The Importance of Memory

This piece was very intriguing to read. It opened my eyes to a lot of concepts. At first I just thought it was a silly story about a young girl. Yet after the memoir she went into so much detail and description of the process of memory, writing a memoir, and the significance of first drafts. I usually tend to loathe first drafts but now that the author of “Memory and Imagination,” Patricia Hampl has shown me the significance of first drafts I understand them. Hampl compared first drafts to the first time you meet a person. A sort of first impression you have. Whether it is good or bad it can lead to something beautiful and elaborate.
Throughout this text I was thinking about events that have happened to me, particularly negative ones that stick with me. I know I must let them go or conquer them but Hampl is right when she states, “We carry our wounds and perhaps even worse, our capacity to wound, forward with us” (53). In personal experience I have carried this particular wound with me for a few years now and I still let it affect me. It can be quite difficult to forget the bad and focus on the happiness. I try to remember that the bad times make us stronger and help build us into the individual we are.
I had never specifically heard of memoir writing in such detail and in reading this piece I definitely learned a great deal about how wondrous memoir writing can be. Memoir writing can help writers find out who they are and assist them in piecing together events to find the meaning and reason. This piece did not particularly make me question anything I believe; yet it gave me a better understanding on memoir, negative events, and life in general. I had never thought that writings may not all be truthful and factual. I had always put trust in the writer and believed all that they had to tell. I enjoyed this reading because it made me think and I love when I am led to deep thought and contemplation of events or concepts. I hope to write a memoir myself in the near future.