Episode 58 • Memories
Bring back a memory
Take a trip down memory lane
Fond memories
Remember something as if it was yesterday
Remember something vividly
Story
Grandma: Oh, Hannah! Look at you! This used to be my dress, you know?
Hannah: Yes, grandma. You gave it to me last year.
Grandma: My goodness, seeing you like this, brings back so many memories!
Hannah: Oh, oh, are you about to take a trip down memory lane?
Grandma: Oh, don’t be silly… It’s just, it reminds me of the time I took the most amazing trip of my life. Sweetie, have I ever told you about the man I was with before I met your grandpa? I was on a ship, traveling to go to America… And that’s where I met Jack, the sweetest, most wonderful lover that…
Hannah: Ew, grandma!
Grandma: What? I have such fond memories of him. Like the time he drew a picture of me. I remember it as if it were yesterday… And then again the time he met my family. I still vividly remember that we were all sitting at a table, me, my mom, my boyfriend and…
Hannah: Grandma, are you- Are you telling the story of the movie Titanic?
Grandma: So what? It’s a great story!
Questions
I don't know if you're familiar with the movie Titanic, but I was obsessed with it when I was younger, so I know it very well.
Bring back a memory
'Seeing you like this, brings back so many memories!'
• What can bring back a memory? An object, a person or a smell?
It can literally be anything, anything can bring back a memory. Maybe you had a favorite food as a child and you see it, or you smell it, it brings back a memory or songs, Oh, my goodness, songs are a great way to bring back memories.
• If something brings back a memory, do you have to force yourself to remember or not?
No, that's the thing about these objects, or smells, or people is that we see them and immediately, we naturally start remembering we don't have to force ourselves. That's what bringing back a memory means, you can't control it.
• Is there a smell that brings back specific memories for you?
I think it would have to be sunscreen. You know the smell of sunscreen? I think it brings back the memories of when I used to go to Sicily on vacation, so lots of really, really good memories. It definitely brings back a lot of those.
Take a trip down memory lane
'Oh, oh, are you about to take a trip down memory lane?'
• If you take a trip down memory lane, how much time do you spend remembering the past? A long time or a short time?
If you're taking a trip down memory lane, you're going to spend quite a bit of time remembering the past.
• Is taking a trip down memory lane something that you choose to do or not?
Yes, if you take a trip down memory lane, it's you deliberately, you decide to start remembering. Maybe you want to take a trip down memory lane and you take out a photo album for, I don't know if people still have those, I don't know, you pull out your phone and check your Facebook and look at all your past photos, and you take a trip down memory lane.
• When was the last time that you took a trip down memory lane? What caused you to do it?
I don't like remembering past things too much, I get very nostalgic, I miss it a lot. Whether it be good or bad things I don't know, I just don't like it very much. Every now and then, Facebook does this thing where it shows you, they call it memories, it's really photos from the past. A lot of times, I try not to look at them, but every now and then, I will see a photo that I took a few years ago and then I start taking a trip down memory lane and start thinking about everything that happened that day or in that period and the people that I was hanging out with at that time and I really take a trip down memory lane because of Facebook.
Fond memories
'I have such fond memories of him.'
• If you have fond memories of something or someone, do you remember it with happiness or sadness?
If you have fond memories of something or someone, you remember it with happiness or pleasure. It puts a smile on your face when you think about those things when you remember those things.
• What do you have fond memories of?
I would have to say my teenage years. From when I was like 14 to when I was 16, I was very carefree, really happy, didn't study much at that time, loved hanging out with my friends, so I have very, very fond memories of that time.
Remember something as if it were yesterday
'I remember it as if it were yesterday...'
• If you remember something as if it were yesterday, do you remember it very well or not very well?
If you remember something as if they were yesterday, that means, yesterday is pretty close, that means you remember it very well. I don't know how good's your memory but in theory, if something happened yesterday, you should remember it pretty well.
• Did anything happen in your childhood that you remember as if it were yesterday?
There is an event, this is probably when I was seven years old, and I was learning to ride a bike, without the training wheels. I was already old, I was seven, so I definitely, it took me a while to find the courage to start practicing. I clearly remember as if it were yesterday that I was there, I was like in a rink, and I was just on the bike and trying to go straight. I remember my mom talking to what was at the time, my sister's boyfriend, and I was just getting so frustrated because she was supposed to look at me and make sure that nothing would happen to me, but she was distracted. Sure thing, I ended up falling and hurting myself. I got really angry at my mom because it was like, "Well, you were supposed to look at me," and she felt a little guilty. I remember that whole thing as if you were yesterday.
Remember something vividly
'I still vividly remember that we were all sitting at a table...'
• If you remember something vividly, does your memory include lots of details or very few details?
If you remember something vividly, your memory includes lots and lots of details. You can kind of see it, if you close your eyes, you can see exactly what happened in the past. It's very similar to expression number four, in a way.
• What’s something you remember vividly?
I had to think about this one, and I think it would have to be the time that I discovered I was going to go to the States for the first time. I was 16 years old at the time, and I was just so, so, so excited. I remember everything about that moment. I remember I was in my kitchen, I remember I was having lunch and I was having eggs and a salad. I remember my mom opening the letter and reading the news out loud saying that I had gotten accepted into the program and that I was going to go to the States. I remember just jumping up and down and just super, super happy. So, yes I remember it vividly.
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