Memories, no two are the same, and none are tangible. We hold onto the gossamer web of early memories only to watch them transform as our minds are continuously redefining reality and thus altering perception. The mind is in a constant state of cataloging information, and every moment lived is archived, only to be recalled and re-categorized, redefined. Life's events and thus its memories are in a constant state of flux.

I have recently begun to examine my memories in comparison to the people who share them with me. Our perceptions of events are at times exact, and others are at odds. Memories of life are defined by your environment, what you know, what you see, and what you are familiar with. As we experience life, we collect new ways, new light, new views. Mine memories are no different. A memory perceived and organized as normal in one stage of life is challenged with a new view as new information demands.

Some of my memories have lived in the shadow of my mind, never given life, never given a voice. As they gained footing, as my need to examine them grew stronger I gave them value; I gave them worth. This has challenged some of my closest loved ones, made them uncomfortable, as traumatic memories often do. I blame no one, I do not hide in a cloak of a victim, I merely gave them life and by so doing gave myself life, gave myself permission to examine, to see, and to value everything that defines me.