The Human Phenomenon: Memories

“Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember.”- Seneca. The human mind is susceptible to change. And change is prompted from experience that is attained from the past – your memories. Memories hinder the present and integrate the past into the present.

Our past is vital for our personal successes and survival on the Earth. We learn morals or lessons from the past. We use the knowledge and experience we accumulate over the years, and apply it to the present. Without the past, we are simply a society without knowledge. Think of the horrid mid-term exams we all must take at some point. The first time we take these ghastly tests, we have a vague idea of what to expect. As we gain experience in taking these tests, our study habits change. We plan our time more efficiently, we study indistinct facts and most importantly, we stress less since we’ve had experience. But the past doesn’t only hold knowledge and productive intimations. It holds precious times we had with our loved ones. Those memories of our 6th birthdays and riding without the training wheels are priceless. Memories are forever.

Although memories do offer us beneficial skills and experience, they hold dark and pessimistic times in our lives. However, even though this is evident, these painful memories do benefit us psychologically. Think of unspeakable events in our life that involve abuse, verbal and/or physical. We are still standing today; we made it through those dark days. This gives us confidence to endure obstacles that may come upon us. Overall, the familiarity of trudging through these dreadful times gives us a strong sense of assurance, hope and confidence.

In my early childhood days, I was a very chivalrous, yet playful person. My parents tended to spoil me with toys and video games. However, I didn’t abuse this privilege. From the age of 4, I recall playing games such as “Donkey Kong”. My Dad dedicated so much of his time to playing these games with me. This increased my social skills as I was interacting with my father with the multiplayer capabilities of the video games. Simultaneously, my literary skills were escalating as the video games I played offered in-game instructions on the controls, objectives and etc. to read. My imagination was highly active and I posed many hypothetical scenarios in elementary school. I excelled in writing, due to my extensive imagination.

Those early days of playing games led up to the successful individual I am today. To this day I still do have an active imagination, I am intelligent, and most of all, I wouldn’t mind setting aside some time to play some “Donkey Kong”! This shows that the past integrates or connects with the present.