What are we , if not a collection of our memories ?
Think about it for a moment — all the reasons you are who you are is based on moments throughout your life . How parents and caregivers treated you , the relationship with siblings , grandparents , and friends . The impacts teachers , coaches , or club leaders made in your life . Places you visited , where you attended school , a first love , a first hurt . These experiences , this vast cumulation of prismatic flashes , have traveled like branching lightning bolts through the neural connections in your brain , creating long-term memories . And those memories have shaped who you are .
Now , let ’ s try an experiment : What ’ s the earliest memory you have of the beach ? Is it the sound of seagulls ? The sensation of sand pulling away from beneath your feet as you stand at the water ’ s edge ? Jumping waves ?
When you recalled the moment that was special for you , did you feel it ? Could you hear the sounds associated with the memory ? Why , out of all the immeasurable experiences stored in your brain , were you able to recall visiting the beach ?
Now , if you ’ re a parent , or have young kids in your life , think about the moments kids talk about . Chances are , it wasn ’ t the elaborate beach bonfire with professional musicians hired for the last night at the beach . Nope , it was when they took a halfmelted marshmallow and tore tiny pieces off to feed to the ghost crabs skittering along the shore . Or when they chased crabs with flashlights and tried to scoop them up in long-handled nets .
MAGICAL MOMENTS OF TRAVEL FEATURE beachLIFE 87