Who Am I?

Memory and identity; what are they? Memory is defined as “the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, etc., or of recalling or recognizing previous experiences” (dictionary.com) and identity as “the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another” (dictionary.com); but to people, these two words’ definitions are more fluid. Furthermore, the link between the two and how close their relationship is to each is more intricate than defining what they are separately.
According to the video How Does Your Memory Work, “Your memory is you.” This would mean that the very memories that one possesses becomes part of the foundation in which a person’s identity is established upon; I agree. Memories in our consciousness can inevitably become subconsciously embedded in our personality, such as our manners and values, and effectively our identity in both our eyes, as well as others. However, “ a sense of self is necessary before children can start to form memories” (Memory Work). This shows that both memory and identity need to coexist, and one might have a faulty existence, if it can exist at all, without the other.
When a person loses memory, it can be detrimental to his very identity, especially if it is an established adult. One such adult is Douglas Bruce “who lost all thirty-five years of his life”, and has to re-learn everything. “Doug now saw the world with the eyes of a newborn baby, but with appreciated with a mind of an adult” (Unknown White Male). I believe Doug is a strong example of how closely linked memory and identity is. Doug still has a sense of self, but he has to re-learn who he is, what he likes, and re-establish himself as himself, or become a total different person than what he was before.
The relationship between memory and identity is shrouded in mystery for the most part due to the complexities involving both, and scientists are only starting unravel them. However, for most people, including both are so second nature that they do not even think about them.