Memory Lane

It’s really difficult sometimes for me not to get too excited about things. I feel like I have spent my entire life looking forward to some event or another, just for it to come and go with no real consequence. Occasionally I get disappointed because it didn’t turn out the way I wanted, or maybe something bad happened that day to make the event memorable in a bad way. Whatever the reason, I now find myself fearing excitement, I am afraid to get my hopes up for something that will only be subpar.

Yet, without these little events to look forward to in life, what would be the point of even existing? Is there something within the mundane day-to-day struggle that is worth fighting for? I believe the answer to that is yes. The events do not matter, nor does the excitement leading to them. What matters is sharing pieces of our lives with other people, so that later on we can look back and say, “remember when?”

My favorites lately have been:

“Remember when we used to go over math problems on the phone? And how you always would tell me what you got first…man I remember how mad you were when you realized I was writing down all the answers you said.”

“Remember when we I went around the tree the wrong way that one time in rope bridge and got stuck? I was so embarrassed!”

“Remember when I ran away that one time when I was little? I tried to live off fake tea by the light pole. Mom still sent you out to get me when it was time for dinner…I was so hungry.”

Memories aren’t always good, and sometimes you hear people remember things about you or things you did that you really don’t like to remember, but a good thing to remember is that those things are in the past, and the best way to dismiss them when they come up in conversation is to laugh and say “Yeah, I remember that. I was crazy then” (or something like that) with a shake of your head. Because, honestly, we shouldn’t be slaves to the past. Our past should give us good moments to laugh about, wise moments to share, and mistakes that we have learned from. In the here and now, the past has no control over us.

So don’t be afraid to get excited, don’t be afraid to get your hopes up, because even if things don’t go the way you dreamed or the way you wanted, as long as you’re sharing bits of your life with people you will always have things to look back on and laugh about.