Sana Thakkar Week 14: The Pomegranate Tree
When I moved cities, I truly realized how special memories are, along with the importance of creating new ones. Before, I would see my best friends every single day. Since that is not possible anymore, we try to make every visit to each other a complete surprise. My dad's best friend has maintained the tradition of surprises, and every year on my dad's birthday, he coordinates a "surprise visit" with my mom, and my dad pretends to be shocked, even though he was completely expecting it. One of my friends always messages me a day before my birthday, knowing when my actual birthday is, but just for the sake of continuity.
These experiences of distance from my loved ones have proven to me, that despite long distances and conflicting schedules, the memories we make with people last a lifetime, and are powerful enough to withstand any and all technical issues. When we meet everyone again, it is as if no time as passed, and we are right where we left off.
Hi Sana! I've moved a few times so I also have friends that live far away. I used to live in San Jose, and I'm still close to some of my old friends from there. Some of them have even become family friends, and we meet up often on weekends and go on vacations together from time to time. One of my favorite trips that I've been on was a trip to Lake Tahoe with three other families that we knew from living in San Jose, and I can relate to your experiences with your old neighbors.
ReplyDeleteHi Sana! I really liked your blog because you wrote about something that may seem ordinary to some people, but is significantly important to you. It’s fascinating how objects that we don’t recognize the importance of in the present become important core memories when we reminisce our pasts. For example, when I lived in Sunnyvale I never really considered the value and importance of early childhood memories until they were over, and it’s made me value the importance of the little things in life. Sometimes, when I’m stressed out over AP exams or a test, I remember that these moments are fleeting and that one day I might even miss my high school years, which is what keeps me going and helps me remain grateful in my day to day life. I can also relate to your statement “when we meet everyone again, it is as if no time as passed, and we are right where we left off” because whenever I meet old friends or people who were close to me a long time ago, I feel as though no time has passed, which is really interesting and seems almost counterintuitive because most people would expect differences and the passage of time to make people grow apart. Overall, your blog was insightful and an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteHi Sana! I really liked your usage of an anecdote in order to tell a compelling story and lesson about and values and strength of memories. I find it super sweet that your neighbors continued to send you pomegranates even after you had moved away from being next to their home. However, sadly, I do find some difference between how you react to meeting someone again after a long time. At the end of your blog, you mention that “when we meet everyone again, it is as if no time has passed,” something that I sadly do not find very relatable. Although I do wish that I would meet old friends as if nothing has passed, I find it sometimes rather awkward and challenging when attempting to connect with someone with whom I had no connected or interacted in a very long time. However, this detail/experiences 0f mine only strengthens your other point that you make: the ever-compounding value of memories.
ReplyDeleteHi Sana! I really liked the story you told at the beginning about the pomegranate tree to start off the blog. It was cool how you took a seemingly random story and tied it in to the power of memories, and it does an awesome job at conveying that message. I can relate to the power of memories with people that you don't see very often with some of my family in Canada. Although we only see them every few years, there are certain things like biking and playing video games that we've done together as a group that will never leave me. Those memories are also a fun thing to talk about once we do get to finally see them. I also think it's so cool that you and your previous neighbors still connect even after you had moved away. It's important to keep older relationships alive, and I'd imagine it would be difficult to do that with neighbors, so the fact that you guys still connect is really impressive.
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