I Don't Want to Remember
The moments that change us most are often ones we wish to forget
Before spring break (if you were on spring break, I hope it was great!), I wrote about Joe Brainard’s “I Remember” as my go-to brainstorming exercise.
There is a flip side to this exercise that I do when visiting schools to help students generate ideas for their college essays.
The first part is to set a five-minute timer and see how many “I Remember” statements you can generate by letting your brain pop up memories from different periods in your life. The memories don’t have to connect in any linear way.
Next, I ask students to do five more minutes of automatic writing, but this time, start their statements with “I don’t want to remember…” and see how that changes what pops up.
At least one student always asks, “If I don’t remember it, how can I write about it.”
However, it’s not that you don’t remember this moment; it’s that you’d rather not remember it. Often, the moments we wish we could forget shape our character the most.
Moments of embarrassment
Moments of anger
Moments of failure
If you haven’t already, try this simple exercise to generate story ideas. Set a five-minute time and see how many “I Remember” statements you can generate.
Then, write “I Don’t Want to Remember” statements for the next five. They can be brand new or dig into the less flattering side of the story that you might otherwise gloss over in one of your “I Remember” moments.
Joe Brainard’s “I Remember” is my go-to exercise because I’ve done this simple activity with countless students at various schools over the years. I am always touched by the distinct story moments that students generate and share with each other.
Here are some highlights from a recent New Jersey school visit.
I’m curious to hear more about the larger story behind each of these short moments!
I would love to hear some of your “I Remember” and “I Don’t Want to Remember” story moments. Feel free to comment or send them directly. Or ask questions!
Next week, we’ll explore how to mine your memory to delve into and develop the story ideas generated by your “I Remember” and “I Don’t Want to Remember” brainstorms.