Things my heart used to know/ Things it yearns to remember

Today was my last class of my first year at university. It still feels kind of strange that I will essentially be spending the next couple of months doing nothing (other than revision, of course, but that goes without saying). I also can't believe how quickly the last two terms have gone. Before Christmas, I didn't go home at all, and time went nice and slowly, giving me plenty of time to enjoy uni life. After Christmas I went home a few times for long weekends, and of course after Easter we only had three weeks of teaching. I just feel like time has once again run away with me.

Anyway, I found our last lecture really interesting; it was probably one of the most fun classes we've had. We discussed involuntary memory, and were given a worksheet explaining Joe Brainard's technique of listing sentences that begin with "I remember..." as a way of being able to unselfconsciously gather details from your past that you had practically forgotten. Our task was to write solidly for about twenty minutes, coming up with our own "I remember" sentences. It was fascinating, I didn't think I would end up with many sentences as usually my memory is pretty naff, but surprisingly I filled up my sheet of paper! Everyone in the class took it in turns to read one sentence at a time, and it was really interesting hearing about people's past in short sentences. I thought I'd share mine here:

→ I remember thinking my friends meant actual flowers when they asked me if I wanted to join them eating Roses at the park
→ I remember burning stale pringles in a Biology experiment
→ I remember my mum forcing me to eat swede and telling me that I did like it, even though I knew I didn't
→ I remember finding out that my best friend was pregnant - she told me in a text message
→ I remember finding my cat dead on the doorstep one morning as I was about to leave for school
→ I remember my year 7 English teacher's hate of blackboards
→ I remember being annoyed that the boys at my primary school could do handstands when I couldn't
→ I remember eating raw jelly for energy at swimming competitions
→ I remember a friend asking me if I was sure I wasn't French, because I used to eat a lot of croissants
→ I remember being more upset that I'd broken a nail then the fact that I'd broken my arm
→ I remember visiting my brother at the hospital after he'd had an operation
→ I remember watching the play park at the end of my street burn down
→ I remember standing talking to my mum in the dining room when our fish tank exploded
→ I remember forgetting my passport when I was meant to be flying to Scotland
→ I remember being told to focus on the White Cliffs of Dover on the ferry back from Germany when I was feeling sea sick, and thinking that it didn't really help
→ I remember falling down two flights of stairs at my aunt's house
→ I remember being given flowers and chocolate on my first day of work experience in Germany because it was my birthday
→ I remember trying to throw my sandwiches in the bin at primary school because I didn't want to eat them, but being caught
→ I remember being really embarrassed the first time I gave blood because I nearly passed out twice afterwards
→ I remember losing my cousin despite having been holding her hand