an important figure in their lives, the possibilities are boundless.
A single memory can impact everything that follows that event, setting off a volatile chain reaction. It can even be the most insignificant of memories—without remembering to purchase groceries from the store, one would not be prompted to even go to the store, and without going to the store, that individual might circumvent encountering the person that would become their closest friend or lifelong companion.
Individual memories can hold large effects over the rest of an individual’s life, rippling across multiple aspects of a life. The memory of getting attacked by a cat when they were a child can establish a lasting fear of cats. Humans are impressionable, memories of things that happened around a person can manifest into their psyche. The memory of being treated unkindly consistently by loved ones can cause that individual to develop into a person that reciprocates that unkind treatment outside their household. On the contrary, someone raised in a household where they constantly have memories of being treated gently and with love, may go on to reflect this behavior onto the others in their life, as their memory tells them that is the manner in which it is acceptable to treat others.
Which memory would have the biggest impact on you if it could have been prevented from happening?
Hey Nichelle! We're actually learning about this in Psychology class right now. Phobias are often influenced by past experiences, trauma, or relationships. The ripple effect, like you said, can cause something random and seemingly insignificant to have a huge effect on someone's life. Small comments, looks, and moments influence how we think. This influences our behavior, thus shaping us as people. I honestly don't know what memory had the biggest impact on me, but I think any core memory that I had would've impacted me greatly if it didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteHi Nichelle! I agree that a single memory has the power to impact everything that follows that event in someone’s life, which sets up the individual for phobias and further exhibits how humans are impressionable. When I continued reading the blog post and repeating it to digest it, I cannot help but think about the butterfly effect, a theory affirming that even the flap of a butterfly’s wings will lead to a big storm; even the most insignificant memory can create ripples in how someone treats themselves and acts towards other people. I love the contrast in the examples you provided between someone treating others with indecency if raised with a lack of kindness by loved ones and another person reciprocating love to those they meet when brought up in a household that was deeply rooted in love and understanding; they reaffirm your idea that humans are easily influenced even amidst varying degrees of their ability to change from the environment they are living in. If there was one memory that I believed had the biggest impact on me if it could have been prevented from happening, it would be my move to California. I would’ve been more miserable living in Atlanta and going to school where most of the student body only continues to one-up each other and pursue bigotry than education. Great blog post, Nichelle!
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