I Belive in Short-Term Memory Loss

I believe in short-term memory loss. I’ve always had a terrible memory. Throughout high school, I could’ve pulled straight A’s if wasn’t for the fact that I would completely forget entire assignments. I have to set an alarm on my phone now just to make sure that I don’t forget to go into work, which has happened once before. But those are not the type of things I’d like to forget.

My sophomore year in high school, I would take the late bus home on Thursdays. One Thursday as I was sitting on the bus, I saw from a distance a girl my age lying in the street. I won’t go into to detail of what I saw because I’ve mostly forgotten, but I can tell you that there was no doubt that she was dead. After months of trying to block out the images, I finally stopped thinking about it entirely. To me, it was important that I forgot the images, but remembered the value of each day. I had moved on with my life and if you asked any of my friends, I was the happiest girl alive.

Junior year was bliss for me. While others were stressed over college decisions and ACT scores, I was living for each day, stress free and was able to succeed in both scenarios. My senior year was a different story. I watched some of my friends fall apart and I felt helpless as 6 people I knew died within months of each other.

The first death came over the summer when my friend watched as her dad and one of my childhood heroes collapsed suddenly, and died right in front of her eyes. 3 of the other deaths were of cancer. They were beloved parents of my closest friends. The two that were the hardest for me to handle and the hardest to forget were of my best friend’s little brother and a girl who was one of my closest childhood friends. The two did not know each other, but within one day, both decided to end their own lives. I won’t ever forget them, but I made myself forget the images my imagination created. Sometimes when I walk by his room, or drive past the house she died in, the images come back. I believe in short term-memory loss when it comes to the things that hurt you most. I don’t forget what I’ve learned, I don’t forget the people, I don’t forget the happy memories; all the long-term things. I only believe in short-term memory loss.