A flashbulb memory is a very vivid memory that is "burned" into our minds for a VERY long time. Memories could be a variety of events and can also be quite traumatic. We will take a look at memory
We will study memory in an upcoming chapter. Take some time to think of a flashbulb memory that you have. For example, I can recall exactly where I was on 9-11, when 2Pac died, and when I first fell in love with poetry. Describe your flashbulb memory. I will ask you to recall your responses when we go over this in class if you are willing to share.
Here is one of mine:
As a young child I had an abusive father. When I was around 4 years old my mother gathered me and my sister and moved us from Oklahoma City to the State of Texas. As a child in Oklahoma there was this towel in my household. It was old, the threads were thinning and worn, and it was light blue and white. I used this towel to cover me on the Greyhound Bus on our journey to Texas. When we arrived to San Antonio we were homeless and went to the Salvation Army around 1A.M. We walked into the room where there were no beds but several dozen cots. At that time we were told that all of the cot beds were taken and there would be no room for my mother, sister, and I.
Fortunately, they allowed us to sleep in the lobby that night. Again, I used that towel as my blanket. It never fully covered me, but it always comforted me. That was especially important during this time in which it seemed from the reaction of people on the streets that no one wanted us, and now even the Salvation Army was turning us away. The next morning we were back to sleeping on the streets. Finally, we were informed of a Battered Women's Shelter we could go to, but we would have to walk several miles to get to it. At that time it was dark, my mother was frustrated and tired, and she made us leave some things behind before we started the long walk. One of the things I had to leave was my towel. I still remember the dark night in Downtown San Antonio, how I softly placed the towel on the street trash can. As we began our trek to the Batted Women's Shelter I remember looking back to make sure it was still there and no one had taken it. With no food and no home, it was the one thing I had that was mine...and just like that...it was gone.
Post one of your flashbulb memories!
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I can recall a time when i was a small child in elementary school. I was somewhere around the age of 4. I remember the house being empty like it always was; no parents, just hungry children.
As I was making something to eat, the landlord walked by and saw that I was making one hell of a mess in our kitchen, and he proceeded to beat me viciously.
I didn't think of calling for help, because I knew that my parents were not going to be home anytime soon (seeing as they were never home at all in those times).
After the beating, I had decided to run away from home. I had had enough of my sh**ty life and that I just wanted to get away from it all.
So I just picked out a random direction and ran bare footed out into the streets. I got to Biscayne and sat on the curb, trying not to cry. I sat there trying to figure out why my parents were never there, why I had such a fu**ed up family, why nothing good ever happens to me, and why was I given life, If i was fated to live mine in such a fu**ed up way.
I sat there and thought till sunset; Then I got up and walked back home, back into my sh**ty life. I had decided that I'm only gonna think of and live for myself from then on. And I did just that for a very long time; so long that I don't have a conscience anymore to this day.
This memory stuck with me because It was a point in my life that marked a significant change in my lifestyle.
A flash bulb memory i had was the death of best friend jennifer aka Jenny. I was in the 3rd grade and we use to do everything together. Go to the art room, snack bar, dances, everything. Than one day i had just showed up at the Boys and Girls Club which is where we always hung out(being that we didn't go to the same school). I couldn't find her and i asked around and everybody looked so sad.
They said, "You didn't hear?"
"Hear what",i said.
They had told me she passed away the night before. That was the only time i have ever passed out in my life. To know a girl my best friend was gone just like that.
We visited the trailer she lived in. Burned down to ashes. You could see the bike they through in one of the windows in which her brother got out.
This memory is always in the back of my mind because it makes me be a good person so that if i were to pass at anytime my friends will be alright cause they know im at peace.
To my surprise, I am able to recall a certain "traumatizing experience" as it were.
Within my childhood (somewhere around 8 years of age), I witnessed a bloody scene in my own house. Around 3 in the morning i woke up to a harsh disagreement(filled with heavy profanity) between my brother and sister. Being a child, I get out of my bed and room to see what the noise is about. As soon as my feet touch the threshold of my brother's room, I see my brother punch my sister in the jaw. My brother used to box and played football, so some blood few out of my sister's fragile mouth, following her collapse t the ground. As soon as my brother spotted me, he closed the door in my face.
True none of this happened to me, but it burned into my mind, because my brother and sister were these figures of laughter and fun, and yet this brutal scene just flashed before my eyes. I kind of gave a mindset that it was okay for men to hit women. Of course, it took a while to debrief this concept (seeing as how I no longer belive this). However, it was a huge contradiction, that I regret seeing to this day.
Aw man......sorry to hear this out of you guys i feel like a sucker now...... I've been beaten and I've seen some things people getting shoot i saw a guy get of his bike and his head came off oh yeah a guy commite suicide jumped of a building splate......i guess i was ready for the world to be what i is i mean i got them gansta beating my olgirl broke her car just to beat me with the fan bet cause the regular belt and extenttion cord didn't work anymore.......so my flash bulb is kinda hard seen so much people beat to death even saw a dude ge hung........i've always remember my first fight though not sure why cause cause it was two on one its funny cause i was the new kid im always the new kid and they felt like lets mess with him but ever body that know me really well know im a wrestler a boxer took karate and studied jujitsu so it was still cause it made me see the world for what it is its survival of the fittest be he prey or the predator.
