“What is that sound? , sound like a train in movement. And why are all those people screaming? Are they afraid, or having fun? ” These were my thoughts the very first time I went to Six Flags Mexico, and it’s also one of the oldest memories I have. My parents took me there for the first time when I was almost two years old. The only thing I remember is Bugs Bunny taking a peek inside my stroller and my dad telling me to say hi.
I started remembering this when I was in my early teenage years, I guess that watching Looney Tunes cartoons was what triggered my memory. Like this memory, I have many more, some are clearer than others and even “longer” than this one. Any sense can trigger a memory, even smelling certain scents take me back to a specific day or event. For example, whenever there’s a strong scent of something natural, like a plant, I remember my elementary biology teacher. She used to wear a perfume that smelled like nature in a bottle.
But whenever I smell paella, it brings back both funny and bad memories. My family had gone to Costco to buy a paella for a Saturday get-together and when my mom heated it in the oven, it made the entire house stink, it was a bad batch or something, but I remember we had to get out of the house for hours until the smell had gone down. As for hearing, I guess that music is what has the most impact for me and helps me remember, or sounds like crickets remind me of late nights at the beach in Cancun.
Taste is probably the funnest one, because it catches you off guard. Even though you may think you know exactly how something tastes, it can go a lot differently. For me, whenever I have a hot white chocolate with mint at Starbucks I remember several Christmas dinners. When I touch one of my favorite sweatshirts, I always remember how my mom stuck it in the dryer and it became all starchy. When I see a girl with a peach blouse or accessory I immediately think of my mom and how that is her favorite color.
I also remember one of my best friends when I see anything that has a kind of mint shade and how we spent an entire day searching for a tie that would match his date’s dress. But then there are also times when I try to remember things and I can’t. When that happens, I can literally only concentrate in remembering, if I can’t remember, I simply can’t focus on anything else and I get stressed out. For example, on Monday I was about to leave my house when I realized I had lost my car keys. I was obviously stressing out, even though I was going to get to school early.
I started looking for them all over the place until I decided to go back and trace my steps from the day before. Of course it didn’t work the first time, it worked until the third time because every time I started, I started from inside the house. And believe it or not, I had actually left my keys on the doorknob. I know, I was in a hurry and didn’t notice, I’m just thankful no one else noticed. One thing I definitely like about memory is that you not only are able to remember what happened but also you can remember how you felt.
An example of this is one memory about my mission that always makes laugh like crazy. My companion was from another country, we were serving in Mexico. That day the family that invited us to dinner were going to make tacos. My companion was so excited that he ate almost 12 tacos with several spoons of spicy salsa. That was a big mistake because 2 hours later, we were walking back to home, and my companion started having a stomachache. We did not make it to the house in time for him to go to the restroom, so, he crapped his pants.
Every time I remember that day I start laughing like a kid, because I can feel everything like it was yesterday. The same happen with bad and sad memories. I can feel the same pain I felt a year ago when one of my friends died in a motorcycle accident or when my sister told me she was going to divorce because her husband told her he does not want to be with her anymore without reasons. That kind of bad and sad memories come to my mind every time I have problems in my life. I think memories can help us to learn how to avoid bad experiences.
If you are going to fall out in the same mistakes you made before, it would be really helpful to remember what do you feel when you made the same mistake in the past, that would help you to take the decision of do not do it again. Memory is and always will be a blessing, we shouldn’t take it for granted, especially knowing that not all people can enjoy it. I would recomend to write down all your memories, is a cool idea to do not let memories die. Be aware that exercising the mind is just as important as exercising the body.
