Remembering your graduation
Nathan Everly
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: Forum
It's a striking, familiar story. Ask a person what he or she had for dinner two weeks ago, and you're likely to elicit blank stares. But ask that same person to describe for you an important historical event that he or she witnessed and the story changes completely. Not only will you hear a detailed account of the event itself, but you're also likely to learn exactly what that person was doing when he or she first learned about this event. If you don't believe me, then try to think about what you were doing when you first heard about the September 11 terrorist attacks. You can probably do it. If you were alive during the 1960s, then try to imagine where you were when you first heard about the Kennedy assassination. Again, you'll probably be able to do it.
This phenomenon isn't restricted to trying to remember events that were particularly tragic, however. The events themselves just need to elicit a strong emotional response. So this means that you could also experience something similar when attempting to remember special birthdays, important family reunions and even graduation ceremonies. Researchers have referred to these kinds of recollections as "flashbulb memories" because they are unusually vivid, and they're a fairly common occurrence. All you have to do is experience something that was extremely significant for you on a personal level, and your memory of that event will likely become a flashbulb memory. The reason for this is that emotion plays a role in enhancing the recollection of your own memories. Consequently, emotional memories are the ones that you are likely to remember in the most detail.
I'm telling you all of this for two reasons. First, graduating from Washington University is a very significant personal event, so you'll probably develop a flashbulb memory of what happens. Second, I want to give you a caveat about flashbulb memories even after everything I have just said about them: Unfortunately, they're not necessarily accurate.
Researchers have known for decades that flashbulb memories carry unique properties. Unfortunately, it wasn't until recently that they figured out that better accuracy wasn't one of them. Sure, you can probably recall the general details of a flashbulb memory faster than you would normally be able to do with a regular memory. But what about that vivid quality of a flashbulb memory that helps you remember all of those minute details? It turns out that your flashbulb memories aren't necessarily more accurate; you're just more confident that they're more accurate. It is entirely possible that you can remember vivid details that didn't actually happen. Moreover, the specific details that you remember can be inconsistent over time. In short, the memories that you have of your greatest personal achievements (e.g. your college graduation) are fallible.
So why am I making this point? Because if you'd like to remember all of the important details from graduation, the best solution is to jot everything down in a journal. Now I'll admit that I have never held much enthusiasm for writing down one's thoughts in a journal. The short answer for why this is the case is that it's an incredibly time consuming process, and college students don't exactly have a lot of free time. That said, even I can bring myself to make an exception for one day. After all, if you're going to harbor fond memories of your own college graduation ceremony, then you should at least keep all of your facts straight.
Nathan Everly is graduating from the college of Arts & Science. He is a former Senior Forum Editor for Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at neeverly@gmail.com.
This phenomenon isn't restricted to trying to remember events that were particularly tragic, however. The events themselves just need to elicit a strong emotional response. So this means that you could also experience something similar when attempting to remember special birthdays, important family reunions and even graduation ceremonies. Researchers have referred to these kinds of recollections as "flashbulb memories" because they are unusually vivid, and they're a fairly common occurrence. All you have to do is experience something that was extremely significant for you on a personal level, and your memory of that event will likely become a flashbulb memory. The reason for this is that emotion plays a role in enhancing the recollection of your own memories. Consequently, emotional memories are the ones that you are likely to remember in the most detail.
I'm telling you all of this for two reasons. First, graduating from Washington University is a very significant personal event, so you'll probably develop a flashbulb memory of what happens. Second, I want to give you a caveat about flashbulb memories even after everything I have just said about them: Unfortunately, they're not necessarily accurate.
Researchers have known for decades that flashbulb memories carry unique properties. Unfortunately, it wasn't until recently that they figured out that better accuracy wasn't one of them. Sure, you can probably recall the general details of a flashbulb memory faster than you would normally be able to do with a regular memory. But what about that vivid quality of a flashbulb memory that helps you remember all of those minute details? It turns out that your flashbulb memories aren't necessarily more accurate; you're just more confident that they're more accurate. It is entirely possible that you can remember vivid details that didn't actually happen. Moreover, the specific details that you remember can be inconsistent over time. In short, the memories that you have of your greatest personal achievements (e.g. your college graduation) are fallible.
So why am I making this point? Because if you'd like to remember all of the important details from graduation, the best solution is to jot everything down in a journal. Now I'll admit that I have never held much enthusiasm for writing down one's thoughts in a journal. The short answer for why this is the case is that it's an incredibly time consuming process, and college students don't exactly have a lot of free time. That said, even I can bring myself to make an exception for one day. After all, if you're going to harbor fond memories of your own college graduation ceremony, then you should at least keep all of your facts straight.
Nathan Everly is graduating from the college of Arts & Science. He is a former Senior Forum Editor for Student Life and can be reached by e-mail at neeverly@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this story