One of the first memories that I have is from when I was two or three and I ran down into a ditch in front of my grandfather's house. I thought I was stuck there because I couldn't even reach to the top of the ditch, but my grandfather saw me fall into the ditch, so he walked over and pulled me out. We moved away shortly afterward and I did not see my grandparents' house again for ten years.
For years I always thought of that ditch as a huge chasm in my grandparents' front yard. Then, when I visited at the age of thirteen I saw the ditch again. It was between two and three feet tall and was not nearly the gaping faultline through the earth that I remembered. I had let perceptions formed when I was much smaller impact my opinions when I was older even though I had grown.
I think a lot of people do this about a lot of things. For example, I think a lot of people idealize the TV shows and movies of their youth. I have heard people talk about how they don't make TV or movies like they used to, but when I watch what I used to like I am a little embarrassed. The A-Team just doesn't seem like the high drama it once was when I watch it in reruns.
I think this permeates more of life than just entertainment, though. I think it impacts people's political, religious, psychological, philosophical, etc beliefs. For example, I still recall conversations from when I was significantly younger that I had with friends that have impacted my belief system. If I heard those same conversations today they almost certainly affect me less, and I would probably write off a lot of what was said.
This could be good because I am more discerning. It could also be a bad thing because "discerning" can be a nice word for "cynical." Regardless, it's an honest observation, and that is an opinion I will never change.
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6 comments:
I don't think we are supposed to want to go back. We are to continue to grow. We can remember that "fill in the blank" was nice at the time.
I know what you mean. I see this in my life and in others. We had a Buick that we said was as big as boat when I was little. I was like 6 maybe when we got rid of it. I am sure that it was not as big an an apartment, but I always felt like it could be just that for me! At the time I could stretch out across the whole seat! :)
Great blog. I've always been unsure about those who seem to romanticize the past. I, on the other hand, go to the other extreme and find it extremely difficult to revisit my past for two reasons:
1. I have a horrible memory. Horrible.
2. I have an internal thing about me that always sees the past "me" as inferior to the present "me." As a result, I have little motivation to go there.
I'm not proud of either of those two things, but it is indeed the truth about me. As of late, I'm trying to grow beyond these two things and overcome them.
I can relate too. I remember visiting my old house in Virginia once, and it seemed much smaller
YOU DISSED THE A-TEAM?!?
Ok, the plots weren't that great, but it generally did have very good, witty dialog. And I didn't really get to watch the A-Team until I was 23.
The second and third seasons of Dukes of Hazzard, on the other hand, I was left wanting...
I rewatched a movie I loved in high school in a hotel. It was dreadful and encouraged poor character traits. I'm amazed I found it entertaining. So does this mean when we are old, we will have grown so different that we will look askance at things done or watched say in our 40s?
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