<p>The assignment is: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? </p>
<p>Answer </p>
<p>Memories definitely help us learn from our past as they are a way for us to remember the choices we have made throughout our lives. Both happy memories and worth forgetting ones have something to teach us which in the end can lead us towards becoming better human beings.
To begin with, a particular example that comes to mind is from an episode of a TV-drama series called C.S.I., where the suspect shoots someone to death, as according to his claims he had betrayed him. When they find out that the victim was innocent, the suspect gets overwhelmed with guilt as he realizes the terrible mistake he has made. The image of the dead-innocent person stays with him forever so that he can remember never to make the same mistake again.
Similarly to the criminals case, in my own life I have experienced situations where my actions have stayed with me as memories until now. Some years ago, I ended my friendship with my best friend due to a misunderstanding. When I reconsidered my reaction and found out how recklessly I had acted I tried to gain back our friendship but it was too late. There was no going back. Now I have promised myself never to make that mistake again as I can still picture the look of disappointment on her face.
To conclude, in both cases of the criminal and myself, memories act as the means of never letting people forget about their actions, whether that is losing a best friend or ending an innocent persons life, so that we can never reenact these terrible decisions.</p>