My earliest memory comes from the age of 3. My sister and I were watching T.V. in "the pink room," our guest room, while eating soup. We were told to be careful because it was pea soup and the carpet was pink. Of course, I spilled my soup on the carpet, and my mom put me in time out. The chief imagery I retain from this narrative was my realization of the trouble I was going to get in (the terror remains unrivaled), my mom yelling at me, and me standing behind the door in my room, just staring at it. I also specifically remember her telling me I was not allowed to wear my cool underwear that week. I was understandably devastated.
All of these aspects of my memory, the spilling and the punishment, are 'true' in that I remember them in first-person. They are not a recreation of my mind. However, the act of watching T.V. with the soup is something I remember from the viewpoint of an observer watching my sister and myself, so that much, at least, is fabricated. It would seem that I only committed to memory the stressful portions of the evening.
I do believe these kinds of experiences helped shape my personality. I am generally not a rule-breaker and memories like these are, I think, part of why. My parents always made sure that when I did something wrong, I paid for it. I'm a terrible liar probably for this reason.
-- Edited by kid roland on Tuesday 20th of October 2009 02:50:28 AM
-- Edited by kid roland on Tuesday 20th of October 2009 02:50:41 AM
