Siddarth Kamath Week 14: Memories of the Past Impact the Future
Recollection is one of the gifts we humans have. We can remember our past and take that into consideration to decide our future. Each decision we take today will have an influential effect on our lives in the years to come. But how do we perfect this art of remembering and gaining the most for the future?
It comes from the experiences inhabited by the person. For example, if person A lived in a rugged small apartment in New York, an urban area, it is quite likely that this individual would be willing to live with minimal resources and be independent in such a large community. On the other hand, person B could be living in a large and fancy house yet not value each item they possess. But this is impossible to change as we are all born in a certain way and have no control on the starting point of our lives. It is the growth that matters. It is the positive morals that are gained through every interaction.
So what is actually possible to change? If the starting point is impossible to ameliorate then each choice we make has the biggest influence. There could be an angry individual who bites at your personality but making sure your values are put in place and taking the best of what they have is the most important. We have to assume that everyone is trying to help you even though they may not be at first glance. With a different mindset, will our experiences change, and can a successful life be attained.
Hello Siddarth. Thank you for sharing this interesting analysis of how a person’s past impacts their future; this blog affirms my own belief that a person’s childhood plays an immense role in shaping their development. However, it also seems to explore the idea that a person can be shaped by important moments at any point in their life, not just their childhood—I find this topic to be very interesting since I learned from psychology books that humans have highly elastic minds, but I never knew what that meant in the real world. This blog post demonstrates an example of a specific manner in which our minds are elastic—when we experience something, our brains may shift to remember that, and when a similar occasion occurs, we can take that into account. Yet, when reflecting over situations like this, I typically think of negative events that cause a person to become less trusting of something harmful, like a fall down a set of stairs causing a person to be more cautious whenever they are near stairs in the future—but this blog post reflects on the idea of shaping the mind more positively: to embrace trust and acceptance in life in order to become more successful in life. In the future, I will try to keep the perspective of this blog post in mind and try to be more trusting towards new people.
ReplyDeleteHi Siddarth! Reading about your discussion of the relationship between one’s past and the ability to mold their future character is thought-provoking. Firstly, this blog highlights the extent to which environmental factors affect a variety of factors, ranging from behavioral patterns to personal morals. I appreciate the vivid descriptions you utilized to illustrate this tension in a compelling matter, as these traits are displayed throughout society and entertainment. Indeed, where we are born will inevitably play a tremendous role in the people we develop into over time, whether for better or worse. On the other hand, the discussion also sheds light on the optimism people should adopt in their self-perception, as there is always going to be a choice within one’s control that can better the outcome of their life. The second point that you raised that intrigued me was how people of different experiences and behaviors are likely to treat one another with good intentions. More often than not, it is the external differences and prejudice that skew our perceptions of others, leading to escalating conflicts, rather than the beliefs we hold. Taking the influence our surrounding has on our characters into account, it becomes much easier to appreciate and accept the differences of our neighbors. I am glad that beneath your discussion of memory is a socially relevant message on unity and optimism.
ReplyDeleteHi Siddarth,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the structure of your blog - starting with a statement that the audience resonates with, posing a question about how to improve and perfect something we all need, and actually delving into what we need to change in order to be successful. I couldn’t agree more with the opening statement of your blog - that “recollection is one of the gifts we humans have.” In fact, I would say that it’s the most important gift we have. The past, especially the ability to properly recollect the past, holds such an impactful role in shaping our future. Personally, if I was never able to recollect the past or reminisce about memories, I would never be able to grow, learning from my recollected mistakes and embedding my recollected successes into my future. This also translates to another point you bring up in your blog - about how we need a different mindset to have successful experiences and a successful life. I couldn't agree more with the need to change our mindset to improve. After we think about our past - both failures and successes - it’s important for us to look back with a growth mindset and insight to change our ways to better ourselves. I also felt that the topic you explored was very relevant regarding our latest novel in APENG, Beloved. This theme of past impacting the future is most exemplified in Sethe’s character. Reading your blog has offered me a new perspective to think about characters, like Sethe, who highlight the impact of their past on their future. Overall, your blog was very enlightening and I hope to incorporate what you said about trusting others and changing our mindsets throughout my life in the future.