What is the relationship between memory and selfhood?
The “self” is how we think and act or it can be simply described as our “identity”. What we are – our identity - is shaped by what remember from the past, especially our childhood experiences - how our parents taught us and how close we are to them. The more we remember about our past the stronger sense of self we would have. However, we sometimes forget something that had happened to us through repression and sometimes create a memory of something that had never happened to us. Memory is so soft and malleable. This may be the reason why we feel, at sometimes, confused of our own identity.

What new discovery about memory do you find most interesting?
The discovery that I found most interesting is the one that suggest students to sleep after cramming for exam. I think this discovery has the power to change the world of education. If this is really true, then school should give students a “sleeping break” during day time, so that they can remember what they have studied better. Furthermore, it is also very easy to be applied. The next time I study for my test, would sleep earlier, rather than dragging the study longer at night.

How can some memories become indelible?
Some memories become indelible because our bodies think there is something special in them. Those memories might have some strong emotion or excitement attached to it. When the original event of these memories happened, our body released hormones to regulate our reaction. Now that the memories become indelible, our body can easily recall the event and would release hormones to regulate alike reaction for the similar event that happened.

How can amnesia and repression be explained?
Both amnesia and repression are caused by malfunction of the brain. For us to recall a memory of something, that memory must be processed through a part of the brain called the hippocampus. However, amnesia and repression are different. Amnesia is when the information is never encoded into long term memory. But repression is when the memory is forgotten because it is so painful that our defense mechanisms need to protect us from them. However, repressed memory can be retrieved through time.

Explain the following statement: "Memory is more reconstructive than reproductive."
We don’t really remember things in the way that we can reproduce them exactly as how it is exactly. We reconstruct the memory in the way we understand it and how we think it should be according to our schema. If we were asked to recall something we would just remember the deep meaning and the main points of the event and would probably forget the details.

What new paradigm of memory is now emerging?
The new paradigm of memory sees it as a creative blending of fact and fiction, with us as the writer of those. The way we reconstruct memory is like how we blend the “real” and “unreal” creatively according to our experiences, emotions, and schema.

After reading this article, what conclusions can you make about memory?
The memory has a big impact in shaping who we are. However, it can be easily influenced by our emotions and other external factors that would distort the information or make us forget about it. Some memories are more easily recalled than other. This is because there is something special as strong emotional attachment in them.

“If our identity is shaped by our memories, and if memories are shaped by we reconstruct them, then we can construct our own identity!”