Memory is a tricky thing. It can be hard to know what memories are real, which ones are put in your head from an outside source, and which ones are blatantly false events that never happened. If a person is told a false event happened, they may initially deny it, but after a few days they may claim to remember said event as their imagination creates memories based on what was told to them. As Hyman and Billings showed us, it can be relatively easy to implant memories into a person’s head, especially when they are a trusted source, like a close friend. Or a childhood friend who was a deceptive and sassy little girl who didn’t like to be made fun of, such as myself with my friend April, whom I’ve known since before my memory developed enough to remember.

In sixth grade, I had my first kiss (scandalous, I know) from my first boyfriend in the bus loop at my middle school. April, who still was in the “boys have cooties” stage, saw the whole thing from the bus and I didn’t hear the end of it the whole bus ride home, about how boys were gross and how she couldn’t believe we had already kissed and what that meant for my ‘lip-virginity’… Oh sixth grade, such good times. So before the twenty minute bus ride was half over, I was bored of the questions and, being my sassy self, I quickly came up with a story to come back at her with. “You can’t talk, you kissed a boy in kindergarten.” A blatant lie that caused a confused and concerned look from April, who stuttered out “what – what are you talking about? I never kissed a boy in my whole life, nor do I ever want to.” So, amused by her blank look, I went on to tell her the story of how in kindergarten, Austin, an old mutual friend of ours, was playing at recess with her and dared her to kiss him, so she did; everyone knows you can’t pass up a dare, especially a double dog dare! After I described in great detail my completely made up story, she denied having any recollection of the event, as much as I insisted.

A few days passed until Monday came around, and once again I received a peck goodbye at the bus loop, and once again I got a look of disgust from my best friend. So again I brought up her kiss with Austin, adding even more details, until finally she got quiet and admitted the ultimate defeat. “Wait, oh my God, I think you’re right. I remember now, I was so nervous he would tell everyone! I made him go to the corner of the playground…” From that day on, I never got another judgmental look or eye roll for my scandalous sharing of cooties, and still to this day she believes that was her first kiss. Am I a bad friend? Of course not, I was simply performing a psychology study. I’ll tell her the truth one day. Maybe on her wedding day, in my maid of honor speech…