6. Zebras 2024

When I was a kid, “Finding Nemo” and its sequel, “Finding Dory” always had a special place in my heart. Voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, Dory is a blue tang fish with short-term memory loss that often leads her on adventurous journeys. While Dory's story is entertaining and comedic on the surface, it serves as a powerful metaphor for the fragility and power of memory. Image from The Michigan Daily “Finding Dory” dives deeper into the origins of Dory's forgetfulness and witnesses her journey to reunite with her long-lost family. Throughout her journey, Dory's memory lapses serve as both a source of comedic relief and a reminder of the challenges individuals face when grappling with memory loss. Memory is a fundamental aspect of human existence, shaping our identities, relationships, and understanding of the world around us. However, like Dory, our memories can sometimes be elusive or even unreliable. We may find ourselves struggling to recall important moments, names, or details...

 I have read a lot of blogs within the past few weeks that talked about personal memories and how it connects to them as a person. Last week I talked about how memories come difficult for me and how everything seems so fuzzy for me and I hate it. I talked about the importance of romanticizing life.  Well, since I’ve been able to put this into practice, I have accumulated a few memorable still shots and saved them in my mind to finally share.  It was the last day of the most recent spring break we had, the friday before that dreaded weekend where it would hit us all that we would have to go to school that following Monday. My few close friends were out with their other friends, visiting family, or on vacation.  I had laid on my bed, rotting away for the past couple days, while scrolling through Instagram, jealous of the lives my peers had. Jealous of the parties they got invited to or had thrown. Jealous of the friends they had and the energy their hangouts had. Jealo...

I don’t think anyone I’ve loved has ever left my head. Not in the sense that I miss everyone I have ever met. Little things like how someone’s smile unravels when they’re embarrassed, how the light hits the stubble on a boy’s face, the petulance ringing through the black hand-me-downs in which my sister used to scream, “It’s not a phase !”  I take down the snow globes of memories lining a graveyard in my brain where love used to be. The same way I imagine my great-grandmother did. How alive she looked, twisting her hair into braids, asking me when her father would come home.  She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease a few months prior. I visited her father’s grave that evening . Sprinkling flowers on the dirt, I imagined them wither. Listening to prayers fall out of my father’s voice, I imagined them forgotten. I wondered why love is so short, and forgetting is so long.   Two years ago , I came across a film that pondered a similar thought. The lead, Joel (Jim Carrey...

  My first ever memory was waking up for preschool when I was three years old. Or at least I think it was because I have little memories of when I was a little baby and toddler, and this is normal. Humans don’t start developing memories until they are about three years old.  This had me thinking: What was life like when I was a baby? I may never truly know the answer. The only answer I can get is through my parents telling me what I was like when I was a baby; apparently I never cried. My crying was so rare that my parents thought that there was something wrong with me, but according to the doctors I was healthy. But this doesn’t help me really picture what life was like back then.  This also makes me think about what possible events could have taken place when I was a baby that I would not be able to recall. For example, I remember my parents saying they took me to Disneyland when I was 2, and I have zero recollection of that day. I wonder what my little 2 year old self ...

    Forgetting      Many of our blogs so far about memory have consisted of the science behind it. In some of my blogs, I talked about the importance of them and how I feel that it helps us grow. But for this blog, I found an article that focuses on answering the question Can We Get Better at Forgetting?      Benedict Carey wrote an article that stated how “memory is a troublemaker.” Can you remember a time where you remembered an embarrassing moment of your past? I definitely have. Memories can show to be your greatest strength, an ally or your worst enemy.       They tend to hold special moments that we would want to remember and yet they can also keep more painful memories. They are protective, they tend to “hold onto red flags” that can “wave back to you in the future.”       Carey also believes that forgetting can be protective too. Say you might have a memory that is quite harmful for you to remem...

Memory serves probably the most important purpose in our lives. There is no life without memory. Without memory you would not be able to read this blog I’m writing. Without memory, I cannot write this blog, or any of my other blogs. I don’t think I can quite stress enough how much memory matters in our lives.  The value in childhood friends would disappear without memories. The concept of childhood friends is a thing because of our memories. These core values we hold are due to memories. Have I said the word “memories” enough times yet?  No? Okay, I’ll continue.  Anyways, think about anything that makes you happy. Why does this item make you happy? Because it makes you feel good? Now why is that? Because of the memories attached to it. You had a previous fun experience with it for you to either have a sense of attachment or hold a sense of value for it. This all roots from your memories. Memories, memories, memories. The building block of humans. The mitochondria is the p...

 Hopefully, you all know the movie Get Out . If you don’t, it’s a thriller about a man and his girlfriend visiting her parents. At first, the man assumes the family’s awkwardness stems from their interracial relationship, but as the vacation continues, a series of disturbing secrets are revealed. The family works together to lure African Americans into their home, transferring the brain of a white family member into their body, and therefore transferring consciousness. Watching the movie felt like a complete freak show, but I also began to wonder if this was realistically possible. The idea of transferring one’s consciousness into another seems far-fetched, but from a scientific perspective, it’s theoretically possible.  According to this article published in Variety , Italian surgeons were successful in “grafting the head of one chimpanzee onto another’s body.” A similar experiment was performed in Mount Sinai with a mouse. Jordan Peele, the director of the movie, indulged in...

