I agree, our brain collects memories and filters a lot of the 'same of' into one category. We do, technically, remember nearly everything, but the memories are

I agree, our brain collects memories and filters a lot of the 'same of' into one category. We do, technically, remember nearly everything, but the memories are so similar they all end up running off the same neurones as a sort of space saving. Essentially once we've used a memory so many times it becomes a 'template' and instead of having 5,000 near-identical memories, we have 1 template and 5,000 name/place changes to it to save space. However, this process likely has a much grander function than we realise. As we age, our life becomes increasingly routine. We all make beds, shower, cook, eat, do laundry, commute, work and sleep, they take up the majority of our days and will be repeated thousands of times. A child however likely only has shower, school, eat and sleep, their free time per day is probably near 8 hours, where as an adult likely has 1-2 hours of free time per average weekday. If the majority of your day is taken up by a routine, it will quickly become compressed memories so the day may be long, but the year collapses into 2 hour increments of unique activity (supposing you don't spend them watching reruns on TV). I remember first coming to Canada (I was born in the UK) and when driving on the highway I noticed a "Wrong Way" sign on the back of the signs on the opposite side of the road. Not only was it a unique sight to me, as in the UK no one would think to do that, but I found it highly ironic as Canada's neighbours (the US) drive on the same side of the road, but the UK whose neighbours all drive on the opposite side of the road doesn't have it. Now I've been in Canada for several years, I never notice the signs, and even though I'm going on a roadtrip later this week, I doubt I'll notice one of those 'wrong way' signs the entire trip. However, personally I have witnessed my years getting relatively shorter, but since getting a job as a writer at 17 I've managed to fill a lot of my time with uniqueness. The act of writing largely disappears, but the memories surrounding it appear to be strongly attached to what I've written and I still haven't lost the memories of even my earliest writings. I suppose I haven't found a way to extend my perceived lifespan, but I believe I stumbled my way into producing a strong 'lifeline' (if you will) that I've attached many lesser memories onto.