<p>Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.
-Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I've known rivers: Lives of loss and liberation.</p>
<p>Assignment: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present?</p>
<p>Memories are crucial in order to help people learn from their past and succeed in the present. They make us who we are today. Several examples throughout history and life experiences support this truth.</p>
<p>The first case that supports this truth is shown through the experiences my mother went through and how it has made her who she is today. My mother gave birth to me when she was just a teenager. Her whole world turned upside down after my birth. She was disowned by her parents for bringing disgrace to the family and was rejected by my father. Being a single mother was very difficult for my mother. She had to get two jobs and work for several hours a day to provide for both of us. She started her own business when she was twenty three designing clothes for just close friends. She quickly got several customers because she was very talented and unique. Her business kept growing and today she makes millions regularly and has her stores all over Africa. Indeed, she never forgot the experiences she went through because they have made her stronger. The memories of the hard times make her success even the more worthwhile.</p>
<p>Also, the story of Mary Kay Ash shows that memories help people learn from their past to succeed in the present. Many know her as the founder of Mary Kay cosmetics which is one of the biggest cosmetics production companies in the world, but her success came from learning from her past experiences. She worked as a sales person for some companies such as Gift Worlds for a couple of years and she was undoubtedly one of the best sales people they had. Due to several cases of gender discrimination at her workplace, she quit her job after seeing yet another male employee she trained get promoted above her. This led her to start her own business with just nine sales people and now Mary Kay cosmetics has millions of sales people all around the world. She has also founded charities that support women empowerment. The memories she had previously are what made her become the entrepreneur and philanthropist she is today.</p>
<p>In short, to move up the ladder of success, one must reckon with the past and integrate the past and present because this way is a sure route to learn from the past and succeed in the present.</p>