My limited experience of living in the village with my grandma brought me into contact with many elements of local culture. It was only one year in my early life with lasting experiences.
Going to the stream to fetch water (Ichu Mmili), taking the sheep for conservative grazing (Ise Atulu), weeding cocoyam (Iyi Ede), plucking different kinds of fruits in their seasons (Igho mkpulu osisi), making and selling of broom (ikpu aziza na Ile aziza), breaking and making of palm oil (iti akwu na ime mmanu), making of locust means ( isi na igwu ogili) and many more, were some local practices that formed my day-to-day life. At age 10, most aspects of my life revolved around these routines which I was doing while in my first year in high school.
Though it was so overwhelming that after one year, I begged my parents to take me back to Enugu where my family was, today, I think of the lessons, the beauty, the warmth and the experiences in those practices and I can not deny how they reflect in my life today.
Even though a lot has changed over the years,
that experience has influenced my attitude and informed some of the behaviours that shaped me. Maybe itโs mundane or transformative, or anything in between, but I’m certain it was not a bare experience.
Certainly, our past experiences reflect our present feelings, thinking, and actions. These also have a connection in the little details of our personality, of how we view ourselves, the people around us and the world at large.
Research has shown that people make decisions based on how they remember experiences, not on how they experience them. Hence, the experiences we remember contribute to describing our reality and conviction.
As fragile as early memories are, they are unique to every child. Our attitudes, priorities, goals and values in life are somehow a product of our early childhood which is reflected in the choices, decisions and important milestones reached in our lives.
Children do not have control of their childhood, they live at the dictates of their parents. The phases, trends, and even fads that a child has gone through are expressed in any space they occupy and also reflect on the changes that go on in their lives. Some of these phases stay glued in their memory, to relive from time to time into their adulthood. Imagine a child remembering abuse, trauma and neglect as against care, love and joy. It gives insight into why some people behave the way they do and why it is important to give every child a secure and happy memory.
Some experiences are permanently etched into our conscious minds. Every parent has the responsibility to ensure that their children have warm memories of the past, a nostalgia that renews appreciation of the past, not negative thoughts that damage their present and affect their future.
โ๏ธ Amara Ann Unachukwu
