We conducted a series of mini-interviews with everyday people on how they have received their childhood memories, and how they plan on passing them down.
Audio:
*Insight from audio found on: nytimes.com/2019/09/19/well/family/what-will-my-grandchild-remember.html & globalnews.ca/news/4815751/commentary-photos-memories/
Transcript:
FE: Can you recall an early childhood memory and how you remember it, whether it be from a photo album, scrapbook, personal account and so on?
S1: Yeah, I remember when I was five or something, my cousin and I climbed the roof of his house back in Sri Lanka. It was really cool, ‘cause I was very small and I was on the roof. I have a very clear memory of this; of just looking over the edge of the roof, and my cousin also remembers it. Also, my aunts and everyone got really mad, so obviously they remembered as well. I generally look to it as my first memory, because it’s the first solid thing I have that everyone else also remembers.
FE: Wow, that’s a very vivid memory, and you seem to have lots of confidence in it since it’s backed up by others.
FE: Do you have any plans of making physical keepsakes as a way to pass down memories to future generations in your family?
S2: So, most of the images or memories can be found throughout different means of media. As a way to pass them down, I would probably keep those, maybe print out photos and have a box of images, or keep them on a hard drive of some sort and go through them with family.
FE: How have you received your childhood memories?
S3: In the past, my parents have always taken photos and created albums.
FE: Do you plan on carrying down memories later on in that same fashion?
S3: I would like to continue that for other generations.
FE: How do you plan on passing down memories to future generations in your family?
S4: I would probably share photos of my childhood, and probably take photos of my kids for the future.
FE: And will it be done digitally?
S4: Yes, probably digitally.
FE: How do you plan on passing down memories to your children [if you’re going to have any]?
S5: I think that in today’s age the easiest way to pass down your own memories to your children is by recording them on your phone, and then it’s saved on the iCloud. So even if that phone were to get destroyed or whatever, those pictures will forever be there. Unlike actual photos, where if it gets destroyed in a fire [for example], then it’s gone totally! So, I guess if I’d wanna show something to like my upcoming relatives, like next generations, the best way to do that would be saving it on an iCloud device sort-of-thing, and then being able to share it that way.
FE: How have you remembered your childhood memories?
S6: Ah, just through some photos, and my parents tell me some things that they’ve remembered.
FE: What are your earliest childhood memories, and how do you remember them?
S7: Mmm, some memories, you know as I grew up, I still have them in the back of my mind. And, some my parents back up with their stories, and we have hardcopies of those little incidents and anecdotes that my parents back up that I have.
FE: Can you recall your oldest childhood memory?
S8: It was me around two or three drinking from my milk bottle, and looking at my mom while my favourite show was playing in the background and my two older siblings were going to school.
FE: So there’s sounds involved, so it’s not necessarily through photos. So, how do you remember it?
S8: I don’t know. It’s always been the first thing that comes to mind when someone says ‘childhood.’
FE: And do you remember it through conversations with a parent or…?
S8: No. I tell my mom about it, but my mom doesn’t remember it, so I don’t feel like it’s true even though I think it is.
FE: This story is based solely on your personal memory, so how confident are you with the accuracy behind your memories?
S8: Every time someone tells me to speak on a memory that happened a few years ago, I tend to change a few details from a story, because I don’t remember the– I keep forgetting more and more details as time goes on, so I make up details. I don’t think our memories are perfectly true or perfect.
FE: What is your earliest childhood memory and how do you remember it?
S9: My first childhood memory was being able to spell my first word, which is ‘love.’ How I remembered it was I was drawing at home and I asked my mom what word I can learn, and she said love. That’s the first time I spelt a word.
FE: What was your first childhood recollection and how do you remember it?
S10: Well, my first childhood memory was when I was a kid. I was playing with my sister in the store — I think it was Gap — and we were just holding hands and spinning around in circles, and then she accidently let me go. I flew and hit my head on the metal shelf, and it started to bleed.
FE: And how do you remember it?
S10: ‘Cause it was an accident [and therefore really memorable]!
FE: Can you recall your oldest childhood memory?
S11: I think the first thing I remember is I fell down on the bathroom table, and my mother told me.
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