The earliest memory I have is when I lived in chicago. In this particular memory I was about four years old, and in my room where we used to live there was a huge window that went from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Sometimes, when it was warm outside, my mother would open up the window at the bottom and both of us would lay on our stomachs and just listen to what was going on outside. This would happen after dinner right before I went to bed.
There aren't any extraordinary circumstances, but this memory is definitely dear to my heart because it was a special moment that I shared with my mother.
I do think my personality and identity are similar-- I'm still the same fantastical, imaginative person I was when I was younger. And if i could have a repeat of this memory now, that would be pretty sweet.
On another note, this memory isn't one single snapshot in time... this was a recurring event.
mine was fairly similar in a couple of ways... a memory of my mother at home during daily life, and not exactly an event of significant. my memory was a snapshot however, rather than a recurring event.
a similarity i had was that it had to do with an important memory i had with a family member. I think that i can f ind the roots of my own personality from back then. Meaning i havent changed too much. One thing though is this was a one time occuring thing whereas yours was a reoccuring thing. I Guess this was easier for you to remeber than my memory is for me,
It makes sense to me that this is your earliest memory, largely because (as you note) it was the happened many times. As we learned in class, rehearsal is one of the mind's most effective mechanisms for encoding memories into one's long-term memory. This leads to what we could call a "general rule" that anything presented to the mind many times will be more likely to be remembered. This is certainly the case with your earliest memory; your personal experience supports the concept.
I don't have any memories this chill until I was in my second elementary school, at about 9. Before that it's just a collection of significant, one-time events. Although I do remember sitting in the sunroom of my house in Park Ridge just before my family moved to New York and just gazing out the window on a sunny day.
