Self-defining Memories
The most common self-defining moments occur at the adolescent age. The age of adolescents shows the intensified development of personal memories in the life of human beings (McLean & Thorne, 2003, p. 893). The adolescent age period also marks the transition to adulthood. Besides, it marks the emergence of self-identity through the life story of a human being. Compelling self-defining moments contribute to the wellness of the young adults, and how well, they engage with others in relationships. The youth rely on the self-defining moments of their lives to create connectedness and understanding of how to deal with the relationship issues. Yet, these relationships exist as an influential factor in the lives of the youth.
People do not easily forget self-defining moments in their lives. These moments shape the life of the person, and as such, people never forget. People make important decisions during these times. These decisions lead to the adaptation of new and changing lifestyles. The change occurs as the people who undergo these self-defining moments, change their views or perceptions about life (Coatsworth et al., 2006, p. 635). However, people with Alzheimer’s disorder may gradually forget the self-defining moments of their lives. This action happens as the disorder causes a decline in thinking, influencing the victim not reason or think independently. As a result, the person with Alzheimer’s disease may forget his or her self-defining moments.
Self-defining memories change over time, notably with people with mental illnesses. The change in elf-defining minds also changes with time in Human life. The youth experience different self-defining moments compared to the older generation in society. Additionally, the difference in the condition of the mentally ill person could also influence a shift in their definition of self-defining moments. This happens as the mind experiences a change, which makes it dependent on others to carry out tasks and even to determine essential steps or actions in life.
The self-defining moments mainly occur as a result of experiencing challenges from the people around an individual. This action occurs mostly to people in relationships, notably the budding relationships. The effects of a partner, for example, the act of a boyfriend to a girlfriend, would influence an individual thought. However, not all activities or challenges result in self-defining moments (Coatsworth et al., 2006, p. 635. Bitter life experiences contribute to the majority of self-defining moments. Besides, the parent-youth relationship also causes a degree of self-defining moments. Parents’ actions may influence the child or the adolescent to experience a particular self-defining moment that leads to decisions that change the life of the teenager.
Self-defining moments prevail as real-life experiences of individuals in life. However, what if self-defining moments never existed in the lives of individuals? If such an aspect of human life never existed, then the people’s lives would never experience major and significant changes. People would live under normal and boring conditions. Second, a lack of self-defining moments would inhibit the growth of the human mind. The people would fail to undergo maturity, especially in the average expected age of young adulthood (Singer et al., 2007, p. 886). Human beings would also fail to engage in everyday activities such as education, relationships, and employment. Besides, the world would still rag behind in the field of science and technology, which get triggered by the necessity to fulfill self-defining moments in the life of human beings.
References
Coatsworth, J. D., Palen, L., Sharp, E. H., & Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2006). Self-defining activities, strong identity, and adolescent wellness. Applied Developmental Science, 10(3), 157-170. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532480xads1003_5
McLean, K. C., & Thorne, A. (2003). Late adolescents’ self-defining memories about relationships. Developmental Psychology, 39(4), 635-645. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.4.635
Singer, J., Rexhaj, B., & Baddeley, J. (2007). Older, wiser, and happier? Comparing older adults’ and college students’ self-defining memories. Memory, 15(8), 886-898. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210701754351