collecting memories

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Collecting Memories
Collecting memories in the form of pictures, videos, and similar items is not a new phenomenon. In the days past, people used to keep photographs of themselves and their families in photo albums to remind them of the days past, as well as for posterity. The purpose of a person getting their life story is to enable them to paint a clear picture of whom they indeed are. However, the historical information should not merely be a haphazard collection of facts. Instead, these should be an account of a person’s life story that includes recurrent ideas and vital themes that are reflective of the development of the person’s personality, as well as their relationships with others.
In her article, Morin talks about the experiences of a psychology student and snapshot collector named Amelia Walker. Walker confesses to scouring the internet, estate sales, and flea markets randomly collecting pictures of volcanoes (Morin). Before this, she collected images of people with their faces looking away, but after collecting pictures of volcanoes, she started collecting the images of people in the water. Although Amelia did not know why she was collecting the photographs, the real meaning of her fascination would come into sight years later. It turned out that she had been subconsciously sifting through the memories that other people had discarded to find images that were of personal significance to her.
People collect memories, wh…