Memory Seminar Final Bridge 1 Post:

Recollections

I remember hearing sirens and seeing police cars surrounding my house in the middle of the night. Red. White. Red. White.
I imagine being one of the police officers and crashing my car into a streetlight soon after because I would be a careless and horrible driver.

I remember hearing the birds chirping in the middle of the night while I was fast asleep.
I imagine jamming to Justin Bieber instead of sleeping because he would be the only guy I would burn the midnight oil for.

I remember watching Barbie movies in the living room with my dad and a stray cat.
I imagine myself being Barbie in the future. Beautiful eyes. Beautiful hair. Beautiful shoes.

I remember setting foot into kindergarten on the first day of school with clammy palms and a pounding heart. I genuinely thought my heart was going to burst out from my ribcage.
I imagine staying at home with a tub of ice cold Ben and Jerry’s on the first day instead. I would probably regret after eating it but it would be worth it.

I remember the rich smell of a bowl of hot Campbell’s mushroom soup made by my mum filling up the kitchen.
I imagine myself making the exact same soup in College and it turning out bland.

I remember the stinky fish odor coming from my mouth after forgetting to brush my teeth in the morning.
I imagine forming a habit and brushing my teeth every day so that my breath would smell like mint.

I remember the smell of baby powder that I put on every day before leaving to class.
I imagine putting on the vanilla perfume from the black bottle and running out of the door.

I remember sleeping on my fluffy teddy friend before going to bed every day.
I imagine buying ten different bears so that I would get the option to choose which bear to sleep with every night.

I remember my nanny caressing my back and telling me “shh, it’s okay baby” when I cried about not fitting in.
I imagine bringing my friends home and introducing them to my nanny. They would love her and I would live happily ever after.

I remember not doing my homework and hearing the roar of my monstrous teacher.
I imagine staying up with my friends for a group project in university and ending up jamming to “God is A Woman” by Ariana Grande.

I remember playing the “Write down who you like” game on a piece of paper and passing it to my best guy friend.
I imagine my best guy friend writing me a love letter.

I remember running to Tuckshop at midnight just so I could buy my favorite coconut fragrant fried rice with chicken before it sells out.
I imagine laying in bed and getting my fried rice with deep-fried crunchy chicken delivered.

I remember being really impressed with the smell of my mum’s home cooked Hainanese chicken rice one night.

I imagine sniffing the pungent and horrifying smell of my dad’s attempt at cooking a shepherd’s pie filling up the kitchen.

I remember while trying to pick up my eraser on the floor, I accidentally held a guy’s hand under the table thinking that I was picking up the eraser. It was so embarrassing and my cheeks flushed to the color scarlet.
I imagine myself touching my husband’s soft and warm hand for the first time and experience the same reaction.

I remember the beeping sound of the machine and seeing my dad lying in the hospital after a holiday weekend on an island. One of his fingers got stuck in between the tanning bed and it was bleeding profusely. I thought I was going to lose him.
I imagine myself being in his position so I could share his pain.

I remember sharing a big red bowl of ramen with brown beef and white truffle with my sister.
I imagine myself stealing some of my friend’s Korean red packet noodle in the middle of the night because I was hungry.

I remember eating the soft and juicy sea bass in a fancy restaurant in Monte Carlo with my family while enjoying the breathtaking view of the city.
I imagine eating a bowl of yummy and oily spaghetti bolognese in Italy with my family, and we would be appreciating the beautiful infrastructures around us.

I remember the smell of freshly-cooked warm hash browns filling the cafeteria.
I imagine cooking one myself in my apartment and over-frying it. It will then trigger the smoke alarm.

I remember at my very first night sleeping in the dorm, I laid on my soft bed covered with lavender smelling sheets. I remember it felt like home.

I imagine partying all night with the new friends I met in school and not feeling lonely.

I remember rubbing my nails together whenever someone laughs at my accent. I remember wanting to dig a hole, hide inside it and not wanting to talk forever.
I imagine having a British accent and feeling accomplished because I think British accent sounds very posh.

I remember savoring a bowl of vegan chocolate ice cream. They tasted super delicious but weird. I imagine myself gaining the freshman fifteen because I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from eating the chocolate ice cream.

I remember seeing the tears fill up my mum’s pair of brown eyes as I was in the airport ready to leave for New York.
I imagine seeing the same pair of brown eyes gleaming at me when I graduate from college.

I remember telling my dad that I will build him his desired house.

I imagine him retiring in the house that I have built. He would be very happy, and seeing him happy makes me happy too.

I remember . . .

Reflection

In my perspective, the development of specific information was definitely the most intriguing as it really allowed me to dive deep into why I remembered that particular memory and pulling me a lot closer to home. Also, I have realized the ease at which our past memories could be forgotten, as I often find myself struggling to piece some of my memories together. This, however, has made me realized the different levels of appreciation I have for different memories. The development of specific information has also taught me how to draft my memory in a way that is easy yet humorous for others to understand and enjoy. Not only that, it also forces me to be specific with the things I say, and this highly targets one of my weakest points in writing as I often disregard the mini and specific details and would only focus on the bigger image. Thus, after learning this method of writing, I would be able to successfully describe my past experiences to other people more swiftly. Likewise, while drafting an academic essay that requires specification, I would also be more concise and specific with the things I want to portray.

The most challenging process would definitely be the editing process, as I find myself constantly getting confused between the word “remember” and “imagine”. However, after looking through the notes given by my teacher and the feedback provided by my partner, I was then able to gradually understand the difference between I remember and I imagine, as I remember are the things that have happened and I imagine could be things that you wish happened but have not yet happen. As I misinterpreted the assignment, there was a lot of editing that needed to be done to my first draft. At times during the editing process, I would still find myself being confused with the concept of the two words, and this made the editing process very time-consuming.

I would like to focus more on the similar yet different meaning of two different words, for example, the difference between I remember and I imagine as identifying the differences is probably one of my weakest points. Although I somewhat have grabbed the ability to differentiate the two dictions, I want to be able to feel confident about identifying the different dictions. Another part that I wish to focus on would be describing things in a specific way. In my perspective, being specific with the things you say requires a lot of practice and although the exercises given in Bridge 1 has given me a lot of practice on being specific and concise, an immense amount of practice is still needed to solidify this skill of mine.