"Memory and Forgetting" by RadioLab



The podcast “Memory and Forgetting” by RadioLab talks about how a very talented conductor got very ill and he forgot everything about his life. He wakes up every minute and thinks that he just woke up from a very long dream. Then writes down that he had woken up, but he does many many times because he forgets things in a second so after he forgets he will write the same thing over and over again.

Although he forgot mostly everything, some things that he did not forget were his love for his wife and his creativeness for music. When he woke up and saw his wife once he remembered her and he started to hug and kiss her and said that he missed the feeling of love. Doctors were very surprised by this because when you have amnesia you forget things such as who you are, where you live and what your job is. Not only did he not forget the love of his life, he also remembered how to sing and conduct. When his wife was singing he started to sing along with her.

Also he remembered how to conduct so when he went to conduct his musicians' they were all caught by surprise because they thought they would never be able to be conducted by him. This story shows that love and compassion go higher than everything else in your life.

I can connect with this story because I play the piano. I have been playing piano since I was 6. I was not a huge fan of the piano because my parents and piano teacher made me do competitions and although I won all my competitions I was never amused because I didn’t have the passion to play the piano that much. 

After the age of 11, I quit piano and I was happy about that. After a year I started to have a feeling that something was missing from my life and one day I saw the piano that I used to play on and remembered all the memories I made because of my piano. Then I noticed that because I quit piano I felt like something was missing from my life so I decided to relearn that piano and start the journey all over again. I have an issue with myself that is like an illness. I get mad at things that I can’t understand and do, but the piano challenges me to keep my emotions down and stay calm. The piano to me is a medicine and a tutor for my emotions. It can bring others together and make others unique and that's why I like the piano.

 

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