Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present?

The human mind is responsible for thinking, feeling, wanting, perceiving, learning and also
memory, curiosity, and behavior. Memory is a fundamental mental process, and without
memory we are capable of nothing but simple reflexes and stereotyped behaviors.
Nevertheless, it is known that the importance of memories goes beyond biology. At an
individual level, the role played by memories is essential because they affect our mood,
behavior and success both on the short term and on the long run. At a more complex level,
the importance of memories is revealed by the study of history, on which the development
of society depends on.

To begin with, every reaction and every thought one might have is triggered by certain
memories. More often than not, our memory acts unconsciously by protecting us from
repeating traumatic events or encouraging us to develop a certain positive feeling by doing
the same thing again. Our preferences, personality and perspective are influenced by
memories. Many people enjoy keeping a diary or talking about every daily event with
someone. Many writers and famous personalities have published memoir books which
depict their personal experiences. “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank and “The
Journals of Sylvia Plath” are two well-known, widely-read examples. The reason behind
writing journals or memoirs is that people do no not want to forget their past, do not want to
let go of the happenings which shaped their being. As Kevin Arnold said, “Memory is a way
of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose”.

Furthermore, in order to succeed in the present and look forward to a brighter future, we
must acknowledge and understand the past. It is said those who do not remember the past
are condemned to repeat it. As an example of painful collective memory we can take
memory of political repressions in the Soviet Union. Most of the countries represented here
witnessed this period and this human tragedy which is currently being researched by many
academicians in all post-soviet countries. At these times, the repressed were called the
enemies of the people. Punishments by the state included summary executions, sending
innocent people to Gulag (force labor camps), forced resettlement, and stripping of citizen's
rights. When painful historical events happen, there is a before, and an after. Looking at the
before could certainly help people think about how to look at the after, or how to manage
the after. This ‘after’ includes different elements: reconstruction from a purely material point
of view, but also psychological and emotional reconstruction.

All in all, I strongly believe that memories are hugely beneficial in people’s constant struggle
of improving themselves and the world we live in. As long as one does not live in the past,
but uses it to better understand the present, memories are unable to hinder their progress.
Only by understanding our past, we are better able to understand our future.