Memories come in waves.
October is usually the month in which I think about memory the most, and how important it is. We, as humans, have the ability to see lots of moments in history, facts, even lifeless objects in our bedrooms with our hearts. That is memory.
I’ve been thinking a lot about all the people I love and about how they help my life to get fuller, and better, and that has been a big inspiration to me when it comes to journaling. I’ve been looking at my life with so much passion and energy and gratitude after finally being in a good health condition after months of medical observation.
We take some things for granted because we’re not reminding ourselves of how fucking scary life can be, so I wanted to share some writing prompts (and some of my own answers) that can make you remind your own self about how full of love life actually is, and it’s all around, really. In places you’ll never expect.
I would like to make monthly journaling prompts a thing here (because that’s something I do a lot in my life), and to start, memory will be the theme of this month.
Hope you like them!
<3
Recall the very first time you met someone who, without you realizing it then, would become deeply important in your life.
I remember meeting my college best friend Lou for the first time.
He was SO nervous on our very first day of class, combing his hair with a little brush a thousand times, wearing a green shirt (that I adored, but it got so old that he doesn’t wear it anymore), grey pants and his favorite pair of shoes. That choice of outfit is so emblematic to who he is, a prepared, careful person in every aspect of his life, always willing to make a good impression.
I remember feeling so impacted by how smart he was, and I could also see his humility through him, somehow. That’s why he’s so smart, because I now reckon that he has the humility to learn about everything else other than his own opinions and his own life. He goes beyond. He still loves me, even when I think that I’m the stupidest person alive and I can’t cook and my posture is a mess. We also went to the same catholic school as teenagers. And they say trauma bonding doesn’t get a relationship anywhere…
I can’t imagine a moment of my college life in which he’s not around. He’s ALWAYS around, always answering all my texts 24/7 and he’s always there when I need him. His confidence was also something I noticed right away, and now, looking back, our friendship has certainly made me more confident in myself, because he is, in fact, the most intelligent person EVER, and i’m honored to have TMIPE (The most intelligent person ever) arguing with me over snacks at 7a.m.
He taught me so many things about history, creative writing, my own self, etc.
You used to teach your own school subjects to your stuffed animals.
I hope I get to witness you becoming a great teacher, one day.
I’ll forever be your student. From day one.
What’s one quote you’ve been thinking about lately? Why? What in that quote moved you?
I’ve been thinking about a Christopher Reeve quote ever since I talked to a great friend I have here:
“What is a hero? My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences. Now my definition is completely different. I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
That just reminds me of her, and I’m so glad I told her that.
We should just text people when we see something that reminds us of them, because those small gestures can carry so much weight. I wanted her to know that I was remembering her that day, that she lives in the way I see the world. I am somehow stronger than I was before, all because I met her (even if not physically).
There are some people who enter our lives, quietly or suddenly, and they shift something fundamental in us. They expand our understanding of what human beings are capable of in strength, in resilience, in tenderness. In my case, most of them are women.
When we recognize them in a quote, a song, a fleeting thought, it feels like life’s way of reminding us how lucky we are to have crossed paths with them at all.
So that’s the quote I’ve been thinking of.