It’s like this: you say to yourself, “I should remember this!” So you write it down or you don’t. Either way, chances are, you’ve forgotten it until it pops into your head randomly in the shower or until you read it (if you wrote it down). It’s so simple.
In 2008, I kept a journal for four months during my study abroad semester in Spain. Among the stuff remembered:
2/17/08 Jake didn’t come out Friday night so I ended up drinking his share of rum. Needless to say I was sauced before I met everyone at the Plaza de Vergen. I was saying things I can’t remember, but I remember thinking that [I] should be writing this down because I know I’ll forget. So now I’m think [sic] I should bring pen and paper out at night… but probably not… Some things are better left un-remembered.
Thanks 21 year old me! For taking the time to make sure I remember this bit of wisdom.
They say your brain really only remembers the necessary things and forgets the useless information. It has to do it, otherwise it overheats from too much processing. That’s why people with super memories have anxiety issues. They remember too much. They remember every little detail and date, even if it’s horrible. The brain can’t handle it.
And then sometimes your brain forgets the necessary things and you find yourself in impossible situations like staring at a wall of produce at the grocery store wishing you’d written down everything your wife said you needed. Or maybe you forgot to go shopping in the first place, but it’s really important that you do because there’s no food and tomorrow is Sunday and shops aren’t open on Sunday in Berlin and because it’ll confirm that you’re a big dumb dumb who sat around all Saturday doing what you’ll definitely argue was ‘work’ but could definitely be referred to as “watching youtube documentaries and pissing off the cat”. And then you realize that it’s not even about the shopping (you’ll just eat out if you have to) it’s about proving to all those judging voices in your head that you didn’t forget. I DIDN’T FORGET. But they know. They know.
In any case, 21 year old me was right when he said, “Some things are better left un-remembered” because if I remember anything from my 8 years in the social sciences, it’s that when we define something, we inherently define its opposite. I forget what that’s called in sociological terms. But in short, if some things are better left un-remembered, some things are better remembered. Say, for example, important sociological terms that you’ll use to explain things, or just nice memories from childhood. Like this:
2/27/08 – I remember Hawaiian Toast… and I remember loving it, I haven’t had it in years… I’ll ask mom to make some this summer… Mmmm.
It slipped my mind to ask mom, but this week maybe… if I remember.
