Memories make you, you.

William Least-Heat Moon once said, "The American disease- and I'm quoting someone I can't recall- is forgetfulness. A person or people who cannot recollect their past have little point beyond mere animal existence: it is memory that makes things matter." In the texts we have read in this course so far, we are reminded of this quote. It is a common theme in all of the books that the past is an important thing. In Braiding Sweetgrass, we are reminded of her ancestors and how they make her who she is. We are reminded in Deeply Rooted of how dairy farmers started off, and how some corporations have made that go off track. We are reminded in Silent Springs that the past cannot be changed but how now can be if you decide to look back and learn from it. Either way, the past is evident in all of these texts. Personally, I do not think that is a coincidence, just because this quote is such an important message that can be used in any context when it comes to life in general.

As Americans, we tend to focus on ourselves, right now. We have so much going on that we have to handle that it is easy to forget your past and memories. But, the thing is that the past and all of the memories that come with it, are what make you who you are. It is why you are where you are right this second and that is something that needs to be thought about. It makes us more grateful and aware of the now. It is what makes us human, all of the memories we store in our head. Everything is connected and that is something we cannot deny. We love things because we have a good memory attached to it and we hate things because of the opposite. Memories make us who we are.

This powerful quote stuck with me from class and I just felt the need to discuss the meaning of it to me even more in depth than just the text we are reading.