  I recently called a friend and they told me how they either think about the past or the future, never the present. Am I the same way? I know that I should be living in the present, but do I? Shoot. I’m a hypocrite. Now, to convince myself to be more present in my life, I will write this blog. This is mainly for me, but I believe that there is some value for you. We look back on our memories. Whether that is to experience nostalgia, or to find the answer to a current problem, or look back to a happier time, we all think back to our past experiences in a form of comfort. It is familiar, you know how it starts, and you know how it ends. You know the surprises of that day. You know the emotions you felt then. But do you? I have referred to how memory is constantly changing. How, you can change your perspective of that moment and create an entirely different memory. Memory is malleable to your desires. Although, I do find it quite useless. Looking back to past experiences, especially...

 I Can't Be Wrong. Right? Memory is obsessive. It lays seeds of desire and warmth in the soul then cultivates it with spontaneous revivals and unwilling associations until it takes root in the chest, intertwining with your heartstrings as it steals the very breath from your lungs. There are times when we don’t even see the wondrous ways that memories chain us, manifest in us, and bind us to their will. We are pushed and pulled like the strings of senseless twine, drawn to what is familiar, what is constant, and what is protected like a vital organ in the ribs. And once the seed has taken root, no amount of toxins or uprooting of conscious awareness can scratch its hold on us.  We remember things so differently than other people do and memory is so powerful in shaping our ambitions and dreams.  Recently, I had a conversation with my mom about school. We often discuss our different memories of school whenever I am complaining about how much work I have to do. The conversati...

  Memories have always been something that I found interesting because of how hard it came to me. Remembering things have never been easy for me, whether that be homework assignments, tests to study for, birthdays, or even my own childhood memories. Sometimes it is annoying to me to have to share something from my past in class or answer a prompt that deals with any memory-related topics because of how fuzzy they are to me. I want them to be clear. I want them to be vivid. I want to be able to relive them every time I think back. They should be like the flashbacks that main characters have in those movies, cinematic shots and everything. Some melancholy or pleasant instrumental in the back, and then a snapshot back into the future.  Okay, I’m doing too much haha.  Sometimes, I think that’s exactly why I can’t remember anything clearly though. I think it’s because I long so much to live in the moment. I wrote a blog early called “Be So Fr” where I talked about how much hat...

Why do some memories fade but others stay?  I was thinking about this after I wrote my last blog when I talked about my memories of Bakersfield coming back. I thought about why I had certain memories of Bakersfield come back. Like remembering my time in the day care. I know I made a lot of memories in Bakersfield, so why did only a select few come back to me?  I believe this is because of our natural human nature of remembering good memories. In Psychology, it is explained that happier memories are more likely to stay inside the memory, and worse memories will get repressed. So, when I went back to Bakersfield, all of my good memories came back instead of all of the boring and bad memories.   With this clarity came even more questions. In my time living in Bakersfield, I was bound to have more than just a select few happy memories. So why did I only remember a few happy memories and not all? This is what makes memory such an interesting part of the human mind. It’s h...

Oftentimes, students forget a lot of their material. For me, it mostly happens after exams or summer break. I always ignore this and review material once I need it again. However, I always fail to question why this happens. Most people would think it’s because we aren’t constantly drilling information in our minds or that we lack interest in the subject. Surprisingly, our study habits are the reason why we tend to forget topics so easily. In this Quora thread , someone posed the question: “Is it normal to forget everything after an exam and the summer holidays?” Brandon Kaye, a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science and Neuroscience, gave an insightful response. He said that if topics were not embedded in one’s long-term memory, forgetfulness will appear more often than usual. He adds on, saying that “[cramming] before exams” rather than “[pushing] in your studies” embeds topics in one’s short-term memory. This may be common knowledge for some, but it’s surprising t...

  Bao Bei ( 寶 貝 ): a Chinese term of endearment that is often used to refer to a loved one, like a child. It can be translated as "treasure," "darling," "honey," or "baby." Act Zero: A harsh, painful, lengthy, lasting 12 hours, of labor. Celebrating her birthday was not possible since she had to deliver her child that day. September 9 slowly staggered into September 10, welcoming the birth of her baby. Her Bao Bei. September 10, 2007, the day of my birth. Act Two: The two of them live in their apartment in Taiwan. Relatives and friends help her raise the child. Loved by the connections from the mother, the child was blessed. Restarting life, and learning how to take care of a baby her baby, she works hard to balance the pressures of life while trying to do right for her daughter. Her Bao Bei. My mom tells me these stories about the people who were in my life. She pictures it as a little girl whom people cherished and showered with love. I remembe...

One of my earliest memories is going to Half Moon Bay , watching the tides roll and riding a pony at a farm near the beach. I do not remember my room or the home I lived in at the time, but I remember the beach, the waves’ lullaby, the salty breeze against my skin, the wind messing up my hair, and the warm touch of my mom's hands.  Natural Ridges State Beach  For me, the beach has always been more than the meeting of the sand and the sea, it's been a haven, a place where I feel most at peace, most connected to myself and the world around me. Growing up in South San Francisco on the Peninsula , my parents made it a tradition to take me to spend weekends at the beach, my favorite part of every week. And with each visit, my love for the beach only grew deeper.  To me, there’s something somehow eerily soothing about the flow of the tides, reminding me of life’s cyclical nature and the idea of how “what goes around, comes around.” The feeling of sand in my toes, the warm sun o...