If you were to ask me about how I met my best friend, we’d both tell you different stories. I’d tell you that we met while doing a class project together, but she’d tell you that we met on the first day of class when she tried to say hi to me and I completely ignored her.</p>
It’s kind of like in that Magnum P.I. episode “I Witness,” where Magnum’s friends have to retell the events of a robbery in order to figure out who the inside man was. The problem was that all of their stories differed slightly, painting themselves heroes and others as cowards. Each person perceives the world differently and I thought that was an interesting topic.
You see, I don’t have the best memory. I sometimes remember faces, barely remember names, and rarely remember voices. For instance, while watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it didn’t occur to me that Melinda May’s actress Ming-Na Wen was also the voice actress for Mulan until my friend told me. I did, however, recognize her face from another TV show I watched a long time ago. It didn’t occur to me that people can remember others just by their voice or would purposely look for someone’s name to attach to a voice.
Compare this to a memory I have about people that they never remember. When I was in grade 11, I met one of my former friends for the first time. Except that was not the first time we met — I figured this out after I connected a few dots. The thing is, I remember actions. I remember telling someone that hearts were meant to be broken and I remember why. I also remember their reaction, but they probably wouldn’t remember this event. Actually, it was their reaction that helped me realize who they were when I met them again. So, why can’t people remember me?
I mean, I’m not memorable to my professors, my peers, and even people I’ve met a long time ago. To me, they’re like a constellation. When placed together they form an image, but by themselves they are just individual dots in the sky. It makes me wonder how others perceive me. Am I just a blank slate, an NPC in the story? Maybe my actions and words aren’t important to them, or maybe I’m not interesting enough for them to remember. My curiosity could go on, but then I remember that it’s easier to move on when you don’t notice others’ reactions to you. Either way, I could be wrong.
It interests me how everyone remembers people and events differently. It could be because of what information is the most important to us or what stands out the most. Maybe it’s because we all have a different version of the world inside ourselves.
