Memories

Childhood memories are such an interesting concept. Do we really remember everything that happened when we were younger? Or do we just listen to stories from other people and formulate what we thought happened at that time? I’ve always wondered about memories and I always thought that the human brain was one of the most interesting things to study. As I sat in class the other day when we talked about childhood memories, I just couldn’t stop thinking about some memories I had as a child and whether or not they were real, or if I formulated them from the stories I’ve heard.

One memory that has always been in my mind probably happened when I was 3 or 4 years old. I was running in the park with my brother and grandmom’s dog. As we were playing fetch, I happened to catch the ball that my brother threw and was immediately tackled by my grandmom’s dog who was much bigger than I was. When I became older, around the age of 9 or 10 I was never truly comfortable around dogs and this memory would always seem to pop in my head. I also always seemed to wonder if this actually happened or if it was just some thought that has always been in my head as to why I was always uncomfortable around dogs.

As I finished class the other day and thought about childhood memories, I decided to call my older brother and ask if he recalled anything like this happening. His answer was somewhat surprising. He told me that he doesn’t remember that day and that it never happened. So where did this thought come from? I kept thinking and it’s possible that when I was younger I may have had an experience with another dog or this unfortunate event was just something I formulated when I was younger. Either way, the concept of this memory is still amazing to me and I’ve always wondered as to where it came from.

2 thoughts on “Memories

  1. Brandon Domenic Gentile

    I had a very similar experience as you did in regards to forming your own memory. When I was about 4 years old, I “recall” turning a triple play with my brother and best friend when we were in tee ball. All three of us had talked about that play and could even remember what positions we were playing at that time. However, when my dad, our coach at the time, heard us talking about it, he said he doesn’t remember that happening at all and that it couldn’t have happened because in tee ball, every player gets a chance to hit in an inning, so there is no set number of outs. This is very confusing to me because it’s a very vivid memory for my friend, brother, and I. So, I guess this is another example of creating your own memories.

  2. Carli Cathleen Truax

    Your post was very interesting to me. At first, I felt like I could easily relate to it since it seemed like a traumatic event. My first memory that I have is when I was five years old and I needed to get stitches in my head. I know this actually happened because there is still a scar on my head from it, and my parents have reassured me that the event occurred. However, I got attacked by a dog a few years ago and the memory is still so vivid to me. I assumed that this was your first memory because it was so traumatic for you. As soon as I began reading your post I thought this had to be real. I found it surprising how this really never happened to you. It is so strange how our minds work and we can think we remember something so vividly even when it actually didn’t even happen.

Leave a Reply