This I Believe: Memories

     Tufts asked all first-year students to read "This I Believe," a book inspired by NPR's series, which started in the 1960s and was hosted by legendary news anchor Edward Murrow. Recently, NPR has begun to air the series again. The book, like the radio program, features the "personal philosophies of of remarkable men and women"- in other words, celebrities, politicians, athletes, and others have shared with the American people their own inspirational stories, their fervent beliefs, their passions, their secrets, and their strongest convictions, about everything from cancer to barbecue to schooling.
     Each composition, only a few hundred words long, explores mankind through a new pair of eyes, and reliably offers a refreshingly positive take on society and humanity. Each does its bit to restore our faith in one another, and in the simple truths we often overlook and disregard. Upon finishing the book, each student was asked to compose a voluntary "This I Believe" essay of his or her own. I chose to write mine, below, on memories.


"I believe in memories. I believe memories are some of the most instructive tools with which we can sculpt our futures and blaze new trails forward. Memories are what President Obama calls “teachable moments,” snapshots of our collective pasts. Little things that can fill us with emotion or remind us of how things were in simpler, better, or perhaps just different, times.

I have always had a good memory. I have an affinity for remembering faces and names. I listen to people and latch on to the smallest details. Sometimes I’ve wished my memory were less active, for memories also carry the immense power to haunt and overwhelm us, to hold us captive in painful pasts.

But, I believe more than anything, that memories can inspire us. Last year, I started a Word Document where I record various dates that are special to me, “good days,” where I had fun at the pool with a friend or driving to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor with the windows rolled down. Little things that I can look upon to remember how lucky I am—how good things have been and can be. When I read my list of June 27ths and February 11ths, I recognize that not everyone can have those memories, and that the best I can do is to create more May 8ths for myself and for others.

I believe, too, in remembering through images and words. I think that a pen and a camera do not take away from our own mental capacities to remember, but instead add dimension to our memories. I love to capture moments; snapshots, candids of people laughing and dancing. People walking to work and picking out blackberries at the farmers’ market. Athletes pushing themselves to the limit and people doing real, honest work. Friends sharing hugs, politicians rallying to inspire a crippled people. Births and first birthdays. First days of school and summer vacations and picnics and swim meets and graduations.

I believe that as long as we can distinguish between memory and reality, we should continue to document these moments, these people, this love shared. I believe that memories will push us forward, and that they allow us to connect to other human beings, to relate more deeply to the human experience. I believe that we should embrace and learn from and build with our memories rather than suppress them. I believe that memories provide us with balance and perspective. They help us remember our “good days,” so that we do not wallow in self-pity or selfishness, but instead are more willing to look outside of ourselves. 

     I believe that our memories, our lessons learned, and feelings felt, and friendships made, and hardships lived or witnessed, will inspire us to change the world in order to paint a world full of births and birthdays. First days of school and summer vacations and picnics and swim meets and graduations. For everyone. Because then we will have something to sit back and admire, something entirely worth remembering."

Memories can hurt. But in the end, I think, I would never want to finish my life in a place with no memory. This, I Believe.