Why Our Earliest Childhood Memory Is Crucial And Why You Should Hold Yours Dearly Forever
We all have funny moments in our childhood. One of the most important memories we all remember is our first one. It might have been a moment you realized you first loved ice cream or a moment that you dreaded since. Some may argue that childhood memories have less relevance, but everyone with a working spinal cord will agree that they shape who you are in ways even you can’t comprehend. I, for one, had my scarring traumatizing experience when my babysitter told me Harry Potter was real, and that Hogwarts was an actual school where magical people like us existed. My young mind couldn’t come to terms with the deception that JK Rowling is the only sorceress of the bunch. So, why is our earliest childhood memory your most precious memory?
Because it’s your foundation.
Your first-ever memory establishes a baseline for who you truly are. Some may argue that the memory you first grasped is formed at an age where language has not been fully developed, but the concept may seem oversimplified considering how these memories generate the foundation of either good or evil. It shapes your understanding of risk-taking and social issues that you may deal with the rest of your life. Early experiences cause us to become easily excited, fearful, or reserved in some senses, and as we age, new memories stack upon the previous ones, raising the curtain of life.
Because it’s a part of your story.
What’s your story? Even if you’re not the protagonist, every person is a vital character in a vital plot that mostly follows an arc in terms of character development. Whether your story goes to acclaim, to sadness, to laughter, or to fear, your story is important because it’s all yours. Having the memory cornered somewhere in the back of your mind anchors you to a specific timeline that goes hand-in-hand with everything else that has made an impact in your life. In a sense, you’re writing the story of you, with a childhood memory placed there like the first alphabet of your prose.
Because it helps you connect with other people.
Your earliest memory helps shape your type. For example, I’m a fan of ice cream because it reminds me of that time when my dad took us to the beach, and we all had gigantic ice creams. It’s the earliest and fondest memory that I have with my pops. With that, I connect with other people who share the same enthusiasm for cars, high-quality headphones, and delicious low-fat ice cream. If you have a memory tied to a particular food or game, it’s much easier to have someone join you in an activity that you associate with those happy memories, and if you’re lucky enough to find someone with very similar memories, you might have found your best friend, that is until a girl comes along and steals him or them away.
That’s why you need to keep your memories safe.
Technology has made it easy for us to store our memories in the form of photographs, videos, or even blogs like this. In a digital age where people’s feeds are filled with photographs of the homemade dish they made, their newfound hobbies, and adventures, it’s important to realize one thing: No one can take your memories away. We are the ones in control of our story, and all we ever have to do is be honest with ourselves. Lately, I have been using these ring adapters to resize loose rings that no longer fit me. There’s no use in keeping them in a shoe box until they fit back again because every day counts, even if you don’t know how many of them left you truly have.
In conclusion, having your earliest memory as a defining moment is crucial to your story. Your foundation, part of your story, and a connective thread to people who share the same memories. And with modern technology making it easy for us to store these precious moments digitally, there are no excuses for not keeping hold of them and treasuring them. Especially since life itself is the gift that keeps on giving.