A flash bulb memory i had was when i was a very young child(around the age of 7). I won't go into details because its kind of personal and a very tramatic experience for me. my uncle was watching me as usual while my mother was working.
My uncle who i trusted so much always use to molest me but on this day he decided to take it a little futher. To make a long story short he raped me and beat me viciously. i tried to fight back but i was 7 and i really coudn't do much.
My mom and my other uncle found out. while my mom took me to the hospital my other uncle went to "deal with him". My uncle is now in jail for life.
i lost my ability to completly trust people, i don't like to be touched, and i stay to my self. that day forever sticks inmy mind. it changed my life forever.
Once when I was younger, I believe I was in kindergarden, I witnessed first-hand a blaze of events.
It was night time while everyone was sound asleep, we were startled by the sound of the smoke alarm. I can remember not being able to see clearly due to the thick blanket of smoke that surrounded us (as in my mother, sister and I). But what could make out was the Bright kendle of yellow and raging red. It surrounded us completly creating a horseshoe shape around the bed. I was afraid because I was so young. This is my "Flashbulb" memorey.
I was about eight years old. I was flying my first kite! It was so amazing! I had a Xena kite! She was my Hero. At first everything was going good but then a strong gust of wind pulled on my kite and the string snapped! So my first thought was to, "CHASE THE KITE!!!" So I start chasing the kite forgetting that there is a road ahead. Well, as soon as I run into the road a car almost hit me but swerved in time to drive into a tree... Later on after some time of searching I finally found my kite and made my way home.
I can recall one moment i wont never be able forget. I remember it as if it was yesterday.
It was a rainy wednesday, the sky as gloomy and dreadful it can be. I just had a feeling something was going to happen. later that night i recieved a phone call and my cousin screaming on the other end "where granddad? Where granddad? Deron is dead.....". the only thing i can say was "STOP playing" when i gave my grandad the phone, it was the first time i ever seen my grandad cry. so i knew it was true. after that it showed me anything can happened in a split second.
I remember when I was a kid around the age of 7 I was at home with my mother, and sister it was an ordinary day like any other my mother was fixing my sisters hair in my room when I got thrusty so I got up and went to get something to drink in the kitchen. When I got there I never expected to see a snake on the counter the first thing that struck me was fear but then i thought about how I movies the person just stands there so I ran right into my room where my mother, and sister was and told them what I saw. They could'nt belive what I was telling them so my mother told me, and my siter to stay in the room while she goes and sees if its still there but by the time she got there it was gone. So we stood in my room untill my dad got home so he could look for it. We found it three days later and my dad killed it.
Im putting my secret out there im afraid of clowns. Yes, its stupid and silly but I just dont like them. well any ways when i was about 10 years my step father took me to the circus as a birthday surprise. I didnt know that that was going to be one of the worst days of my life and the last time i go there. To make story short I saw the clowns and I ran them over, which scare the elephant and horse and they start running around scaring everyone else and they had to shut it down for a while.
IT WAS IN THE YEAR OF 2002 WHEN I LOST THREE PRECIOUS LOVE ONES: MY OLDEST AUNT,GRANNPA, AND MY BELOVED BISHOP.EACH ONE THEM MADE AN IMPACT ON MY LIFE AND I WAS PETREFIED WHEN IT FINALLY SINK IN THAT THEY WERE GONE.THE FIRST WAS MY BISHOP THEN MY GRANDPA AND FINALLY MY AUNT;WAT I MISS MOST OF MY AUNT IS HER HOMESTYLE COOKING AND HOSPITALITY SHE TAUGHT EVERYONE OF HER SISTERS HOW MAKE A BANGING MEAL FOR ANY OCCASSION. WISH THEY WERE ALL HERE BUT THEY NOT.
- LIFE GOES ON R.I.P
I don't remember to much from when i was a younger child. However, a flashbulb memory that will be burned into my mind forever is when my mother slipped in fell during the time she was pregnant with my baby sister.
We were living with my grandmother in carol city. It was a hot day and we were bored so we decided to play with the water guns in order to cool us off and have a little fun at the same time. So as were running around shooting each other my mother is running in her slippers in order to not get shoot by the water gun and right before my eyes she slips in the middle of the street landing on the side of her stomach.
I immediately felt useless in the situation because all i could do is cry and wonder if my mother is ok. Another thought that crossed my mind is if my unborn baby sister will be okay and if i will ever get a chance to see her. When you're in that kind of situation a variety of thoughts and emotions run through your mind. I felt a little responsible because I know deep down in my heart there was something more I could have done.
Thank GOD my sister is healthy and she is quite smart.
A flashbulb memory I had had was, one day me and my cousin were playing around and running inside and outside the house. We were in the process of having our house built and there were a lot rock left around the side of the house outside and in the backyard, basically everywhere. I was chasing him when he turned a corner I immediately followed, not noticing there was a little step (like a mini-wall about maybe 8-9 inches in the ground) I tripped on it and fell face first to the ground on a bunch of rocks the size of a CD Player, no lie.
