Memories And Reality

erikah in The Pub • 4 days ago

This is a topic I've been thinking about and today I decided to share it with the whole (world) blockchain. Let's see if I'm the only one thinking like this, or it's a common thing, and happens with everyone. Kind of know the answer to this question, but let's run a test. This in case someone is going to actually read my post and reply as well 😂

Memories And Reality.png

One of my dearest childhood memories is the kindergarten, where I spent 3 or 4 years of my life, I don't even know how many, I need to ask my dad. I've always looked back with joy and thought of that building like a palace. It was a biiiiig house, with big rooms, a very nice and stylish terrace and a back garden for us kids to play in. It would be the dream of any parent with kids, as it was just the right size for kids to be supervised properly and the right group size for kindergarten teachers to give proper education for kids. The building was built somewhere toward the end of the 19th century, then got nationalized as the communist regime confiscated most of the private properties that met certain criteria. This is how it became kindergarten, when we were kids.

Those few days were not yesterday, so a lot of time has passed since and whenever I pass by the building, I stop to have a look and enjoy the old memories.

A couple of years ago my brother had the chance to visit the building, due to his work and called me after to let me know. I was kind of jealous of him, in a very good sense, meaning I was a bit disappointed I didn't have the same chance as him, but happy he was able to step foot in it after so many years and here comes the funny part.

He entered the building and stopped right away, to look around. His reaction seemed a bit odd as people don't usually do that, even if you go visit someone, you don't start a full inventory of the place, so he told the owner that he, or we (both) went there for years, when it served as kindergarten. The owner was both surprised and happy, so was my brother but in a different way.

My first question to him was the obvious one, "how does it look like?" He said it's very nice, but sooooo small 😂. He described the shock he felt when he stepped inside and saw the rooms were not as big as in our imagination, not by far.

When you're a kid, everything seems so big, starting from adults, to buildings and spaces. Then as you grow, things change. Or better yet, you and the way you see things change. Obviously my brother knew this, but to actually see it with your own eyes and compare the image you had in your head with reality, is a different thing.

Just imagine how many childhood perceptions are overwritten over time. It starts with the tales and stories we are fed at a very young age. We learn that every animal is cute and good, we have a large range of wild plush animals to play with, then at the first zoo visit we learn there's no way we can pet them as they are far from as friendly as we have been told.

We think parents and grownups are always right and they know everything, till we realize the truth is far from it. Some are right, most of the time, others are not, and they definitely don't know everything.

I think the biggest shock is tied to places and spaces. When you grow up, your world is quite small, for so many it is reduced to the city of residence. Some have the possibility to travel and see the world as a child, but those who don't, think their town or village is the center of the universe. Then you grow up and have the chance to see and experience more than just your home town and realize how small your world has been.

The question is, are the old memories overwritten by the new reality? or you keep them as they have been for ages? I'm lucky as I still remember my kindergarten as a biiiig house, my brother not so much 😃

If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:

#thepub #memories #mindset #life #proofofbrain #vyb #cent #archon #waiv #neoxian

4 days ago in The Pub by erikah

0.00 ARCHON

Sort:

Trending

[-]

gwajnberg 4 days ago

Our brain works interestingly. I think, indeed, there is a part of a child's perspective and with new experiences in your life, you get other references. But also, our memory sometimes gets some gaps filled with things not very close to reality. That's why usually two brothers have different versions of certain reality.
I have some memories from my childhood, we lived in an apartment building until I was 5 years old and I remember also as something as a big entrance of the building, but when I went there as an adult I also got disappointed hehe.

0.00 ARCHON

1 vote

[-]

erikah 3 days ago

But also, our memory sometimes gets some gaps filled with things not very close to reality.

This is very true and dangerous as well as you may think what you remember was real.

That's why usually two brothers have different versions of certain reality.

Not necessarily. In my case I said my brother's memories are now altered with the image he saw when he visited the place. Mine is still intact as I haven't seen the place as an adult.

I have some memories from my childhood, we lived in an apartment building until I was 5 years old and I remember also as something as a big entrance of the building, but when I went there as an adult I also got disappointed hehe.

