Thread: You are The Giver / You have a Pensive

I didn't know you'd had a seizure before! That's terrifying... I told you my roommate freshman year had night seizures, right? It was terrifying to watch it happen, I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to actually have one...


Let's see, five memories to share.... Also not in any particular order.


1. One day, on the bus to the math/science center I attended in high school, I had suddenly had a very, very bad feeling about one of my friends, who was absent that day. I have no idea what it was that made me feel so worried about her; perhaps it was a seemingly mundane comment in a conversation we'd had in the past few days, or maybe it was something else. I asked our mutual friend if she knew why our friend was absent that day, and we made a scenario where she was abducted by the flying pencil people so she could sharpen them for eternity. That evening, I checked my email and saw a message from my friend's mother; she had attempted suicide that morning. And I was the only one who knew about it for two weeks. I had been frightened of suicide (knowing that it and depression run in my family) before, but starting that day, the notion of suicide has been terrifying for me. I would want to share this memory for all those idiots who think depression isn't real, or isn't something to worry about because it doesn't happen to happy people, or that it's something that can be fixed with drugs and therapy, every time.

2. I was in a waiting room for a medical procedure of a nature I don't think I'd like to share with the world just yet, even with an alias. But my experience talking with the other waiting patients with a corny but related movie playing on a TV, with the doctor and nurses during the procedure, who said that even though I hadn't opted for sedation (my reasons being that having an IV in my arm freaked me out WAY more than the procedure itself did) and instead was hopped up on Valium, I was one of the champ-iest patients they'd seen in a while (apparently very few people opt for Valium instead, and most who do still have a hard time), and looking around in the "recovery room," knowing that the others were in worse state than I was, which was basically in a lot of pain... the whole experience and the emotions I felt are things I'll hold with me for the rest of my life. It was a huge moment in my life, and always will be part of who I am and why I'm able to do what I'm doing in order to do what I want to do with my life.

3. Copying Zukin's Austria moment, and adding the fact that we slid down a mountain on our rumps the next day... Yet another of the many stupid things we've done that could have gotten us killed, where neither of us had cell service and no one would be able to hear us call for help if we got in trouble... It says a lot about us, I think :)

4. A conglomerate-memory of all the games I used to play with my brothers, when we were little; Running along the retaining wall as we waited for the pizza guy to come, seeing who could roll over whom the most, the Farmer game, climbing the walls in the hallway, even the (in hindsight very embarrassing) times we would get naked and give speeches about nonsensical things (We might have gotten that from hearing someone say "when you give speeches, imagine everyone in their underwear" and misunderstood, being 2-, 3-, 4-year-olds). These are important memories to me, and I always feel lucky to be able to remember that far back, and for them to be happy memories.

5. I was at the top of a ski hill, looking out over the winter night sky. The moon was big and orange, and the sky had faint, whispy clouds. I was standing up there with the guy I had a crush on at the time. We were both just standing there, looking out as far as we could. It was so peaceful and I felt so free. It was then that I realized how much I really love skiing. It's such a freeing and exciting thing, and there are also moments like this one that are so calm and peaceful. He broke the silence by making a joke about orange balls, but I didn't care much. I was too in the moment to even roll my eyes at him.

Oooh, The Giver? There's a movie on it? I remember reading that book in middle school, was fairly interesting although everyone hated it for the ending. I guess I should watch it, will be interesting what I'll think about it now that I'm a bit older.

Sorry, I don't really have time to type up 5 memories right now.. I might edit them in tomorrow if I can actually come up with enough, I didn't have too many memorable moments in my life.

Also, congrats on 666 LDs, Queen Zukin!