Writing

How Technology Has Helped Us Hold On To Our Memories

I was thinking recently that I wish could have held onto the memories of my college years spent at Marshall University. It’s sad to think of how I let the good times pass me by without any way of accurately recollecting daily events. 1998 was a year when digital photography was in its early stages of development, when HTML was the latest trend, and video was recorded to magnetic tape and equipment was costly.

What I Did Then
At that time, I carried with me a cheap notebook and a pen everywhere I went. No time and no words did I waste, either. Somehow even my notebook faded into obscurity and was lost forever, taking with it what tiny little insignificant details of my college experiences with it.

What I Do Now
Compared to 1998, today we’ve got it made. If the resources and technology of today were available when I was in my first year of college in 1998, I believe I would have been able to better document and preserve my experiences. I blog on a regular basis, write in a journal, and take lots of still photos and video.

Here’s What I Have To Say
Any good writer will tell you that they rely on external forces for inspiration. Quite a few of the things I’ve written about were inspired b everyday conversations I overheard between two strangers conversing in public. Others were inspired by discarded notes, photographs, poetry written on used napkins, etc. It’s the little things in life, that if observed and given the attention they deserve, can make the biggest difference in the life of an aspiring writer.

Perhaps the biggest source of my inspiration is having a journal of recent daily events, observations, thoughts, and ideas available when I write.

Yesterday I broke down and purchased a Moleskine(r) notebook. The biggest challenge I face is that in moments of sheer brilliance, I find myself in the awkwardest of situations without a place to record my thoughts or ideas. Later on when I finally get to my notebook, or computer, the idea is forgotten or incomplete, leading me towards a feeling of frustration. The solution is simple; I should always carry a pen and a paper with me just as I did when I was in college.

Lessons Learned
Most of the lessons we learn are learned after it is too late. Sometimes the things we regard as useless or insignificant become invaluable and irreplaceable once they are lost or forgotten about. In other words, document everything. Photograph it, write about it, and video it. Things around us are always changing and nothing ever truly stays the same despite our best wishes or intervention.

20 Comments

  • Glad

    I won’t agree more, every moment we cherish we should try and keep a record of it for future purpose. And thanks to technology saving these moments can be done easily, for example we can save documents, pictures, videos in the cloud and retrieve it at anytime even when your device is lost you don’t have to worry.

  • conrad pranze villas

    Technology might be a nuisance to some but I could not agree more that technology helped us record or keep our memories safer than before. Aside from pictures, we can take videos than can even make our memories enticing.

  • Alex

    It can be a problem the same as a solution. I guess it all depends on how we use it. In this case though I kinda regret not taking photos as much before. As you say it can and it is memories. Good job!!!

  • Henry

    You are on point, as a good writer or artist going around with the needed resources to record everything you encounter is the best bet.

  • Susy R

    Yes, everyone’s life cannot be separated from memories. There are various collections of personal photos and videos that are not purely shots of my smartphone camera but have been obtained from my distant relative’s digital camera. All of that, thanks to technology that continues to grow, nowadays it is easy for us to share with each other.

  • Meldred Judith

    Technology helped us so much in storing the memorues of rhe most important event in our lives. It reminds us how happy and memieable the memories we have before.

  • Danielle M

    I also wih you you had been able to preserve those memoeries from the 91’s I can imagine they were very special. I guess many people feel the same way regarding those times, including me.

  • Anderson

    Like you, I like to carry around a pen and a notebook. You never know when you might get inspired to jot something down.

  • Sylvia

    “Things around us are always changing and nothing ever truly stays the same despite our best wishes or intervention.” Very well said Thomas!

  • Maury Cheskes

    Well said, Tom. If we can remember and document parts of our journey, then we can recollect the feelings we’ve had in pivotal moments. I hear you that it would have been nice to have the technology we have today in the past to preserve certain memories. On the upside, as technology keeps evolving, were going to have insanely good tools and devices to capture moments in time as the future takes hold.

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