I will never forget the day I decided I want to be an author. I’ll never forget my first major crush. I’ll never forget the first time I told a guy I liked him, and got rejected. I’ll never forget the first signed book I got, or the first teen book I read. I’ll never forget the time in my life when journalism was my dream career. Or the day I realized that journalism is not the path for me, but being a Unitarian Universalist minister, just might be. I’ll never forget my first boyfriend, or my first heartbreak.


For each one of these little moments I’ll always remember, there are a zillion tiny moments in my life that changed me as a person that I’ll never remember. I was thinking about this woman I once talked to, when I was four or five years old. Although I don’t remember her, I remember what she was telling me: Always wear a seatbelt when riding in a car. I also remember that she said her son had died from not wearing a seatbelt. What that lady said should not be a permanent part of who I am, but it is. Why do I remember that but I don’t remember other little moments? Most people do this, forget people they should know, forget the way they met their best friend.


It’s funny the way the mind works; it’s funny how people forget experiences they thought would always stick with them. I wonder what ten years from now I’ll remember about this year, and what I will forget. Hopefully I’ll forget all the embarrassing moments, but with my luck, those will be the memories ingrained in my mind forever.