"You forget all of it anyway. First, you forget everything you learned-the dates of Hay-Herran Treaty and the Pythagorean theorem. You especially forget everything you didn't really learn, but just memorized the night before. You forget the names of all but one or two of your teachers, and eventually you'll forget those, too. You forget your junior year class schedule and where you used to sit and your best friend's home phone number and the lyrics to that song you must have played a million times. And eventually, oh so slowly, you forget your humiliations- even the ones that seemed indelible just fade away. You forget who was cool and who was not, who was pretty, smart, athletic, and not. Who went to a good college. Who threw the best parties. Who could get you pot. You forget all of them. Even the ones you said you loved, and even the ones you actually did. They're the last to go. And then once you've forgotten enough, you love someone else."
That was from the book I am currently reading- Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac- that made me stop and think. Is it not all true. Will we forget all of that? Will it matter who is popular now or slightly behind? Will anyone of us remember? Right now, sure, we all say we will, but is it true? Looking back 20 years from now will I remember watching Becca kiss/orange hold with the new Phillip kid from Sweden? Will I remember the cute words said by my latest crush (who will not be named)?
1 comment:
Books like that are amazing because they can be SO harsh. For example, I recently read the graphic novel, Watchmen, in which they end up creating a small genocide in New York City, but save the world because of it. I LOVED the book, and what they did worked and ended up being REALLY good... kinda like that quote. It SOUNDS logical enough. SOUNDS right. But somehow, it doesn't sit well with you at ALL. I can't really say whether it's right or not, and I suppose it depends on the individual, but I'll tell you- I remember the first words my big crush said to me. I remember finding out when my third grade crush liked me back. I remember my first hug. I remember the texts that have melted my heart. ALL of that stuff. Granted, it hasn't been twenty years yet but... who knows. I think one thing to consider is if we SHOULD forget. Not if we CAN.
Good post! It made me think.
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