Amrita; Week 13 - Forgetfulness and Growth

Forgetfulness and Growth

There's a strange dichotomy in the human experience when it comes to memory. Sometimes, I find myself wishing I could remember every single detail of my life, from the mundane to the monumental. There's a nagging curiosity about what I might be missing, feeling like there are gaps in my understanding of who I am and where I’ve been. It's unsettling to think that there are moments I've lived, and experiences I've had, that I can't recall.

At one point, I was too young to form memories. From when I was born to the age of around 4, I lived in Texas. While my family’s recollection of the years seems clear and detailed, mine is vague. When these years are brought up in family discussions, I feel out of the loop and almost as if I didn’t exist in my family during that time.


To me, forgetfulness has always come with disappointment. Realizing that I’ve forgotten to do something, whether trivial or significant, during the day spurs shame and guilt within me. In these moments, I wish that my memory was completely faultless. 


However, as much as I sometimes wish for the ability to recall everything perfectly, there’s a flip side to it. Forgetting things can actually be a blessing in disguise. Memories, especially the painful ones, have a way of weighing us down, clouding our judgment, and influencing our decisions.


Forgetting allows for the chance to start fresh, let go of the past, and focus on the present and future. It’s a reminder that life isn’t just about what we remember, but also what we do with the moments we have now. 


So, while I sometimes wish that I could remember everything, I’m also grateful for the times when forgetting things gives me a chance to breathe, let go, and move forward. Forgetting is an essential part of the human experience. It’s a reminder that we are not defined by our past, but rather by our capacity to embrace the present and shape the future.









Comments

  1. Hi Amrita! My family, before I was born, lived in Texas too. My sister, who got the experience to live in a big house in Texas, was quite young at the time. Throughout the years, I’ve noticed that when my mom recounts certain memories from back then, my sister seems to be lost, just like you. Her eyebrows always furrow in confusion, and her face is always blank. As we grow older, our memories from our younger days fade. Even now, my memory fails me every single day. I would forget to do homework or forget the ominous test I have the next day. In your blog, I like how you share your “disappointment” of forgetting “to do something.” It is definitely a sentiment I share too. Yet, you also describe how forgetting can be a “blessing in disguise.” Forgetting is an annoying phenomenon, but I would love if I could completely forget painful and embarrassing memories. Unfortunately, I always seem to remember the bad memories rather than the good ones. Overall, I love your style of writing, and your blog made me appreciate the process of forgetting, even if it does get frustrating at times. I look forward to your next blog!

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  2. Hi Amrita! I was taken aback by how deep and insightful your blog this week was. I was initially drawn in by your hook, mentioning a “strange dichotomy in the human experience” that I was eager to hear more about. I enjoyed the creative adjectives that you used, personifying curiosity by describing it as “nagging” and using alliteration within the comparison of “mundane” and “monumental.” Similar to your unfamiliarity with your life in Texas, I also lived in Colorado up until the age of four and recall hardly any of it—the way you described having a life that doesn’t really feel yours was entirely relatable. Despite seeing pictures of an unfamiliar house, seeing pictures of unfamiliar faces, and hearing stories that feel like just that—stories—rather than a recollection, there is no choice but to embrace it as your own. I also enjoyed how inspiring and ultimately convincing your arguments on forgetfulness were. I completely agree that if we didn’t have the ability to forget, regret wouldn’t let us move forward. Thank you for your thoughtful blog!

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  3. OMG Amrita we are literally on the same wavelength right now, I literally wrote such a similar blog to you this week about forgetting to do everything including the blog. It's so wild that we both had the same idea about how we both forget to do things and how it impacts our day to day lives. I really had to agree with everything you said, sometimes I absolutely hate myself for forgetting to do something, and at the same time, I like it when I forget things too because I usually am less stressed over everything. I also do sometimes wish that I could remember everything I want to remember and forget everything that I want to forget, however, we cannot have a perfect life, and sometimes we just have to live with our own mistakes.
    Also I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your POAS presentation about Drake this past week, I really thought you were one of the best presentations that I watched this week and I really enjoyed being able to learn more about such a well known pop star. Keep up the good work, and I really wish I had more opportunities to watch you present about whatever topic, it's so entertaining and its genuinely one of the best things I've seen.

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  4. Hi Amrita! I found your blog to be quite insightful as I was also recently wondering about all the memories that I cannot remember. I too cannot remember most of my early childhood, despite spending majority of my life living here, in Fremont. The earliest memory I have is probably living in an apartment with my family. It's so peculiar to think that so many funny stories from when I was just a baby are only known due to the fact that my parents constantly tell me about them, but I on the other hand, cannot recall a single thing. However, it was the way in which you related this aspect of our lives to the idea of growth, and "letting go of the past", is something that made your blog all the more enjoyable, and also a great learning experience!

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