I busted my lip but felt ABSOLUTELY no pain at all. My cousin freaked out like he saw the devil and told me I was bleeding. When he put my white shirt on my lip I saw the most blood ever pooring from a human being. He told me I had to show my mom I opposed, because if I ever got hurt my mom would freak out way worst then he did, so after dragging me to the backyard where my parents were, as expected, my mother freaked the hell out. We rushed to the hospital, we went to about 3 other hospitals but they all were VERY BUSY.
The flashbulb memory is, while at the hospital in the waiting line, a pick-up truck comes to a screeching halt and 3-5 men were carrying a young girl who was said to be 17 at the time. They said she was home alone after completing her chores, the very last thing she did was eat some food and passed out, but was still alive. While at the waiting line a doctor rushed over to make sure she wasn't dying he checked her pupils, and said I'll be right back, before he came back I was sitting next to my mom and was looking at her because she was right next to me.
The people who brought her were trying to make sure she stayed alive but while I was looking at her I saw her die right in their arms. When the doctor came back he checked her eyes again and shooked his head to the men and walked away. My mother and I ended up going to a clinic at 2 in the morning and I got surgery there. I don't remember my surgery, because dude put me under the gas. But that's why I still have some scars from the surgery.
A flash bulb memory i have is when my father got incarcerated right in front of me.
One day FBI just raided my crib and took me and my sister out the house. we lived in the back of another bigger house, our place was way smaller because my dad was on the low profile, which i know now why is because he was keeping away from the FBI. we sat down in the front porch of the front house and i guess, the main investigators in the case asked some questions. tghe last question was if we were hungry and me a nd my sister answered yea. they asked us what we wanted to eat. we said burger king, which we ate almost everyday cause my dad had all that dirty money. so they got somethin to eat and they us to get some stuff out of our house and we needed the key for the room. we went to get the key from our dad and there he was in all his shame sitting on the passanger seat of a FBI car in handcuffs. he looked at us and said it was in his back pocket. the agent reached in and got it and we got our stuff.
I remember this flash bulb memory because their was a big U-turn in my life after this, meaning i've gotten poorer and my life has been waaaaaaay more messed up and harder ever since.
Wow, some real hard memories for those above ....
Well, I guess one of my flashbulb memories is when I used to live in our old apartments in Little Haiti, maybe when I was the age of 5-7. It reminded me of a time when there were no worries in our lives, and everything was peaceful. The U.S. was in the comforting hands of Clinton, I had some of the best friends in my neighborhood, and everyday was a blessing. Nowadays, in the Bush era, that flashbulb memory gets to me at times. There was never a dull day, and I really miss those days.
--when my father was diagnosed with his illness & passed away.
didn't speak or eat for a certain period of time.
& that's all I want to say (:
Sometimes there are things the we just can`t forget and your remember it like it happen minutes ago..
like i always remember the last time i seen my great-grandma, it was around 3 ind the afternoon and she was sitting on her rocking chair...nexyt thing i know i was attending her funeral....
thats sommething the would never get old to me ...
This always be with me because it was the point of my life i really realize the we could really lose somebody forever...
Hi Mrs. I can recall the time that was much worse ever in my life.I was about 17 when i lost my mother, that was very hard for me because at that time i was so painful even now i still can resign myself so it will take me a lot to get back on track but anyhow i faithfully have hope to see her in heaven when Jesus come in his Glory.
For me i can remember the time that i almost hit by a blue toyota, I was probaly 4 years old or 5 years old. I was in my yard and the gate was open no one was around so i was roaming the streets. Then out of nowhere it happened. The only reson i was not hit is because a stranger pulled me away from the streets.
i can recall in the year 1999 wen i was a little child i was fascinated with wrestling...so after an amazing episode of wwf smackdown i decided that i didnt want it to end..that's when i decided i will bring wwf inside my room!! i brought a steal chair,a bunch of pillows and a bat in my room...i imagined me against stone cold steve austin..i was winning until i decided to jump off my bunck bed and onto him..but the pillow was to close to the concrete wall..i hit the back of my head on the wall and busted my head open..i was rushed to the hospital and received 23 stitches..i never played wrestling again..that's why i turned my hobby over to football..lol
well i can rermember so little but mostly important times or memorable times.. i guess i dont have a strong hypocampus
when i was a mini dude i went utside to buy some ice cream and after buying the ice cream i saw a car far away and i thought i could make it across the street.so i ran across the street and i got hit by a car and i will tell you that it hurt liked hell.thats all the time we have to talk about my life folks.
when I was nine I remember when I got hit and had to get stiches.... It was horrific.. I still have the scar.
Once when I was younger, I believe I was in kindergarden, I witnessed first-hand a blaze of events.
It was night time while everyone was sound asleep, we were startled by the sound of the smoke alarm. I can remember not being able to see clearly due to the thick blanket of smoke that surrounded us (as in my mother, sister and I). But what could make out was the Bright kendle of yellow and raging red. It surrounded us completly creating a horseshoe shape around the bed. I was afraid because I was so young. This is my "Flashbulb" memorey.
(pinkpanther queen)
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