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I grew up without much money in a third world country. My memories from that time are much more vivid and meaningful than once I moved to the US and lived a we

by yters 8y ago

I grew up without much money in a third world country. My memories from that time are much more vivid and meaningful than once I moved to the US and lived a well educated, middle class life. Money and comfort are good, but I seem to have lost something amidst the greater control and predictability of things here.

adventured 8y ago
Youth produces vivid, seemingly magical memories. The time relativity of having had fewer experiences and how that amplifies every experience you do have. When you're 10, every year seems like a small lifetime. Small or simple things seem extraordinary. On top of that, we usually end up over-glorifying the past because most negatives and how they made us feel fade with time. Not to mention having a lot fewer responsibilities and knowing a lot less about the world. I grew up relatively poor in the US. My childhood seems magical compared to this bullshit. Now each day vaporizes in a blur, feeling not very memorable compared to any other. I love what I do work-wise as an adult, and it still just doesn't remotely compare to spending all day roaring down a snowy hill on a sled at ten years old. I'd probably struggle to recall something memorable from ~100 days ago, but I can recall a hundred memorable things from my childhood. I don't think it was money that made the primary difference, it was the nature of every new or semi-new experience and what it means to a younger brain.
- yters 8y ago
  It is something also about the lack of control. I have vivid adult memories of Afghanistan and trekking through the Tibetan plateau. I also have vivid memories of deep discussions during college that I have failed to reproduce under my own control.
themagician 8y ago
I suspect your memories are about people and places, and not necessarily things—which is what money gets you.
- taneq 8y ago
  Money gets you plenty of experiences. My happy memories from last time I went snowboarding were certainly acquired with money.

by yters 8y ago

adventured 8y ago

Youth produces vivid, seemingly magical memories. The time relativity of having had fewer experiences and how that amplifies every experience you do have. When you're 10, every year seems like a small lifetime. Small or simple things seem extraordinary. On top of that, we usually end up over-glorifying the past because most negatives and how they made us feel fade with time. Not to mention having a lot fewer responsibilities and knowing a lot less about the world. I grew up relatively poor in the US. My childhood seems magical compared to this bullshit. Now each day vaporizes in a blur, feeling not very memorable compared to any other. I love what I do work-wise as an adult, and it still just doesn't remotely compare to spending all day roaring down a snowy hill on a sled at ten years old. I'd probably struggle to recall something memorable from ~100 days ago, but I can recall a hundred memorable things from my childhood. I don't think it was money that made the primary difference, it was the nature of every new or semi-new experience and what it means to a younger brain.

yters 8y ago
It is something also about the lack of control. I have vivid adult memories of Afghanistan and trekking through the Tibetan plateau. I also have vivid memories of deep discussions during college that I have failed to reproduce under my own control.

themagician 8y ago

I suspect your memories are about people and places, and not necessarily things—which is what money gets you.

taneq 8y ago
Money gets you plenty of experiences. My happy memories from last time I went snowboarding were certainly acquired with money.