6. Zebras 2024

  I used to live in Bakersfield California before moving to Fremont. I lived there until I was five years old. So naturally I do not have a lot of memories there. I have vague memories of the house I lived in, and the house that I went to for daycare, but other than that I had little memories of the place.  It wasn't until I went back during Winter Break when all of my memories came flooding back. I remembered the playground I would always play at. I remembered my brother's old elementary school. The old library where I would run around in and never read books. The Walmart where I would buy all my Skylanders toys. And I even saw the house where my daycare was, and managed to talk to my old daycare teacher as well.  All these old memories coming back really made me miss the times when I was just a small naive kid. I had no worries, and would really just do anything all day. I just played and played all day. Those days were so much better than nowadays when I spend all my t...

We often underestimate the power of the human brain, especially when it comes to remembering information we previously consumed. Memory, the function that allows us to retain and recall information is the basis of human cognition. From the mundane details of daily life to the cherished moments of our past, memory shapes our perceptions, influences our decisions, and forms the foundation of our identities. But how does this seemingly simple process actually work? Memory is a neural phenomenon. Key structures in memory formation and retrieval include the hippocampus, the amygdala, and various regions of the cerebral cortex . These interconnected brain regions form a complex network that orchestrates the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. Image from Simple Psychology The process of storing a memory begins with encoding, the process by which sensory information is transformed into a format that can be stored and later retrieved. Factors such as attention, repetition, and emot...

Birthdays, assignments, lines, messages, rules, regulations, the list goes on.  We have so many things to remember as students, as people, as children, as friends. But I remember always forgetting and feeling guilty about it.  I’d always forget about assignments or peoples’ birthdays or rules and regulations teachers had or anything like that. And I felt stupid for that.  Every time I forgot about something or I didn’t know something I felt guilty for not knowing and honestly the fact that right now I am remembering how I forgot says a lot about the trauma, those feelings of guilt and how intense those feelings of feeling dumb were I’d look around and everyone would have an assignment done but I didn’t. Or it would be a friend’s birthday and everyone is getting them gifts but now because I forgot about it, I’m a bad friend and there went another friendship. In fact, I almost forgot about this assignment because I have so much on my mind.  But I’m going to tie this ba...

    Do you ever reminisce about the past? A good memory? A bad memory? An embarrassing one? A happy one?       Well I do, all the time. It's always random. I'll be randomly day dreaming about some embarrassing thing that happened.       Like when somebody said "Hi" and I thought it was at me so I said it back just for somebody else to walk up and say it instead. Or when I waved back at someone I thought was waving to me but it was actually to the person next to me. Or when I had to dance on stage during preschool and my shoe slipped off my foot. Now, as insignificant as these events seem, I realize that they shape who I am.     I'm not the person I am without these memories. They built me as an individual. The embarrassing are not alone as they are accompanied by the happy. Like my first every Warriors game. Giggling with my friends during recess. Playing Fortnite with my friends over winter break.       ...

Memory is quite a complex topic. According to a Harvard Health Publication , memory is the “ability to recall information.” While the definition is constrained to four simple words, I feel it is much more than that; as if a whole world of ideas can be discovered upon a closer look. Most people tend to forget the power of memory. For example, people use websites like Quizlet and SparkNotes to study for a test, not realizing the power their mind holds. This is an example of active recall, one of the many processes the brain uses to retrieve information from memory.  We often take advantage of these processes, not realizing the potential our brains have. There is short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory involves information that only requires recalling for a short period of time, and vice versa for long-term memory. We use short-term memory for things like “turning at an intersection,” while we use long-term memory for things like our daily routines. Imagine if we los...

The Memory of Reading As we start the new quarter with a new blog topic, I wanted to go back to my roots which consist of book topics. With memory, I always find myself thinking back to when I have read certain books like A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder and Shatter Me .  I also tend to think about the experiences I had when reading these books. I remember in my sophomore year I went to India for two weeks and there were barely any Wifi connections there. It led me to develop a new hobby for reading and I think back to the possible scenarios. What if I didn’t? What would I have possibly made my blogs about?  What had gotten me into reading was the emotional and overall experiences that the book was providing to me. When I read The Inheritance Games , I remember being so obsessed with the series; it was quite difficult for me to put down the book. I feel like it's because of the characters.  "Pinterest." From what Charles Fernyhough had stated about this topic, they state ho...

You and Kostya walk under the blazing sun to the ice cream shop two blocks away. You get (insert your favorite) ice cream while Kostya buys an ice cream sandwich. You both enjoy the cooling desert while talking about life. Senior year is coming in a few months and you both share your worries and desires for the future. You feel this bond start to form, the relationship becomes profound and you guys are now best friends.  Kostya walks with his friend to the ice cream shop with his acquaintance. He does not particularly feel anything towards this person, though the heat makes anyone want to step into a freezer and never come out. Why not? He thinks. He buys his favorite, a Nestle Vanilla  Sandwich and sees his companion get an ice cream cone. As he walks back to his house, however, his ice cream buddy continues to follow him talking to him about their fears for the future. He decides to contribute to the conversation avoiding them from getting awkward.  Decades pass, and th...

 The Fragility of MEmory Memory. What a beautiful thing. We are our memories. From remembering our families to remembering our own names to remembering how to breathe. It is a little strange to consider how much we truly rely on our memory. And how strange and debilitating it can be to lose it. One of my dad’s biggest fears is dementia or Alzheimer's disease. That immobilizing idea of a slow, and gradual decline, where you are no longer able to recognize your family and, eventually, yourself.  The fear I have of memory loss stems from the intimacy I have with my own mind. I believe that, for the most part, we are our greatest companion, our own lifelong company. To lose the ability to recognize myself in the mirror or myself in my own thoughts would be akin to the death of a loved one and the birth of a new type of living, one in which I am completely alone.  When I try to create an image of what Dementia looks like in my mind, I imagine a quiet room with no lights. Just ...

      This revelation comes to me as a result of the flu I caught. I didn't realize how much I took for granted in terms of speaking ability until now. As a result of my sickness, my throat has been scratchy and my ability to talk has reduced drastically. Even saying a few words has become difficult. But it is through these struggles that I was able to appreciate my ability to be able to talk normally.      This made me truly appreciate having my own voice. Imagine all the deaf people out there who are unable to use their voice to truly communicate. The blessing I had taken for granted was something they did not have. As I lost my voice, I grew frustrated as I wanted to talk to my family and friends so bad, yet I just couldn't do it. This frustration is what taught me this valuable lesson about voice.      I remember my dad asking me something from across the house and when I tried to respond back with an audible tone, I failed. Again and aga...