The dictionary defines the word “Memory” as the faculty of the mind by which it retains the knowledge of previous thoughts, impressions, or events. That may be literally correct in every sense but do you not think our memories are much deeper than just our retention of past events?

We see, hear and experience numerous things in our lives and our mind is unable to remember every single detail of every second we lived. We do, however remember fragments of it that make our lives worth living…the elements that we carry on with us and make a piece of our own being therefore are our memories. These elements decide not only how we reminisce our yesterday but also how we spend our today and plan our tomorrow.

I had a friend in second grade with whom I used to walk to the bus everyday. We weren’t very close but those few minutes we spent walking somehow mattered a lot to me. She used to board a different bus in the school yard which was always parked just adjacent to mine. One day she taught me a Japanese word which meant “goodbye”. We never spoke a word to each other from the school gate to our buses till it was time to board our separate buses. We’d smile and wave at each othewhisperring “Sayonara”. I don’t remember her name, nor do I remember her face but it’s that simple Japanese word she taught me that never left me. I still use it and still smile thinking of that special friend I had, the fascination I had felt of knowing a word in a foreign language which I knew my friends in class were unaware of and the satisfaction I felt every afternoon after saying a Sayonara to her. On rare occasions when she was absent I used to whisper it to myself not only hoping that she would somehow receive it, wherever she was but also for the sake of my own satisfaction.

I relocated soon after that and thus had to change my school but the word stuck on and I still consider it one of my most favorite words. She had unknowingly become a piece of me forever.

So, memories are portions of the days gone by that make us who we are, that define our personalities and our likes and dislikes. They are those images, sounds or feelings that have influenced us in one way or another and crave to be remembered. They may be the smallest of things, like where you shared a banana smoothie with your mom, the last time you saw your best friend or the first Japanese word you ever learnt.

Sayonara!