Will You Remember Me?
January 25, 2011 at 7:33 am | Posted in Friends Then and Now | 8 CommentsTags: friends, high school, life, memories, reunion
A few months ago, I was walking through a local grocery store in my Sunday best (read — pajamas) picking up my food for the week. Not surprisingly, it was pretty crowded, but somehow, in the craziness, I ran into someone I knew, or rather, someone who knew me. Someone I probably should have known, but for some reason couldn’t place him right away.
Why didn’t I recognize this person? Did he really look that different… seven years ago? No, no, he didn’t…. did he? I really don’t know.
This really bothered me. One of the traits I take pride in is my ability to remember everybody, their middle name, their birthday, their address, and their mother’s name. I am the person who says to my best friend from high school, “remember so and so?” and she just doesn’t remember anybody so her answer is typically no.
So what does this all mean? Am I going to start forgetting people I knew all my life? Am I going to lose the capacity to remember the names of people I meet? Or even worse… what does this mean for those who know me? Will they forget I exist? Will they remember me?
It’s part of the human condition to want to be remembered, want to know you had an impact on somebody. That’s why we have graves. That’s why we name our children after family members. That’s why people strive to be famous (or infamous). That’s why writers want to be published (wink).
But you can’t guarantee that everyone will remember you. Some faces will fall through the cracks, even if you did hang out with them a bunch of times. And sometimes, it will just take a little bit longer to remember some people, as your brain continues to take in images of the new people entering your life. And sometimes, you’ll need to count on your friends to jog your memory.
That said, I really hope I’ve had an impact on a lot of people’s lives because a lot of people have had impacts on mine, and I plan to remember a lot of people.
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There are countless people who drift in and out of our lives that fail to stick in our minds. I feel like some people serve s purpose in our lives for the moment and then fade away in our memories. I don’t think its a bad thing…i think its natural. Some stay longer.
Comment by Lance— January 25, 2011 #
Mmm, this weekend I saw a friend and she brought up all these people that I never think about. Like we all went to college and I do remember them, when prompted, but if I ran into some of them on the street, I probably wouldn’t even notice, unless I’d just been talking about them. So thank goodness for people like you (and my friend) who remember everyone and remind everyone else of their existences!
Comment by gem— January 25, 2011 #
those that remember and those that forget make good pairs I guess!
Comment by pushingthirtyy— January 25, 2011 #
I am your friend, who forgets names, places and faces. I hate it, but that’s how it it /shrug.
Comment by eemusings— January 25, 2011 #
I’m sure your life doesn’t suffer from it! 🙂
Comment by pushingthirtyy— January 25, 2011 #
I forget faces too, even if I have been staring at it for half an hour. However, I do tend to remember names and such details, but I never have a face to go with it.
Comment by Fire Crystals— January 27, 2011 #
that has to be frustrating!
Comment by pushingthirtyy— January 27, 2011 #
‘It’s part of the human condition to want to be remembered, want to know you had an impact on somebody.’
Really hitting the core here. Was in the same dilemma a few years back, and it kept me wondering “what’s the significance of my existence if ppl don’t remember me?” Glad that I’m all over it though…
Comment by foolswords— January 30, 2011 #