a memory

when a memory can make you tear up, it says a lot about the origin of that thought. when something can make you cry or shiver with just a mental glimpse, it means that the person or idea behind that glimpse has touched your life in a very strong way. i think it speaks very strongly about how that idea or emotion has molded you into the person you are today. everyone has an abundance of thoughts, experiences or memories that have made them into the person they are today, simply put, it is what life is all about. when i take just a second and think of a few that come right to mind, i can, at the drop of a hat think about specific things that automatically trigger a very specific emotion. they are the following (among others of course):

memory: driving solo out of my driveway windows down, with a license. emotion: complete independence.
memory: giving a simple poem as a gift to my grandmother on christmas. emotion: pure happiness.
memory: walking out that room and falling to the floor of a bathroom. emotion: heaving absence.
memory: driving through wood line night roads listening to YES with my dad. emotion: peace
memory: watching a mother search for life in the movement of the thumb of her dying son. emotion: raw sadness.
memory: walking the SC campus post graduation. emotion: yearning pride. 
memory: driving to the airport for departure. emotion: pure discontent. 
memory: hot chocolate and gingersnaps perfectly prepared after school. emotion: thankful excitement. 

there are highs and there are lows in every ones lives. there are memories that bring emotions both happy and incredibly sad.  slightly "stream of consciousness-like" if you will. it is how we take those memories and use them to be stronger, better and more positive when given difficult tasks in days ahead. it is life and how we manage it/them that is important. 

ya see, i have always thought it was interesting that you never really know when you are making a memory. you never really realize that the outfit you wore that day, or the way you wore your hair, or what the weather was like, or how the starts twinkled that night would forever be part of a memory that was in the making, right then and there. it is what makes making new memories exciting, and what also allows us to have hope in a better day and bigger tomorrow. so when that thought you have makes you tear up, there is promise in the idea that another origin of impression may be just around the corner.