See? This is how it works for everyone as you grow up and measure everything with different eyes and you also see everything from a different height :)

0.00 ARCHON

14 votes

[-]

gwajnberg 2 days ago

I don't know you, but I am amazed by these thoughts. Once I listened to a whole podcast about a scientist talking about memory. Hahaha, tried to search very fast now but couldn't find it, grr

0.00 ARCHON

[-]

coinjoe 4 days ago

Yep, been there before. Returning to an old house or building from my childhood. Looks so much smaller than you remember for sure. :)

Think our memories have a way of warping things over time as well. Have you ever found things to be larger than you remember?

0.00 ARCHON

1 vote

[-]

erikah 3 days ago

Have you ever found things to be larger than you remember?

It depends on the case. If I have a very distant memory of a place or building, those fade in time and it becomes confusing. But it can happen.

What I didn't mention in my post is that as you grow old, I mean really old, like 70, 80 years old, you get exactly the opposite experience. Distances that seemed short are getting bigger.

I had a great aunt, the aunt of my dad actually and she was 93 or so, when she asked me to organize a trip to her birthplace for her, as she wanted to see it once again, before she passes. She said we can go by bus till one point, and then go by foot, as she used to walk that distance often, when she lived there. I told her that is out of the question because that's 1km walk, which for me is not a problem, but at her age, you can imagine. When we drove by the place, she told me "Oh God! This would have been a nightmare by foot" and she admitted that she was wrong.

This happens because your physical strength and stamina is diminishing in time. It's a logician process. My dad does the same, always telling me he used to walk that distance for decades, then I ask him, how many years have passed since then? 20? 30? Does he have the same stamina? Of course not, but he doesn't realize or admit that.

0.00 ARCHON

14 votes

[-]

coinjoe 3 days ago

Not in my 70's or 80's, but can understand the stamina challenges. So I relate to you dad and great aunt in that way.

0.00 ARCHON

1 vote

[-]

bozz 4 days ago

My sister just did this over the past weekend. She went on a tour of the high school where her and I graduated from. It has been renovated quite some time ago, so it was totally different for her. I used to work there a couple decades ago, so I have seen most all of the new features.

0.00 ARCHON

1 vote

[-]

erikah 3 days ago

It can ruin your memories for sure, it depends how you think, but what you see now is never going to be the same of what you have in your memories.

0.00 ARCHON

14 votes

[-]

bozz 3 days ago

I think she was excited to see how much they have grown, but there were some areas she said she didn't recognize.

0.00 ARCHON

[-]

ekads 4 days ago

I actually only realized that after reading your post. When I visited the kindergarten I used to attend, I would think, "Oh, this is where I used to play on the swings," or "This is where I once got into a fight with a classmate over a rubber band." 😅

Even though that kindergarten doesn't exist there anymore—it used to share the same grounds as the elementary school where my mother taught, but now the elementary school occupies the entire space, while the kindergarten has moved to a new location.

The memories that stick with me most are the events themselves, not the size or dimensions of the rooms or buildings—hehehe.

0.00 ARCHON

1 vote

[-]

erikah 3 days ago

The memories that stick with me most are the events themselves, not the size or dimensions of the rooms or buildings

Same here, but this is a special case because this building was really marvelous, not many got to live in such buildings, which is my we have so nice memories of it.

0.00 ARCHON

13 votes

[-]

ekads 3 days ago

It is precisely because of the building's unique design that it has stayed in your memory all this time. The fact that it is still standing today means it was built to be incredibly sturdy. You could visit it again if the opportunity arises, to reminisce about your childhood.

0.00 ARCHON

[-]

hivebuzz 3 days ago

Congratulations @erikah! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)

	You received more than 182000 HP as payout for your posts, comments and curation. Your next payout target is 184000 HP. _{The unit is Hive Power equivalent because post and comment rewards can be split into HP and HBD}
	You have been a buzzy bee and published a post every day of the week.

_{You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking}
_{If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP}

0.00 ARCHON